ThomD
>The problem with all these antique tools is there is always someone who got for free what you paid a fair price for. I probably wouldn't have paid that much, thoug I got my anvil for free, a rare score for me, so I will never know. Around here they are charging 3 dollars for proven anvils, so the prices can be high. There is a guy making some of the best blade-making anvils, and he only charges 300 bucks for them the are about 180 pounds. But shipping can cost as much.

I think the hardies are worth a bit, but most smiths can make their own, most these days are welded onto square stock, and there are some improved and somewhat fancy version for doing various things like drawing out.

I probably wouldn't grind down an anvil or weld onto it. You can scab on material to fill the divots, but the heat will draw the temper of any surrounding original material, unless you have a means to re-harden it which would be rare.