Bought a 1910 anvil in Ohio, now I'm split on leaving it original

Picked up a Fisher anvil from a barn near Dayton for $400, it has 120 years of dings and a swayed face that makes flat work a pain. Some say grind it true and lose the history, others say keep it as-is and use a top plate, which side are you on?

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the_david24d ago

Ever seen what a hundred years of hammer blows does to a face? I have a 1905 Trenton that came out of a blacksmith shop in Indiana, and the sway in the middle was so deep a marble would roll right off it. I ended up keeping it original and just working around the dip for light stuff, then using a block of mild steel as a flat pad when I needed true. I figure the dents are the story of every guy who swung a hammer on it before me, and I would rather grab a different tool than erase all that. Grinding it flat just makes it a new anvil with an old body, and you can never put the years back on.

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