John--

I'm certainly not the authority on it, but, in my 35 years of clawhammer playing, I have never seen anyone play old-time banjo with an anchor. I thought I would never break the anchor habit when, after several years as a bluegrass and melodic picker, I decided to learn clawhammer also, but the difference the free right hand makes in the clawhammer playing is worth the trouble. I still play all styles and enjoy them all, but clawhammer is my favorite (probably due to my having grown up in the Appalachians, which gave me an early exposure to that style).

Bill