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One of the biggest challenges facing the aspiring blacksmith is procuring the tools of the trade ... like its lack of a hardy hole and the fact that the face isn’t hardened.

That hole is called the hardy hole. It is the place into which specialized forming and cutting tools are put. Some anvils have a step (sometimes called a table) ...

A hardy is a square-shouldered tool that fits into the hardy hole in the face of the anvil. Hot metal is laid across the hardy and struck with a hammer. As the hot metal is driven over the hardy ...