New smiths ask me which anvil to buy more than almost anything else, so here is my honest shortlist of anvils you can order new today, sorted by what they cost and who they suit. If you want the one-line version: for most beginners I would point at the 112 pound NC Tool Cavalry, drop to the cast steel VEVOR if money is tight, and reach for the forged RIDGID if you would rather buy once and never shop for an anvil again.
I need to be straight about one thing first. I have not run every one of these anvils down in my own shop, so this is not a bench test. What follows is published specs and what owners report on the forums, weighed against twenty-five years at Bessie, my 148 pound Trenton, which is the anvil I measure every other one against. Where I am passing along what smiths say rather than what I have felt under my own hammer, I say so and I link the thread.
How these stack up
| Anvil | Weight | Material | Face size | Hardness | Price tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEVOR Single Horn | 66 lb | Cast steel | ~10.4 x 3.5 in top | ~50 HRC (maker) | Budget |
| NC Tool Knifemaker | 70 lb | Cast alloy steel | 3.25 x 11.4 in | Not published | Mid |
| NC Tool Cavalry | 112 lb | Cast alloy steel | 4.6 x 7 in | Not published | Mid |
| RIDGID Model 9 (Peddinghaus) | 165 lb | Drop-forged steel | Not published | Induction-hardened face | Premium |
Specs come from the makers and their dealers: VEVOR, NC Tool, Centaur Forge, and SupplyHouse. Where a maker does not publish a hardness number, I have left it as not published rather than guess. That matters, because an invented HRC figure is exactly the kind of number that gets a buying guide wrong.
The budget entry: VEVOR 66 lb single horn
If your whole starter budget is small and the anvil has to fit inside it, a cast steel VEVOR is the honest budget answer. VEVOR lists the 66 pound single horn as cast steel with a face heat treated to about 50 HRC, a London-pattern body, a round horn, and both a hardy and a pritchel hole. That is a real anvil shape in real steel, not a doorstop.
The word that matters there is steel. VEVOR also sells cheaper cast iron shapes, and those are the soft anvil shaped objects I tell everyone to skip. Buy the cast steel version. On the used market you would step over this in favor of an old Trenton or Peter Wright, but as a new anvil at this price it will let you learn to move hot steel without deadening every blow.
Check price on Amazon (paid link)
The light knife anvil: NC Tool Knifemaker (70 lb)
NC Tool is a US maker with a good name, and the Knifemaker is their cast alloy steel anvil aimed at bladesmiths: 70 pounds, a long narrow face listed at 3.25 by 11.4 inches, a square clip horn, and a hardy and pritchel hole in the heel. That long flat face is genuinely nice for drawing out a blade, and the build quality is not in question.
The honest catch is mass. Seventy pounds is light for general forging, and I would only steer a beginner here if knives are specifically the goal and bench space or weight is a hard limit. For everything else, the money is better spent on the heavier Cavalry below. Check price on Amazon (paid link)
The one I would point most beginners at: NC Tool Cavalry (112 lb)
This is the pick for most people. The Cavalry is a 112 pound cast alloy steel anvil with a wide 4.6 by 7 inch face, turning lugs, a clip horn, a 1 inch hardy hole, and a pritchel hole. It lands right in the 100 to 150 pound range I tell beginners to aim for, it is a US-made anvil from a maker that stands behind it, and it is still light enough for one person to get onto a stand.
It is a lot of anvil for the money, and the extra features (the turning cams, the clip horn) give a beginner room to grow into farrier work or general smithing without buying a second anvil in a year. If I could hand a new smith exactly one anvil off this list, it would be this one. Check price on Amazon (paid link)
Buy once: RIDGID Model 9 forged (Peddinghaus, 165 lb)
The RIDGID Model 9 is the old Peddinghaus forged anvil, and it is the buy-once, never-shop-again option. At 165 pounds it is drop forged in one piece from tool steel with a ground, induction hardened face and a pritchel hole. A forged one-piece anvil is about as good as a new anvil gets, and this is the pattern serious smiths have wanted for decades.
It is the heaviest and the priciest here, and 165 pounds is more than a first-week beginner strictly needs. But if you already know smithing is going to stick and you would rather spend once, this is the anvil that outlives you. Check price on Amazon (paid link)
What owners say
Since most of these are not anvils I have run down myself, here is what smiths report on the forums, product by product, good and bad.
- VEVOR. Owner opinion is mixed but leans usable for the price. In a Garage Journal thread on whether the VEVOR is good or bad, smiths call it a reasonable place to begin and note it beat a Harbor Freight anvil in a comparison, while one is blunt that it is imported budget gear and another warns to double check you are ordering cast steel and not cast iron. Owners who bounce-test them report rebound in the 70 percent range, which squares with the maker's 50 HRC face. Treat quality as hit or miss and check yours on arrival.
- NC Tool Cavalry. Well regarded. The I Forge Iron review of the 112 pound Cavalry reports strong rebound, in the mid-90s percent over the body, and describes it as a do-everything anvil with more useful features than a plain London pattern. That matches its reputation as a safe first buy.
- NC Tool Knifemaker. Good steel, but the forums are candid about the weight. In a BladeForums thread on NC Tool anvils, owners call it an excellent anvil that simply lacks mass, note the heel is light for heavy work, and several advise saving up for something heavier if knives are a serious pursuit. Take that as the honest ceiling on a 70 pound anvil.
- RIDGID Model 9 / Peddinghaus. The forged Peddinghaus has the best reputation of the bunch. On I Forge Iron smiths call it the Rolls Royce of anvils for its one-piece forged construction, and a BladeForums rebound test measured a steel ball bouncing back better than 90 percent off the face. The one fair caveat is that a few owners have flagged quality drift on more recent production, so it is worth checking rebound on the one you receive.
If you want the broader beginner conversation, the I Forge Iron thread on the best anvil for a beginner covers the same ground I do: buy the best hard-faced anvil you can, avoid soft cast iron, and do not be afraid of a sound used one.
What I would tell a friend
Buy the NC Tool Cavalry if you can swing it. It is the right weight, it is real steel from a maker that backs it, and owners rate it as a do-everything first anvil. If the budget will not stretch, the cast steel VEVOR will get you forging without deadening every blow, as long as you buy the steel version and accept some luck of the draw. Skip the 70 pound Knifemaker unless knives are the whole point and weight is a hard limit. And if you would rather spend once and be done, the forged RIDGID Model 9 is the anvil you hand down.
Whatever you pick, do the two things that matter more than the badge: anchor it hard to a solid stand at knuckle height, and if you are ever checking a used anvil against one of these, bring a ball bearing. The bounce tells you more than the name on the side.