Description
Axes, both single and double-bitted, were used by loggers into the late 19th century to fell trees. The Rixford Manufacturing Company, founded in 1837, manufactured axes in Vermont and Quebec from 1880 until its closure in the mid-1950s. The company’s records are housed in UVM’s Special Collections.
The gasoline-powered chainsaw, invented in the late 1920s, largely replaced the use of crosscut hand saws in the logging and wood products industries. Chainsaws are also commonly used by homeowners to trim, cut down and process trees for noncommercial purposes, such as firewood, landscaping and aesthetics.
Creator
Axe: Rixford Manufacturing Company, E. Highgate, VT; Chainsaw: ECHO Incorporated, Lake Zurich, IL
Source
Axe: Collection of Canaan Historical Society, donated by Alan Hughes; Chainsaw: Chimney Savers, Inc., Randolph VT