Black Gold

[BowEd]

Great score Clint!!!!! A few smaller dead ones stand here too and they are almost black and hard as a rock.
An old fella was making a pond on his property and was talking about it in the cafe.He wanted to put fish in it of course.For structure for the fish he said he was putting in hedge posts before it filled up with water.When asked how long he thought those posts would last he said OOOOOOOhhhh maybe about 50 years and then they'll turn into iron.Got a kick out of that.....lol.

[Badly Bent]

I made my first dozen bows from osage fence post that had been in the ground for 65 years according to the farmer who pulled up the fence. It WAS like carving iron but those bows still survive some 17 years later in spite of my greenhorn bow making skills at the start. Looking forward to seeing what you create out of those staves Clint. Get out your ben gay brother, if its anything like the fence post it'll make your muscles ache while drawknifing.

[bubby]

Your the king Clint nice wood!!

[Josh B]

If you get any skinny pieces, don't forget your ol buddy in KS!   I'm more than happy to go through your bargain pile at the classic!   Josh

[Selfbowman]

Clint I noticed the early rings being as big if not bigger than the late rings. So I see what you are talking about . Be curious what kind of shooter you get.  I have not seen a lot of osage with the early that big. Good luck with it. Arvin

[osage outlaw]

Sorry Josh.  I think these staves are going in my personal stash.

Arvin, the ring ratio isn't as bad as it looks in that picture.  Once I split them and got a closer look at them I thought they had decent rings.

[crooketarrow]

  SWEETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

  Thats a awsome logs.  I use to have a freind in KS. He pulled out a Osage cornner post his granddad put it in place 103 years before. Got 6 staves one did'nt make it.

  He said lot work, theres a hole pile of Osage post over in the ploe shed. It was 26 poles all dead straight and any where aroud 70 to 80 years no one knew. 168 staves. He sold me them all for $ 10.00 a log.

  Theres a few others behind the shed but they've been there my whole life. His dad said same your granddad cut and put them there. But those ones on the grounds rotted I'm sure.

   18 Logs 12 to 15 inch corner post logs. All just like yours black, I guess KS. as no wood boarers. Every stave did'nt have any boars holes.

  He let me have those to take he was sure they were fire wood. He was wrong. 116 Staves.

  All of those staves either I built bows from them or sold them.. That was 18 years ago I sold the last 3 years ago.

[wizardgoat]

Your a lucky man Clint. I'm working on a few dead standing yew staves.
I hope they are as good as dead Osage seems to be

[osage outlaw]

Good luck with the dead yew.  I'm curious to see how they turn out for you. 

[Sidewinder]

Good for you Clint. I bet that stuff is hard as iron. Should be cool to see what you come up with. Needless to say its not gonna take much sitting beofre you can work it.

Crookitarrow yeah we got borers in Kansas. left alone they will destroy a stash with bark still on. Learnt my lesson along time ago on that one.

[Blackcoyote]

Some guys will do anything to get outta debarking staves, geeshhh! 

[Pappy]

Nice haul Clint, I love old sage like that. Should make a bunch of nice bows.
 Pappy

[BarredOwl]

 I guess KS. as no wood boarers.

We've got plenty of boarers now.  But maybe back when those would have been cut we might not have had them yet then.  We didn't have emerald ash borer till a year or two ago so I guess it's possible.  I had a pile of hackberry firewood I cut a few years ago an the first summer after it was cut I walked by the pile and could literally hear the boarers in the pile, I assume eating the wood but I could literally hear kind of ticking sounds comming from the pile and when I moved a few pieces the adult bugs were all over in the pile.

[burn em up chuck]

   very very cool

                chuck