River Axes

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Jun 1, 2017
Messages
241
First, yes, in the eyes of a rational person, I might have a problem.

About a month ago I spent some time on the shore of the Missisquoi river in Highgate, Vermont. Specifically, on the edge of the old Rixford plant (the foundation still exists). The water was low, and I poked around the edges of the river and pulled out 6 axes! There's tons of 'it was amazing to be there' and 'I got to visit the grave site where all 5 generations of Rixfords are buried' and 'picked up some Rixford scythes a few miles from the old plant" stories, but this is about cleaning up axes found in a river.

I have a picture of 'as found' below. I've done some cleaning since, and will share more pics, but I'm curious about people's tips/tricks cleaning these beasts. BTW, only one of the six is close to being usable as an axe. I've started plans to maybe split one or two in half and make kitchen choppers with the 3-4 inches of the blade.

ZZd8vjD.jpg



This is a photo(ish) of the old plant
BQ5EXEO.jpg



This is me standing on the bridge in the old photo(ish) 2020.
nBndN77.jpg
 
Last edited:
First, yes, in the eyes of a rational person, I might have a problem.

About a month ago I spent some time on the shore of the Missisquoi river in Highgate, Vermont. Specifically, on the edge of the old Rixford plant (the foundation still exists). The water was low, and I poked around the edges of the river and pulled out 6 axes! There's tons of 'it was amazing to be there' and 'I got to visit the grave site where all 5 generations of Rixfords are buried' and 'picked up some Rixford scythes few miles from the old plant" stories, but this is about cleaning up axes found in a river.

I have a picture of 'as found' below. I've done some cleaning since, and will share more pics, but I'm curious about people's tips/tricks cleaning these beasts. BTW, only one of the six is close to being usable as an axe. I've started plans to maybe split one or to in half and make kitchen choppers with the 3-4 inches of the blade.

ZZd8vjD.jpg



This is a photo(ish) of the old plant
BQ5EXEO.jpg



This is me standing on the bridge in the old photo(ish) 2020.
nBndN77.jpg
How very exciting!!! Great finds!
 
That's so cool Glenn! Good for you man. When I saw "river axes" I didn't know what to expect! I was thinking to myself "a Hudson Bay?, old trade axe?" . Little did I expect actual axes found in the river!
Great save on those long forgotten about axes. Almost forgotten!
Great conversation pieces.
That gives me an idea of a place not far away that I would like some relics from...
 
Thanks everyone, it was a long time coming (the trip) and it did not disappoint.

"Where did you find the old photograph of the Rixford Plant?" It's a photo that floats around. It was part of their stationary and in their catalogs. I might have downloaded from a post card auction, but I don't remember specifically.

Thanks again everyone, the trip was amazing (to be fair, it's less than a 2 hour drive from my house, but with three kids under 5, that's a big deal). But...what I really was going for was ideas on cleaning axes stuck in a river for 60-120 years. So, here is what I did.

First, I put them back in water (like a fish?). Note, this was all based on what made sense to me (which is often wrong), but I didn't have a blueprint to work with. Soak for a day to loosen the sediment. Then hit them with...a screw driver. That stuff was thick! Then vinegar soak. That might have been mostly useless at that point because I had very little exposure to the medal. Small wire brush next. Useless. Dry. Then, the angle grinder wire wheel. For the first time, that got me somewhere. But also, I didn't regret any of the other steps, because this stuff stank horrible!! I saved my angle grinder, and wheel, by doing the 'by hand' steps first. Honestly, this river/dead fish stuff was soo horrible stinky.

Next step, let them rust some more in the shed for 3 weeks cause I don't have time, and apparently all stores are out of vinegar, because vinegar is the new toilet paper in the covid world.

Brings us to today! More vinegar, small wire brush, mineral oil scrub, and here is the line up:

Vvf0zMT.jpg


Coolest looking, and most likely to scare:

NfhCc2i.jpg


Most likely to be actually used:
SQZ5dp5.jpg
 
More on the trip. I didn't expect to actually find axes, but I do know it's not uncommon to find grinding wheels on these locations. At least fragments. Mostly I found piles and piles of bricks in the river. And many piles of broken grinding stones. And this guy

3qAtQ3j.jpg


I spent abbot 20 minutes digging around the surface trying to free it. No luck. I realized it must have weighted 120-170 pounds, I was alone and my car was a half mile walk away. Reluctantly, I gave up.
 
First, yes, in the eyes of a rational person, I might have a problem.

About a month ago I spent some time on the shore of the Missisquoi river in Highgate, Vermont. Specifically, on the edge of the old Rixford plant (the foundation still exists). The water was low, and I poked around the edges of the river and pulled out 6 axes! There's tons of 'it was amazing to be there' and 'I got to visit the grave site where all 5 generations of Rixfords are buried' and 'picked up some Rixford scythes a few miles from the old plant" stories, but this is about cleaning up axes found in a river.

I have a picture of 'as found' below. I've done some cleaning since, and will share more pics, but I'm curious about people's tips/tricks cleaning these beasts. BTW, only one of the six is close to being usable as an axe. I've started plans to maybe split one or two in half and make kitchen choppers with the 3-4 inches of the blade.

ZZd8vjD.jpg



This is a photo(ish) of the old plant
BQ5EXEO.jpg



This is me standing on the bridge in the old photo(ish) 2020.
nBndN77.jpg

Trying to get my head around the awesomeness of your visit to the plant! What a pro move! Great score.
 
Glenn

Like the man said...
Trying to get my head around the awesomeness of your visit to the plant! What a pro move! Great score.

Oh man!!
What a great adventure and discovery trip, definitely a pro move!
Any spelunking for the next trip out?
3 children under 5...what did you do or say to even get out of the house let alone go anywhere 2 hours from home on a non-related work or family need?
Thats amazing all by itself!

I am so jelly, i must know your secret of axe & family zen balance.
All i want to do is hit the local flea markets when they come back lol!
 
Thanks! This was the longest (half day) non-work trip I've taken without the family in those 5 years, so I don't ask for much. And it's really a trip about Vermont history of which my wife appreciates. Also, my wife is very kind.

It was pretty amazing.
 
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