Osage

I cut up a stump a while back and most of it won't be able to be used because I didn't seal it and it checked on me.

Since I am in the excavating business I have pushed up and burned enough of that for a zillion knife handles and still have some to spare. There are a couple brush piles on my in laws farm that I pushed up about ten years ago. I've been thinking about sacrificing a chainsaw chain and cut into one to see if it dried solid. The trouble with it is it's like Locust, once its dry sparks will fly off a chain and it will ruin chainsaw chains.

Andy if what I have in the piles is good you can come up and fill a truck if you want. Just save a little for me.
 
cfendley said:
I cut up a stump a while back and most of it won't be able to be used because I didn't seal it and it checked on me.

Since I am in the excavating business I have pushed up and burned enough of that for a zillion knife handles and still have some to spare. There are a couple brush piles on my in laws farm that I pushed up about ten years ago. I've been thinking about sacrificing a chainsaw chain and cut into one to see if it dried solid. The trouble with it is it's like Locust, once its dry sparks will fly off a chain and it will ruin chainsaw chains.

Andy if what I have in the piles is good you can come up and fill a truck if you want. Just save a little for me.
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Hey Cliff. Its good to hear from you. A truckload huh? dang. That sounds awesome. How long is the drive? Are you coming down for Blade Show this year?
 
marekz said:
OO is also known as Bodark. marekz
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Or Hedge Apple in my neck of the woods. We used to have people stop to pick up those sticky green fruits by the bag full to "scare away spiders". Doubt they work for that, but it sure makes it an adventure to walk underneath the tree during the fall. Those things must weight a couple pounds!
 
I purchased a box of handle blanks that Bill Moran had sawn into the profiles for his ST series knives, and marked them with size numbers. They were the templates for marking out his knife handles on curly maple. I thought they were walnut, they were so dark brown. One day I decided to use one. When I ground into it it turned yellow-orange color. It was Osage Orange. The color deepens with age, exposure to the air, and exposure to light.
Stacy
 
I like the stuff. It starts out yellow and darkens to an amber in time.
Very hard, and it burns easily. So use sharp belts and slow it down if you can.
The light wood shows burns quickly.
So I mainly use files and good ole sandpaper.
Dan
wvkniferight.jpg
 
As Karl said, it makes really great firewood.
Only thing I don't like about it , the slivers /splinters are like fishhooks and have to be cut out.
 
bladsmth said:
The color deepens with age, exposure to the air, and exposure to light.
Stacy
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That process has a name... Photo degradation. It is not "oxidation" as some incorrectly call it. Photo degradation cannot be totally stopped, but can be slowed. It's caused by UV exposure. Generally, according to USFS Lab tests dark woods lighten and light woods darken. Wood, like metal CAN oxidize, but only with exposure to weather which changes it's surface molecules.
 
Fiddleback there are several guys in the Georgia Guild that use osage that are located in the Atlanta area. Connecting with one of them might be a way to find out how to get some without having to pay shiping. We are hosting a Guild meeting the 27th of Feb at our shop and these guys will be there. It is a good place to connect up with other makers in your area. We would be glad to have you come and get involved if you aren't already.
 
Huh? I just looked up the pictures of the tree. Neighbor has one so there may be a few more in the hood. I might have to offer to thin some trees this summer:D
 
Mr Davis, can you shed some light on slowing photodegration? Do you apply a UV blocker of some type? I do happen to like the darker colors, but sometimes would prefer the "fresher" color.
Thanks, Dan
 
Get in touch with Mike McGuire 931-946-7899.He sells nice bow staves for $25.They are not junk.Mike does nothing but sell Osage full time.Many of the trees he cuts aren't good enough for bow staves.Mike burns a lot of Osage.

Mike is out of Spencer TN.He travels to many shoots around the area and may be close to Atlanta at some time.You could probably get some nice stuff from him that he can't even use like crotches and knotty pieces and such.

If you do get some green get the bark off right away.It contains wood borrers.Use shelac to seal everything or it will check out bad. What Mike has for bow staves is dry and check free.
 
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There are some at my deer lease I will look and see if I can find some small peices
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
I think that good osage looks really nice

http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss107/Nathan_the_Machinist/022709/1.jpg

I've run it throught the dishwasher without problem. It is naturaly very hard and stable, plus is mills well. So you get a good durable handle that is nice and grippy compaired to plastic stablized wood, and I've never had one crack or move much on a finished knife. I love the stuff on a working knife.
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That is the knife I got for this years KITH.

I love the Osage handle. I says elegant, quality working knife. (to me it does)
 
UV is part of the process in photodegredation, but the primary factor in the darkening of woods like Osage Orange, Purple heart, Paduak, etc. is oxidation. Photo-chemical oxidation (Normally called Photo-oxidation) is often part of that process. Strong light, more UV, higher ozone concentrations, and air flow all will effect the speed and degree of darkness caused by this reaction. Photo-degradation can also be caused by absorption of the light energy ( photons) into the molecules of the pigments, thus causing them to change.This is the reason paintings will darken slowly over hundreds of years. However, chemical oxidation of the same pigments ( often speeded up by light) is a much faster and deeper process. That is why wood can darken in days to months.

The oxygen and ozone in the air is photo-reacted as it combines with the organic compounds in the wood ( oxidation). The result is a darkening of the organic pigments ( photo-oxidation). Since the UV ,which is the main energy source to drive the reaction, can't penetrate very far into the opaque wood surface, the darkening is very shallow. With time, the darkening deepens slightly, due to the slower chemical reaction ( non-photo) of the oxygen and ozone with the organic pigments. This can only occur to a depth determined by the permeability of the surface density. Your suntan is a similar process.

If two blocks of Osage, or similar photo-reactive wood, are cut at the same time, and one is laid in the sun while the other is placed in a dark box with good air flow....both will darken. The sunny block will darken faster due to photo-oxidation, and the shaded block will darken more slowly because it is only chemically oxidizing.

Stacy
 
Hmathews said:
Fiddleback there are several guys in the Georgia Guild that use osage that are located in the Atlanta area. Connecting with one of them might be a way to find out how to get some without having to pay shiping. We are hosting a Guild meeting the 27th of Feb at our shop and these guys will be there. It is a good place to connect up with other makers in your area. We would be glad to have you come and get involved if you aren't already.
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I sent my dues in last week, and plan to attend the February meeting. I know where to get it in Atlanta (you can get any wood in Atlanta at Carlton's Rare Woods), but was trying to see if I could get it without the 80 mile round trip drive.

R.H.Clark said:
Get in touch with Mike McGuire 931-946-7899.He sells nice bow staves for $25.They are not junk.Mike does nothing but sell Osage full time.Many of the trees he cuts aren't good enough for bow staves.Mike burns a lot of Osage.

Mike is out of Spencer TN.He travels to many shoots around the area and may be close to Atlanta at some time.You could probably get some nice stuff from him that he can't even use like crotches and knotty pieces and such.

If you do get some green get the bark off right away.It contains wood borrers.Use shelac to seal everything or it will check out bad. What Mike has for bow staves is dry and check free.
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I'll give him a call. Thanks!
 
I've got some beautiful, defect free, kiln dried 8/4 slabs in my warehouse in Oregon but won't be going back until late March. I have one blank, 2 x 10 x 24" here in Acworth, but it's destined for acoustic guitar backs. Good quartersawn Osage big enough for 2 piece guitar backs is rare. Osage Orange physical and sonic properties are a drop in substitute for Brazilian rosewood. Would like to help, but it's difficult being 2700 miles from the shop most of the year. Good thing I've "retired".
 
Larry D. Davis said:
I've got some beautiful, defect free, kiln dried 8/4 slabs in my warehouse in Oregon but won't be going back until late March. I have one blank, 2 x 10 x 24" here in Acworth, but it's destined for acoustic guitar backs. Good quartersawn Osage big enough for 2 piece guitar backs is rare. Osage Orange physical and sonic properties are a drop in substitute for Brazilian rosewood. Would like to help, but it's difficult being 2700 miles from the shop most of the year. Good thing I've "retired".
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Larry, please drop me a line in March about the 8/4 kiln dried Osage.
- Thanks
 
Larry D. Davis said:
I'll make a note for it, but send me a reminder in March as I get pretty thinned out on these trips. IIRC they are about 5 feet long. I've been planning on cutting them up into turning squares and such.

For giggles, here's a link to the National Register of Big Trees for Osage. Don't know if this is the current record holder.

http://www.americanforests.org/resources/bigtrees/register.php?details=3201
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O.K., Larry, will do. Don't bother cutting it up; I'll do it myself.
- Mitch
 
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