Reading osage bark

[Aaron H]

Great info here Clint, thank you for posting this.

[Carson (CMB)]

That is some great info Clint. Thanks for taking the time to share it.

[rps3]

Very educational. I cant wait to see what that snakey looking one turns out.

[Sidewinder]

Great info Clint. I too have an abundance of osage around but for the guys that either don't or don't know what to look for this is invaluable info. I am highly intriqued by the snakey one. Can't wait to see what it produces.

I was recently walking some creek bottoms with a guy that has some land and found one that was so straight it looks like a telephone pole. Seriously. It was second growth and propped up by two older ash trees. If it weren't such a pain in the rear to re figure out how to post pics I would post it.

Danny

[osage outlaw]

If you text or email me the picture I'll post it for you

[osage outlaw]

Here is Sidewinders tree.  It looks like it will yield some very nice staves.  The bark looks like it is running straight.  To me the bark on this tree looks young.  I would bet it has some thick rings. 

[PaulN/KS]

Oh My!!! That is a nice looking tree. And it appears to be gift wrapped too... 

[chamookman]

Wow ! I don't think I've ever seen one that straight. Bob

[Springbuck]

Thanks for posting interesting stuff.
The bad thing is I CANNOT FIND OSAGE TREES HERE IN GERMANY

Hey, don't feel bad, I can't get it in Utah, either.  I've seen some, but it was huge, growing in a park in the next big town, and so, unaccessible.

[Sidewinder]

It would probably make some of you guys sick if you knew how much of it we burn for heat.Lots of BTU's.  None of it bow stave material though, not at least at my house or those of my friends that know what I look for. It is also an excellent wood for cooking over the fire and smoking meat. Has a very nice aroma and flavor. One of my favorite combos is Osage orange and mulberry. Very tasty indeed.

Most people around here call it hedge. Oklahoma they call it Bodark. Its mostly knarly

[osage outlaw]

Very true Sidewinder.  Hedge fire wood heated our house for 20 years when I was young.  Hard telling how many bows Dad sent up the chimney.  It sure likes to crackle and pop.  It was like a mini fireworks display in our living room sometimes when he was stoking the fire.   

[osage outlaw]

Here is some pictures of second growth osage.  Often when a tree is cut down or falls over new growth sprouts up from the stump or trunk.  The second growth usually has thick rings.






This is what I call young looking bark.  Trees that look like this usually have average to thick rings.








This is what I call old bark.  These trees are slow growing and usually have the darker orange colored wood and very thin rings.  One thing I noticed is instead of long vertical runs of bark with deep grooves like the trees above, the bark on these trees are flatter and broken into segments a couple inches long.

[H Rhodes]

This is really good information Clint.  I wish that I could have seen something like this years ago when I first started cutting osage. 

[Sidewinder]

Clint   
We have an outdoor wood furnace that heats water thats pumped into the house and a heat exchanger hooked up to a force air system. This has eliminated the draw back of popping hedge and creosote build up.
Have you noticed a difference in the bark pattern on male vs female trees? I too have seen the different barks you are showing but have not understood the differences. I've also wondered if maybe it was an environmental thing or a subspecies. Have you seen the thornless ones. They are few and far between but they are out there. I wonder if their bark looks any different. I am going to pay more attention after this topic. Its stimulated my curiousity.

[osage outlaw]

I've never paid much attention to male or female or looked for a thornless tree.  It seems like the trees on my place are divided in different areas.  Most of the trees with the older looking bark are in one valley. 

There are osage trees growing in the valley where I work and they are the short scrubby variety.  I've looked at quite a few and haven't seen a single tree that would be good for bows.   Its strange how much of a difference there is between osage trees from different areas.