kdxken
ArboristSite Member
Love the wood but man talk about under pressure.
Dead Locust
- Thread starter kdxken
- Start date
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Good job. Great pictures.
msmith
ArboristSite Operative
The wood is definitely primo stuff for sure.
Nice pics and video!!! Looks like some good BTU's there!
kdxken
ArboristSite Member
Thanks for the comments. Here's a video of a couple tangled leaners . Spitting chunks as soon as tried the back cut, thought it best to hack 'em down with an axe. Got the blood pumping 
Nothing like cutting leaners.
Most of the time, when I talk about cutting locust for firewood people look at me like I have asparagus growing out of my ears. Around here most people pass it up (I just don't think most have ever tried it). I go out of my way to cut it and never turn it down.
I've poisoned or girdled hundreds of Honey Locusts this past year. I'll wait for them to die and drop their thorns. Only worth it because it makes great firewood.
msmith
ArboristSite Operative
The only dreaw back to blacklocust (don't know about Honey) is that it is a 'dirty' wood. drops trash every time youpick up a piece unless all the bark removed. I'll put up with at for it's great heating value.
HarryK
Oldman47
ArboristSite Guru
Do we know that honey locust does drop its thorns? If so, I have a few to girdle that I have been avoiding. I can get through the layers of thorns to get at the base with my saw well enough to girdle them. My thorns have thorns with thorns on them.
Red Elm
Ridgerunner
Yes it will drop its thorns, just take a garden rake or something like that to knock enough off to let you up to the trunk. Use an Axe to knock the thorns off around the trunk and girdle w the TOP of the chainsaw bar to throw any thorns you might hit away from you. A 1" deep cut should do it all the way around the tree. A little shot of Tordon RTU in the cut will keep the stump below the cut from suckering back. In 2-3 years most if not all of the thorns will be at the base of the tree, rake them up and burn them before cutting tree. If split and stacked right away, the firewood will often be ready to burn in a year or two. It is worth the effort and time.
Red Elm
Ridgerunner
Or you can try this,
locust thorns burning:
locust thorns burning:
My neighbors think I'm crazy to waste time on honey locust, what with hedge and mulberry on the place, but I grew up in MN burning nothing but Elm. No way in heck I'm going to waste GREAT firewood. Too much firewood is like too much money in the bank.
Oldman47
ArboristSite Guru
I like the Tordon idea and I actually have some that I used to stop sprouting on my mulberries. No way could I burn off thorns like that because of the location of my locusts too close to other trees.
wayyyyy more info needed..tree dead,,or not??? what lit with????
Red Elm
Ridgerunner
Hahaha, yeah I know these two lugnuts, both about 30ish and crazy as coon crap. The tree had been rung and Tordoned about a year, just built a fire out of feed sacks and let er go.
I myself wait until they drop off and rake into a pile and burn them. Those thorns have some oil either in them or on them so they will easily burn.
I try to be careful around the thorns as I've already had to have surgery on one finger over them, but I can't leave them alone entirely, too good of wood!!!
I myself wait until they drop off and rake into a pile and burn them. Those thorns have some oil either in them or on them so they will easily burn.
I try to be careful around the thorns as I've already had to have surgery on one finger over them, but I can't leave them alone entirely, too good of wood!!!
wonder?? does it leave all the bark black??? I dislike cutting burnt wood,,and have done it...
Red Elm
Ridgerunner
Oh, I'm sure it does.
I still cannot figure out how it is possible that locust can grow so fast and yet be as dense as oak and produce about the same heat content in BTU/Lb. It's also rather easy to split green and dries rather quickly for use as firewood. And, it has good rot resistance and is disease free. It's truly an amazing species with thornless and podless varieties available. You have to wonder why more of it isn't around or being harvested as a fuelwood.
