benc53•1mo ago

That $80 hot cut hardie I bought off a guy on Facebook Marketplace

I figured a used tool is a used tool, how bad could it be? Well, it showed up with a chip in the edge and the temper was totally gone. I spent 3 hours trying to grind and re-harden it in my propane forge, but it never held an edge right. Ended up just buying a new one from a proper supplier for $120 and it cut like butter on day one. Anyone else get burned by a secondhand tool that looked fine in photos?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_charles1mo ago

Man, that reminds me of this anvil I picked up at a farm auction back in '09... looked perfect in the pictures, had that nice ring to it in the video they posted. Got it home and realized the face was delaminating on one side, probably from some guy welding on it without any prep work. I tried to save it with a hardfacing rod and a lot of patience, but it just kept chipping off every time I hit it half decent. Ended up using it as a doorstop in the shop for two years before I finally hauled it to the scrapyard for like 30 bucks. I swear the photos online make everything look ten times better than it really is, especially with older tools that have hidden damage.

terry_lewis211mo ago

Read an article a few years back about how some guys would take an old anvil that was wrecked, grind down the face, and then epoxy a steel plate on top of it. They'd sell 'em at flea markets and online and make a killing until the buyer used it and the plate popped off (which always happened). Makes you wonder how many of those "great deals" on vintage tools are just somebody's failed repair job dressed up for a photo.