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Author Topic: Snakey Osage Stave  (Read 5568 times)

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Offline HoBow

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Snakey Osage Stave
« on: March 24, 2011, 08:54:09 pm »
100% of the osage I haved always had access to is arrow straight.   I've never seen any tree that I thought would make snakey staves...until today.  For those of you who have split snakey osage- are these what the trees looked like?  Would I cut and split it like normal?   I found these while driving and not quite sure who they belong to, but had to stop and grab some photos.  Next week, I'm going to check around and see if I can find who owns the land and make a deal   :)
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Jeff Utley- Atlanta GA

Offline Eric Krewson

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Re: Snakey Osage Stave
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2011, 09:07:14 pm »
I have looked at hundreds of osage trees and cut 25 or more, never seen bark on an osage tree that looked like the one you found, something wrong with that tree.
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Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: Snakey Osage Stave
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2011, 09:10:24 pm »
Be afraid.


Be very afraid.


I am strangely aroused looking at that bark.  I'ma sick puppy.
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Guns have triggers. Bicycles have wheels. Trees and bows have wooden limbs.

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Snakey Osage Stave
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2011, 09:37:13 pm »
I have never seen an osage tree like that. I would definitely say that is not osage. Or is a family of osage tree other than what we have here in southern ohio/kentucky. That bark does like awesome though. It looks like that tree has hair.
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"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline HoBow

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Re: Snakey Osage Stave
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2011, 09:41:03 pm »
It is definitely osage.  I split a limb and it is bright yellow.  The limbs also have thorns on it.  The tree looked healthy, so don't really think anything was wrong with it.  ???
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Jeff Utley- Atlanta GA

Offline ricktrojanowski

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Re: Snakey Osage Stave
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2011, 09:44:52 pm »
Man, I hope to see the staves that come out of that tree.  Keep us posted, it is some really interesting bark.  I'm not in Osage country by any means, but I've never seen Osage with bark like that before. 
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Traverse City, MI

Offline Bevan R.

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Re: Snakey Osage Stave
« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2011, 09:59:58 pm »
George will let you know. :o

Bevan R
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Bowmakers are a little bent, but knappers are just plain flaky.

Offline osage outlaw

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Re: Snakey Osage Stave
« Reply #7 on: March 24, 2011, 10:03:15 pm »
That must be the rare shagbark osage ;D  That does look different than any osage I have ever seen.  As far as looking for snakey staves, you should look for a tree that kind of bends back and forth.  Like a flattened corkscrew.  You can also get snakey staves from a straight log that has knots or limbs on it.
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I started out with nothin' and I still got most of it left

Offline kerryb

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Re: Snakey Osage Stave
« Reply #8 on: March 24, 2011, 10:06:12 pm »
It sure is Osage, very old tree, you better have lots of wedges and several strong backs lol. good luck with that one Jeff
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Milan Mo

Offline Dvshunter

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Re: Snakey Osage Stave
« Reply #9 on: March 24, 2011, 10:27:17 pm »
I found a tree like that last week and until now, it was the onlt osage tree like it that I had seen. It's osage for sure. As far as the snake, I don't know,  let me know after yoy split it so I know if it's worth gettin mine.
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"There is a natural mystic blowing through the air; if you listen carefully now you will hear." Robert Nesta Marley

Offline gstoneberg

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Re: Snakey Osage Stave
« Reply #10 on: March 24, 2011, 11:33:17 pm »
Hmmm, I've seen a lot of crooked osage but that's a new one for me too.  I wonder how the wood fibers run under that weird bark?  Cut it and split the log in half and see what happens.  If the fibers wrap like that it will be a bear to split. Bring your camera along, I'm anxious to see what you get.

George
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St Paul, TX

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Snakey Osage Stave
« Reply #11 on: March 24, 2011, 11:51:58 pm »
"It is definitely osage.  I split a limb and it is bright yellow.  The limbs also have thorns on it.  The tree looked healthy, so don't really think anything was wrong with it."

Woah.... I see I was wrong... that has to be some wicked bow wood, that bark looks downright evil!
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"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline Timo

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Re: Snakey Osage Stave
« Reply #12 on: March 25, 2011, 01:45:00 am »
I cut one like that once!......ONCE! It was the hardest,toughest,meaner than a women scorned, piece of wood I ever set a wedge to!  It was actually to snakey to make a bow from.

You probaly will  find that the grain not only goes side to side, but will run up under itself. A real nightmare to tiller and keep from breaking.

GOOD LUCK!
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Offline Keenan

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Re: Snakey Osage Stave
« Reply #13 on: March 25, 2011, 01:55:18 am »
For some reason I started salivating and drooling all over the keyboard. :o :o
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Offline Dean Marlow

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Re: Snakey Osage Stave
« Reply #14 on: March 25, 2011, 08:49:58 am »
Yes that is Osage. And if you decide to cut it and split it you will be in for a fight. I tied into one like that this last winter and it and most of it ended up being fire wood. The grain was so interlocked it would not split. when I tried to split it the split would not split  vertical. I put hours into my log and even hired a young guy to swing the sledge and he couldn't get it to split. The split wanted to go on an angle all the time. Maybe yours would be different but I am not tackling another one like that again. Dean
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