Photos RIXFORD

[Miller '72]

I may be wrong...but i could not find a Rixford thread.
If there is, please share and we can grow it and not start here again...

However, if this is the one...lets put them here and share.

One of my favorite New England axes


1940
R 40 Rixford
28" Green Arrow haft

 

[Glenn Bailey]

I may be wrong...but i could not find a Rixford thread.
If there is, please share and we can grow it and not start here again...

However, if this is the one...lets put them here and share.

One of my favorite New England axes


1940
R 40 Rixford
28" Green Arrow haft

Beautiful Axe! Love the pattern!!

 

[Miller '72]

Beautiful Axe! Love the pattern!!

Thank you Glenn
Its a favorite!

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I have a Rixford catalog and a number of new old stock scythe blades. Would have to dig them out of storage to photograph them, but I've posted the catalog before.

 

[FLINT77]

I've got a couple Rixfords.

here is a 3 1/2 lb double bit




and a 3 1/2 lb connecticut



its the one in the middle

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I've seen an old gazette article where the author used them as an example of a name that was synonymous with quality, saying that everyone knows the trustworthiness of "a Rixford axe or a Maydole hammer". My own experience with Rixford scythes is that while they certainly turned out some very nice blades, their build quality on the whole tended to be towards the heavy end of the spectrum and/or have high variability in their form when I've gotten my hands on bundles of new old stock blades that were all the same model. I consider them solid blades but definitely of lesser quality than, say, David Wadsworth & Son, which is my current favorite maker overall when viewing the whole of their production over their history of operation.

 

[Miller '72]

I've seen an old gazette article where the author used them as an example of a name that was synonymous with quality, saying that everyone knows the trustworthiness of "a Rixford axe or a Maydole hammer". My own experience with Rixford scythes is that while they certainly turned out some very nice blades, their build quality on the whole tended to be towards the heavy end of the spectrum and/or have high variability in their form when I've gotten my hands on bundles of new old stock blades that were all the same model. I consider them solid blades but definitely of lesser quality than, say, David Wadsworth & Son, which is my current favorite maker overall when viewing the whole of their production over their history of operation.

The representation and your experience do make good points individually and cause me to ask...does the flood of 1927 now effect the quality of some tools over others in the post flood recovery? To say...spend the time on these tools, but just get these out the door. If, thats to assume, the quality of scythe blades was better and more consistent during the years prior to '27.
Anyway...raises good points, good questions and maybe some good old new Rixford information will come to light.
Thanks FortyTwoBlades ! Got my brain started today

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I don't think there was a huge difference overall. The steel and heat treatment on them was always good, but there are few Rixford blades I've come across that I'd call "highly refined in form". Most show a lot of artifacts of the forging process, and I'm not especially fond of the way that many of them transition from tang to rib and from rib to toe.

 

[Dusty One]

Great looking axe !

 

[Miller '72]

I don't think there was a huge difference overall. The steel and heat treatment on them was always good, but there are few Rixford blades I've come across that I'd call "highly refined in form". Most show a lot of artifacts of the forging process, and I'm not especially fond of the way that many of them transition from tang to rib and from rib to toe.

Ok, you got me. I need a rixford blade now.

Thank you FortyTwoBlades
I dont know much but i do love their axes!

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I'd say they're very similar to Emerson & Stevens overall.

 

[crbnSteeladdict]

Kentucky Rixford (unusual; straight but slightly wavy haft)
It is stashed deep in the basement so , sorry no current pics

 

[Miller '72]

Kentucky Rixford (unusual; straight but slightly wavy haft)
It is stashed deep in the basement so , sorry no current pics

What a great haul!

What year is the Rixford Kentucky?

That saw is gorgeous

 

[crbnSteeladdict]

What a great haul!

What year is the Rixford Kentucky?

That saw is gorgeous

I am sorry, one day I will dig out from underneath of other axes and be able to answer your question. The thing I remember was that all the axes and hatchet from that estate sale were in actual working condition what is very unusual in NJ. For some reason I thought it was R. King. One can feel the quality of the axe. I detest straight handles but this one has some tiny curves: maybe at one point of time it actually had fawns foot that was chopped of ( if I am correct the current length is around 36" so not much room for imaginary fawns foot). The thing about New England handles is they can defy usual patterns.

 

[Glenn Bailey]

I’m happy you started this thread Miller! I have a Rixford mystery and an axe to go with it.

The axe is a beautiful 3 ½ pound wedge pattern (with chips in the bit, but I don’t care too much about that). The two stamps are “Rixford Mfg...<fade>” and the weight, “3 ½”. What’s most remarkable to me about the weight stamp is that it’s on the poll. I’ve never seen another like it. In fact, I wondered if it was a fake for a while. Then one day I was flipping through the 1887 Rixford catalog, and surprise! The illustrations of the axes in the catalog have a weight draw on the poll. My first clue.

It got me wondering about the date of the axe. Here are the parts to the puzzle (and some very puzzling parts) I have so far.

• While the company started in 1812, for this purpose, I’m really only interested in its life as an axe manufacturer, which started in 1880 in VT. At that time it was the O. S. Rixford Manufacturing Co. run by Oscar S. Rixford.
  
  
• In Tom Lamond’s book ‘Axe Manufacturers & Purveyors of Northern New England’, he states that in 1896 the name changed to Rixford Manufacturing Co.
  
  
• Then in 1900 the company was incorporated under the name Rixford Manufacturing Co, and Oscar H. Rixford became president.
  
  
• Finishing this thread, Oscar A. Rixford became president in 1926. Anything after this is irrelevant to this mystery.

I’ll also stick in here that the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers from 1905 gives the name Rixford Mfg co and the Hendricks' Commercial Register of the United States from 1916 gives the name Rixford Mfg co.

So based on the above, I would be dating this axe from 1896 to whenever they stopped stamping the poll with the weight. The 1923 Rixford catalog has illustrations of axes without weights on the poll, so I’ll put a pin on that date. So somewhere between 1896 and 1923. But there’s more.

A few years ago I spent some time digging through the Rixford Archives at the University of Vermont and took some pictures of documents I thought were interesting. Here is where things get puzzling.

• A document dated ‘187_’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- makes sense
  
  
• Documents dated ‘1881’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- makes sense
  
  
• A document dated ‘1890’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- makes sense (also a pic having the weight poll stamp)
  
  
• A document dated ‘Nov 1900’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- this is 4 years after the changed to Rixford mfg co
  
  
• A document dated ‘May 1902’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- this is 6 years after the changed to Rixford Mfg co and two years after being incorporated!
  
  
• A document dated ‘Oct 30 1902’ has the heading Rixford Mfg co- OK, making sense again
  
  
• A document dated ‘Nov 1902’ has the heading Rixford Mfg co, but it’s crossed out to read O.S. Rixford, really messed up, right?!
  
  
• Documents dated up until ‘1907’ have the heading Rixford Mfg co, but it’s crossed out to read O.S. Rixford, 5 years after they started printing Rixford Mfg co, they are still crossing it out to read O.S. Rixford?!

So they were using O.S. Rixford stationary 6 years after the suggested change of names, finally printed Rixford Mfg co stationary in 1902, but crossed the name out to write O.S. Rixford for at least another 5 years. I don’t know what, if anything, the means regarding what they would have been stamping their axes with, but it’s hurting, not helping, me date my axe.

Does anyone have any information, specifically around this time period, that might help (OK, even if it hurts)?

 

[crbnSteeladdict]

I’m happy you started this thread Miller! I have a Rixford mystery and an axe to go with it.

The axe is a beautiful 3 ½ pound Maine wedge pattern (with chips in the bit, but I don’t care too much about that). The two stamps are “Rixford Mfg...<fade>” and the weight, “3 ½”. What’s most remarkable to me about the weight stamp is that it’s on the poll. I’ve never seen another like it. In fact, I wondered if it was a fake for a while. Then one day I was flipping through the 1887 Rixford catalog, and surprise! The illustrations of the axes in the catalog have a weight draw on the poll. My first clue.

It got me wondering about the date of the axe. Here are the parts to the puzzle (and some very puzzling parts) I have so far.

• While the company started in 1812, for this purpose, I’m really only interested in its life as an axe manufacturer, which started in 1880 in VT. At that time it was the O. S. Rixford Manufacturing Co. run by Oscar S. Rixford.
  
  
• In Tom Lamond’s book ‘Axe Manufacturers & Purveyors of Northern New England’, he states that in 1896 the name changed to Rixford Manufacturing Co.
  
  
• Then in 1900 the company was incorporated under the name Rixford Manufacturing Co, and Oscar H. Rixford became president.
  
  
• Finishing this thread, Oscar A. Rixford became president in 1926. Anything after this is irrelevant to this mystery.

I’ll also stick in here that the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers from 1905 gives the name Rixford Mfg co and the Hendricks' Commercial Register of the United States from 1916 gives the name Rixford Mfg co.

So based on the above, I would be dating this axe from 1896 to whenever they stopped stamping the poll with the weight. The 1923 Rixford catalog has illustrations of axes without weights on the poll, so I’ll put a pin on that date. So somewhere between 1896 and 1923. But there’s more.

A few years ago I spent some time digging through the Rixford Archives at the University of Vermont and took some pictures of documents I thought were interesting. Here is where things get puzzling.

• A document dated ‘187_’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- makes sense
  
  
• Documents dated ‘1881’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- makes sense
  
  
• A document dated ‘1890’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- makes sense (also a pic having the weight poll stamp)
  
  
• A document dated ‘Nov 1900’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- this is 4 years after the changed to Rixford mfg co
  
  
• A document dated ‘May 1902’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- this is 6 years after the changed to Rixford Mfg co and two years after being incorporated!
  
  
• A document dated ‘Oct 30 1902’ has the heading Rixford Mfg co- OK, making sense again
  
  
• A document dated ‘Nov 1902’ has the heading Rixford Mfg co, but it’s crossed out to read O.S. Rixford, really messed up, right?!
  
  
• Documents dated up until ‘1907’ have the heading Rixford Mfg co, but it’s crossed out to read O.S. Rixford, 5 years after they started printing Rixford Mfg co, they are still crossing it out to read O.S. Rixford?!

So they were using O.S. Rixford stationary 6 years after the suggested change of names, finally printed Rixford Mfg co stationary in 1902, but crossed the name out to write O.S. Rixford for at least another 5 years. I don’t know what, if anything, the means regarding what they would have been stamping their axes with, but it’s hurting, not helping, me date my axe.

Does anyone have any information, specifically around this time period, that might help (OK, even if it hurts)?

Glen, thanks for going so deep in your research about Rixfords. I can sense the deep passion you have for them. Steve Tall where are you!!!???? Buddy, we need you

 

[Glenn Bailey]

Glen, thanks for going so deep in your research about Rixfords. I can sense the deep passion you have for them. Steve Tall where are you!!!???? Buddy, we need you

Steve Tall is missed just about every day here.

And thanks, I am passionate (thanks for phasing that positively) about learning the history of my home state and it's industry. OK, mostly axes. OK, axes. And other things, but mostly axes.

 

[Glenn Bailey]

Prompted from a question from YankeeJosh on Instagram (can I say that here?), here are the 6 (or 3) wedge patterns from the 1887 Rixford catalog.

 

[Miller '72]

Prompted from a question from YankeeJosh on Instagram (can I say that here?), here are the 6 (or 3) wedge patterns from the 1887 Rixford catalog.

Are three of these under scrutiny for being legitimate wedge patterns? Or duplicate patterns, different names?

 

[Miller '72]

I’m happy you started this thread Miller! I have a Rixford mystery and an axe to go with it.

The axe is a beautiful 3 ½ pound Maine wedge pattern (with chips in the bit, but I don’t care too much about that). The two stamps are “Rixford Mfg...<fade>” and the weight, “3 ½”. What’s most remarkable to me about the weight stamp is that it’s on the poll. I’ve never seen another like it. In fact, I wondered if it was a fake for a while. Then one day I was flipping through the 1887 Rixford catalog, and surprise! The illustrations of the axes in the catalog have a weight draw on the poll. My first clue.

It got me wondering about the date of the axe. Here are the parts to the puzzle (and some very puzzling parts) I have so far.

• While the company started in 1812, for this purpose, I’m really only interested in its life as an axe manufacturer, which started in 1880 in VT. At that time it was the O. S. Rixford Manufacturing Co. run by Oscar S. Rixford.
  
  
• In Tom Lamond’s book ‘Axe Manufacturers & Purveyors of Northern New England’, he states that in 1896 the name changed to Rixford Manufacturing Co.
  
  
• Then in 1900 the company was incorporated under the name Rixford Manufacturing Co, and Oscar H. Rixford became president.
  
  
• Finishing this thread, Oscar A. Rixford became president in 1926. Anything after this is irrelevant to this mystery.

I’ll also stick in here that the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers from 1905 gives the name Rixford Mfg co and the Hendricks' Commercial Register of the United States from 1916 gives the name Rixford Mfg co.

So based on the above, I would be dating this axe from 1896 to whenever they stopped stamping the poll with the weight. The 1923 Rixford catalog has illustrations of axes without weights on the poll, so I’ll put a pin on that date. So somewhere between 1896 and 1923. But there’s more.

A few years ago I spent some time digging through the Rixford Archives at the University of Vermont and took some pictures of documents I thought were interesting. Here is where things get puzzling.

• A document dated ‘187_’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- makes sense
  
  
• Documents dated ‘1881’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- makes sense
  
  
• A document dated ‘1890’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- makes sense (also a pic having the weight poll stamp)
  
  
• A document dated ‘Nov 1900’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- this is 4 years after the changed to Rixford mfg co
  
  
• A document dated ‘May 1902’ has the heading O.S. Rixford- this is 6 years after the changed to Rixford Mfg co and two years after being incorporated!
  
  
• A document dated ‘Oct 30 1902’ has the heading Rixford Mfg co- OK, making sense again
  
  
• A document dated ‘Nov 1902’ has the heading Rixford Mfg co, but it’s crossed out to read O.S. Rixford, really messed up, right?!
  
  
• Documents dated up until ‘1907’ have the heading Rixford Mfg co, but it’s crossed out to read O.S. Rixford, 5 years after they started printing Rixford Mfg co, they are still crossing it out to read O.S. Rixford?!

So they were using O.S. Rixford stationary 6 years after the suggested change of names, finally printed Rixford Mfg co stationary in 1902, but crossed the name out to write O.S. Rixford for at least another 5 years. I don’t know what, if anything, the means regarding what they would have been stamping their axes with, but it’s hurting, not helping, me date my axe.

Does anyone have any information, specifically around this time period, that might help (OK, even if it hurts)?

Now we are talking some good old new england secrets, hand shake deals and odd axe lore!

I do not have any information sadly to add.

I will say that perhaps over at Rixford they were not ready to let go and there was some leniency given for this period of time.
Was it one cantankerous office staffers paper work you got ahold of that was maybe related to family or top executives and untouchable?
Could it have been a leniency given between two top decison makers for ole time sake after they became incorporated and then ended when the agreement decided upon came to its end date.
Or, if the case was a verbal bond, what i would tend to think, is that one of the agreement makers ended their tenure and so ended the leniency of a verbal bond, old habits and traditions.

What if it was just one staffers denial of change? Good Old Puritan New England Fear of Change