Vic Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Hey all! I compressed a disk bringing my anvil into the shop from the garage yesterday. I've already googled the information I have, but was wondering if anyone knew or knows of somewhere to find out the history of these anvils. Mine is a Yost W anvil. It weighs right about 150lbs. It was evidently made in Meadville, PA. From what I was told it journeyed here to the west on the wagon trains. If anyone has any information, I'd love to hear about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikbrown Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Nice score Vic!!!! I keep my eyes out for one constantly... every one I've found has been dead though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KsSlim Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 http://www.anvilfire.com/ one of the best sites to find out anything blacksmith related. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted March 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 http://www.anvilfire.com/ one of the best sites to find out anything blacksmith related. Thanks, Ks...I'll check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon003 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 also, iforgeiron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 http://www.anvilfire.com/ one of the best sites to find out anything blacksmith related. Second this. And Third. Maybe even Eighth. (After this site, I'd also check out ABANA.org (Artist blacksmith association of north America), but they are less likely to 1) be helpful in this search and 2) have the information readily available. I'd also check with the various blacksmithing associations around. I know of three, but they aren't in PA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted March 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Thanks all. I'm gonna shoot off some emails. I'd love to find out the value of this, even though I'd never sell it. I love it, even if it does tweak my back every time I have to move it. Hopefully, where it sits will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddleboyster Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 My brother is a blacksmith and he sells 150 lb anvils for $500-$600 if the edges are still in good shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoboMonk Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 My favorite anvils are made from pieces of railroad rails. A local blacksmith used to make them from rail scraps that he legally obtained from the railroad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esternby Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 Hey all! I compressed a disk bringing my anvil into the shop from the garage yesterday. I've already googled the information I have, but was wondering if anyone knew or knows of somewhere to find out the history of these anvils. Mine is a Yost W anvil. It weighs right about 150lbs. It was evidently made in Meadville, PA. From what I was told it journeyed here to the west on the wagon trains. If anyone has any information, I'd love to hear about it. Hi Vic. I grew up in Meadville, PA. I collect tools made by Channelock. Before they were called Chanellock they were named Champion Dearment. They are still located in Meadville, PA where most of my family still lives. Btw - my brother and grandfather are/were named Vic. I started collecting anvils and large vises not too long ago. The vises I'm most interested in are Yost vises which used to be made in Meadville. I just found out that Yost made anvils for a while. I have some info on Yost. They made three sizes, 100, 125, and 150 lbs. Their logo is a Y inside of a circle. I have a picture from the 1923 Gibson catalog from Postman's anvil book that shows your anvil has a 4" wide face that is 16-1/8" long. It is model G118. Yost is no longer located in Meadville, however, the Yost family is still in Meadville. I have no idea what the demand is for a Yost anvil. If you ever want to trade it for a very nice 150 lbs Peter Wright, let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Hi Vic. I grew up in Meadville, PA. I collect tools made by Channelock. Before they were called Chanellock they were named Champion Dearment. They are still located in Meadville, PA where most of my family still lives. Btw - my brother and grandfather are/were named Vic. I started collecting anvils and large vises not too long ago. The vises I'm most interested in are Yost vises which used to be made in Meadville. I just found out that Yost made anvils for a while. I have some info on Yost. They made three sizes, 100, 125, and 150 lbs. Their logo is a Y inside of a circle. I have a picture from the 1923 Gibson catalog from Postman's anvil book that shows your anvil has a 4" wide face that is 16-1/8" long. It is model G118. Yost is no longer located in Meadville, however, the Yost family is still in Meadville. I have no idea what the demand is for a Yost anvil. If you ever want to trade it for a very nice 150 lbs Peter Wright, let me know. I have no idea what a Peter Wright is...but, thank you very much for the information. I'd love if you have the time to scan that page in the catalogue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Hi Vic. I grew up in Meadville, PA. I collect tools made by Channelock. Before they were called Chanellock they were named Champion Dearment. They are still located in Meadville, PA where most of my family still lives. Btw - my brother and grandfather are/were named Vic. I started collecting anvils and large vises not too long ago. The vises I'm most interested in are Yost vises which used to be made in Meadville. I just found out that Yost made anvils for a while. I have some info on Yost. They made three sizes, 100, 125, and 150 lbs. Their logo is a Y inside of a circle. I have a picture from the 1923 Gibson catalog from Postman's anvil book that shows your anvil has a 4" wide face that is 16-1/8" long. It is model G118. Yost is no longer located in Meadville, however, the Yost family is still in Meadville. I have no idea what the demand is for a Yost anvil. If you ever want to trade it for a very nice 150 lbs Peter Wright, let me know. I'll take a close up of the stamping on the vise for ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 OK..here are detail pics. It looks more like a W to me than a Y...but..who knows. Also, considering the guy I got this from had documents of this crossing on the wagon trains, I'm guessing it was quite a bit before the magazine you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esternby Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 OK..here are detail pics. It looks more like a W to me than a Y...but..who knows. Also, considering the guy I got this from had documents of this crossing on the wagon trains, I'm guessing it was quite a bit before the magazine you have. The book I'm using is the only anvil reference book in the world, Anvils in America by Richard Postman. It is the authority on anvil history and It covers the history of anvils starting hundreds of years ago to the present. If you take a look on EBay you will find that most old anvils in the 150 lbs range sell from $2 - $3 per pound. The most desirable old anvils like the Hay Budden, Trenton, and Peter Wrights are near or slightly above the upper end of this range depending on condition. Brand new anvils of this size range from 500 to 700. The Yost manufacturing company was founded in Meadville, PA in 1908. Their main product was vises but they also made anvils for a while. Yours was most likely made around 1920 based on the advertisement shown in Postman's book. Other notable things that came from Meadville, PA include Channellock tools, Talon zippers, and Sharon Stone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 The book I'm using is the only anvil reference book in the world, Anvils in America by Richard Postman. It is the authority on anvil history and It covers the history of anvils starting hundreds of years ago to the present. If you take a look on EBay you will find that most old anvils in the 150 lbs range sell from $2 - $3 per pound. The most desirable old anvils like the Hay Budden, Trenton, and Peter Wrights are near or slightly above the upper end of this range depending on condition. Brand new anvils of this size range from 500 to 700. The Yost manufacturing company was founded in Meadville, PA in 1908. Their main product was vises but they also made anvils for a while. Yours was most likely made around 1920 based on the advertisement shown in Postman's book. Other notable things that came from Meadville, PA include Channellock tools, Talon zippers, and Sharon Stone. Hmm...interesting. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esternby Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Vic - Here is some other interesting info. I searched for more info on the Yost anvils and found a site by Richard Postman looking for pictures of a Yost anvil for his book. Not many were made so they are apparently hard to come by. Here is his site: http://www.anvilsinamerica.com/more_AIA.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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