Otto's Legacy... an anvil finds me

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A blacksmith once told me that a smith doesn’t find an anvil, the anvil finds the smith.

As I began getting more serious about forging I quickly realized that my 55lb Chinese anvil was simply not going to get the job done.  I was telling my boss, Patrick Pooser, about my dilemma and about the cost of a really good new one.  Patrick said, “You know, I have my grandfather’s old anvil sitting in my garage”.   Very quickly, I said, “Do you like knives?” 

Patrick was initially hesitant to even discuss the possibility of selling the anvil because it was a tangible part of his family history.  His grandfather, Otto, had used the anvil on the farm and Patrick had memories of watching him forge items on it.  However, with time and further consideration we arrived at a deal.  I gave him a Bowie Knife and we agreed that he would come and forge a second knife on Otto’s anvil and then I would finish it for him. 

The deal is now done. I have Otto’s anvil and Patrick has the knife he forged himself on his grandfather’s anvil as a tangible piece of Otto’s legacy.