Wood ID: Hickory or Ash?

[bigealta]

Locust yes. It stinks when burnt and you can also tell by the way the chainsaw Chatters when cutting it up. Chips can be smaller and dustier than cutting other woods.

Locust: "Splits like Butter, Burns like Coal"

 

[Simonkenton]

I have had a few locust thorns jammed into my hand. Nearly went all the way through.
What's tricky is, it is the small locust that have the thorns. Once they get up to maybe inch diameter the thorns go away.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Surprise black locust hype!

View attachment 307442

"LET'S GO PENS!!"

Oh yeah, Black Locust for sure!

 

[Simonkenton]

My neighbors invited me over for a cookout. They had made a ring of rocks in the yard, and had a little fire of locust burning. They set a grill on the rocks, and they grilled big ribeye steaks over locust coals. Straight over the locust smoke, no frying pan. I thought this would be a disaster, because locust has a weird smell. To my surprise, the steak wasn't bad. Not as good as oak, but not bad.

 

[zmender]

My locust supplier told me of a customer in CT area who had a backyard wood fired pizza oven... he'd intentionally burn locust for his oven. I guess once the gas off is done, the charcoals burn very hot and neutral provides long, even heat, similar to other coal-fired pizza ovens in New Haven.

 

[Caw]

"LET'S GO PENS!!"

Oh yeah, Black Locust for sure!

If only I could change the gif to a Bruins sweater

 

[blades]

Around here black locust when freshly cut is yellow, Honey locust is kinda pinkish. Other than that, both being called locust, they are not in the same gene family. Ornamental Honey locust are hybreds to do away with the thorns, wild ones are a nightmare of thorns that will pierce just about anything either way great BTUs after apx 2-3 years of drying in split form.

 

[Eman85]

Around here black locust when freshly cut is yellow, Honey locust is kinda pinkish. Other than that, both being called locust, they are not in the same gene family. Ornamental Honey locust are hybreds to do away with the thorns, wild ones are a nightmare of thorns that will pierce just about anything either way great BTUs after apx 2-3 years of drying in split form.

It's the same around here and Locust tend to grow in bunches as they spread. I have a big pile of bright yellow Locust split and stacked. The thorns are really rough on tractor tires.

 

[Corey]

Around here, it is not so much the thorns 'going in' that hurt, but the 'coming out the other side!'

OP does look like black locust. Though other types with thinner bark, honey locust, etc.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Not an issue for me. I'm on a 3 year cycle so it'll have plenty of time. 👍

Thats definitely locust.. Its a dense wood.. similar to oak, if your on the 2 to 3 year cycle.. you'll fine..

 

[PA. Woodsman]

If only I could change the gif to a Bruins sweater

No, no, no, no NO!

You must've enjoyed the outdoor game last week when the Pens blew the game!

 

[Woody Stover]

I don't believe that locust is native to this area.
I live in Central MA and get my wood hyper locally from a tree guy. It's all from literally within 20 minutes of my house.

It looks like it's considered invasive in Massachusetts but it definitely exists here. I've seen very few in the wild in my woods. It must have been planted ornamentally.

In the Audubon Guide they don't show a very big range, but it was transplanted a lot, and spreads like a weed from its shoots.

Currently working up two large locust trees to build up my supply. When splitting it will have a distinctive smell. I did some full width quarter wide splits for end stacking - just an experiment. Color and appearance seem to match the log in question. ..

Around here black locust when freshly cut is yellow, Honey locust is kinda pinkish. Other than that, both being called locust, they are not in the same gene family. Ornamental Honey locust are hybreds to do away with the thorns, wild ones are a nightmare of thorns that will pierce just about anything either way great BTUs after apx 2-3 years of drying in split form.

At first, I thought Mulberry based on the bark, but not if it had those classic Locust compound leaves.. and in the pic the splits don't look yellow enough.
There was a dead Honeylocust at my buddy's but I haven't looked at it lately to see if the wood is still solid. BL won't rot, but I don't know about Honey...?

 

[gzecc]

Around here, it is not so much the thorns 'going in' that hurt, but the 'coming out the other side!'

OP does look like black locust. Though other types with thinner bark, honey locust, etc.

View attachment 307635

I've had a lot of BL. Never seen those thorns in NJ on anything.

 

[Vg3200p]

I think it's the honey locust that tend to have more thorns. At least around here.

 

[brenndatomu]

Before reading any replies I said "locust."

X2

Rethinking Black Locust - Ecological Landscape Alliance

by Dan Jaffe While there are about as many definitions of “invasive species” out there as there are definitions for “native species,” they all agree on a few basic principles:...

www.ecolandscaping.org

It looks like it's considered invasive in Massachusetts but it definitely exists here. I've seen very few in the wild in my woods. It must have been planted ornamentally.

Now that you know what it looks like you will start to notice it all over the place...it usually grows in groves and seems to like "brushy" places like right of ways and places like similar that can just kinda "grow wild"

 

[brenndatomu]

They can even have thorns inside!

 

[Vg3200p]

@brenndatomu ouch that would be a nasty surprise if you didn't look before picking that up

 

[Kevin Weis]

Around here, it is not so much the thorns 'going in' that hurt, but the 'coming out the other side!'

OP does look like black locust. Though other types with thinner bark, honey locust, etc.

View attachment 307635

Yeah, that Honey Locust is nasty! Lots of it on my neighbors where I cut. Lot softer wood than Black Locust so not worth the hassle of dealing with 6" thorns for me.

 

[Stinkpickle]

The bark on that second pic screams black locust.

 

[Stinkpickle]

Yeah, that Honey Locust is nasty! Lots of it on my neighbors where I cut. Lot softer wood than Black Locust so not worth the hassle of dealing with 6" thorns for me.

And bugs LOVE honey locust. I have to season it three years, and it’s plenty aerated by then.

 

[Stinkpickle]

They can even have thorns inside!

That’s why I only buy locust from poor saps who have already sacrificed their hands and truck tires.

 

[Woody Stover]

And bugs LOVE honey locust. I have to season it three years, and it’s plenty aerated by then.

Hmmm, I'll see what's going on with that dead HL at my buddy's place, but you're not giving me a lot of hope for it.. 😟

 

[hickoryhoarder]

I'm seeing locust.

 

[Stove Cricket]

I was down the hill today working on splitting wood. Snapped a picture of a seed pod and the bark from the twin trunk of a “BL” I am working on. The west side of the tree has identifiable bark, the north side is lichened and mossed up. Tons of the shorter BL style seed pods on the ground. (This seed pod on a piece of WO).