He was a friend and confidant of magician and inventor Robert Harbin, and inherited many of Harbin's props after his death in 1978. Shaxon continued to perform a number of Harbin's illusions, including the "Blades of Opah II". Shaxon's signature effects included The Hydrostatic Glass, Confabulation, Thumb Tie, Aerial Fishing and the Human Gasometer.[citation needed]