FYI, even the heavy lugging of an AG tire is not deep enough to drive over honey locust thorns on the ground. When, if, I end up cutting honey locust I will be doing it on foot and removing the rounds by hand. I can't afford the tire replacements otherwise.
The one I cut had thorns but it was on the younger saplings growing out of the base of the tree (probably the thornless since I didnt see them elsewhere). When I made the mistake of grabbing one, the thorn jabbed my index and within minutes it swells up to just fill my glove. I wasn't in pain but the swelling of that speed lead me to believe there is a mild poison or the like that can spur that? Im hearing that the larger thorns are just brushed away easily and then a match is set to them.
Those thorns will go through boots, tires, cattle hooves.. Just about anything. We've taken to girdling them and letting them just rot standing.
Makes pea like pods up to 14" long. Deer eat them when food gets scarce in hard winters. It is a member of the pea family as is black locust and Kentucky coffee tree
I've girdled a few and the thorns start falling off at about the 2 year mark. I just take my time with them and clean up as I go. " Clean as you go just like a pro" Also I've read some where early Americans used the thorns as nails
They're a deterrent for deer hunters with climbing stands.. Lol.. And I ain't seen a tree hugger latched on to one yet.
Cut a circle about 1.5 - 2" deep all the way around the base. The heartwood will keep it standing for a few years.
I've cut several over the years, maybe 18, and never found them to be too objectionable to deal with. I just run the bar up and down the tree, not running, and the thorn clusters come right off. You do have to watch your hands and feet; those spikes will penatrate the armor on an M-1 A1 tank. They are not poison. The spikes are very brittle and if you get jabbed by one most likely the tip will break off under the skin. It then, almost instantly, starts to get infected. The sharp tip, if not removed will work deeper into the skin and get really painful. It makes great firewood and if you mill or are an artistic woodworker it makes some of the most beautiful and very durable flooring, future, bowels and other such projects.
Little bit of what I have so I know what you mean. Unfortunately I don't know a sawyer or anyone with a small enough bandsaw that can cut this to small sections. Might just have to do it really carefully myself and do it slow.
Welcome to the hoarders BGH. I have a little hawthorn on my place but I don't remember it having branched thorns like a honey locust does. For me it is a tree I just see around my 1 acre +/- pond. My impression, and I am no expert, was that they had simple thorns and not too many of them. When I google it I come up with this picture.
Was splitting a 30 inch round of honey locust and this heart wood separated out. The tree had enveloped the thorns and there was no sign of them on the bark. This particular tree had almost no thorns. I saved a few pieces because it was interesting to me.
I've seen this happen many times when splitting honey locust. it seems the tree cant even stand up to its own thorns. one got me 2 nights ago. it was inside a split that had been seasoned one year. I grabbed the split and the thorn on the back side of the firewood, inside the split. poked thru my leather glove and the tip broke off in my skin. its not the first time either. its good firewood, and the smoke has a nice sweet smell, but it seems to require 2 years of seasoning.
