Honey Locust Firewood

Honey locust is well known for its sometimes large thorns, which is where its other name, thorny locust, comes from. Honey locust firewood is excellent for burning. It is a very dense hardwood that puts out a lot of heat and a very long burn. for firewood, it is comparable to black locust as far as heat output. It is a wood that can spark and pop so best to have a closed fireplace or wood stove when burning indoors.

Honey locust wood is not as rot resistant as black locust, but it is very durable and makes high quality lumber. Its thorns are sometimes even used as nails. I remember the first time I saw a thorny locust, I was happy that I don’t have to harvest any. On some trees the thorns are so thick, long and sharp it would be hard to imagine cutting one up without severe injury.

BTU of Honey Locust Firewood

Tell is about your experience with honey locust firewood below.

8 thoughts on “Honey Locust Firewood”

  1. I have property in central Missouri that is full of Honey Locust. I’m trying to thin my woods out to help the beautiful oak, maple, hickory and persimmon trees flourish.
    The thorns are unbelievable. I wear welding gloves, long sleeves, a heavy coat and work boots that the thorns will not penetrate. I still get stuck all the time.
    I use the chainsaw to clear the thorns about six feet up the trunk. After bringing down the tree, I use the chainsaw to remove branches and remaining thorns. I then drag the thorn free tree to a clearing to cut into firewood. Finally I rake the thorns up and put them into a burn pile and run the top limbs through my chipper for mulch.
    It’s important to note that the upper limbs rarely have thorns, they only seem to grow/survive below 20-25 feet off the ground.
    It’s a lot of work, but the result is great firewood, improved woods and mulch around my garden, trees and bushes.

  2. i use tordon on the stump to prevent resprouting of thorny locust and hedge(osage orange) thorny locust is a very mean tree

  3. I burn honey locust almost exclusively since I have and abundant supply of trees on my property. I like to “ring” the live trees and let them die before I fell them. After a year or two the dead tree will lose its bark and most of the thorns, making it easier and safer to handle. I use a machete to hack off the remaining thorns. The wood has a fairly straight grain and splits easily.

  4. Honey locust is among my favorite woods for burning.The best way to harvest it is to ring the tree with chainsaw 2 years before felling it. The bark then sloughs off, thorns and all. Just wear heavy soled boots when walking around it!

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