There are a lot of people who agree that hickory firewood is one of the best there is for burning. Hickory is even hotter burning than oak, maple and other popular hardwoods.
There are several types of hickory, including, shagbark, pignut, bitternut, shellbark, and mockernut. Most agree that all types of hickory are good for firewood. Maybe someone can post their experience with the different types in the comment section below.
Hickory wood is a heavy and dense hardwood. It dries fairly quickly since the dense wood doesn’t hold a lot of moisture. It can be tough to split, but not always beyond splitting by hand.
Although many people love burning hickory, there are some who prefer other woods over hickory just because hickory firewood can be more difficult to process. Hickory is harder to saw and split than a lot of other hardwoods like oak. Hickory may outperform oak in a wood stove, but for some, not well enough to justify the work. Another disadvantage of hickory firewood is that bugs really like it. It is not uncommon for a hickory woodpile to have a lot of sawdust, or bugdust from insects boring into it.
Hickory is also well known for its smoke flavor for smoking, and BBQ. It is also the wood of choice for tool handles, axes, shovels, etc. It is used for handles because it is very durable and has an exceptionable ability to absorb shock.
Hickory nuts are edible and consumed by people and by wildlife.
Post your comments about hickory firewood below.
I will throw my 2cents in on different hickory species. I cut mostly hickory as firewood . I have 1500acres of river bottom forest ful of many species of hickory as well as red oak , swamp chestnut and overcup oak ,beech and blue beech , mullberry , persimmon and locust. These are my ffavorite go to firewood. My favorite hickory is shagbark (or shellbark) . They tend to dry quickest of all the hickory around my area and I think the best burning too. The hardest and toughest of the hickory according to me is pignut . The most common around my area is the bitternut hickory. Its the longest drying of the hickory group. A good tip is if you cut them with catkins then the bark will peel away easily and the wood will dry much quicker. I hope this helps.
Thanks for the comment hickory man. It’s great to get some good information about the different types of hickory from someone with some experience. And I think most of us will be envious of your 1500 acres of river bottom forest.
While I agree Hickory is a good wood for fire wood I wasn’t as pleased as all the hype I heard b4 I started using it. I live in S.W. Iowa.
One main thing: I rots fast if laying on the ground in any form, or out in the rain, after splitting. I haven’t found it any hotter than white oak, and it certainly can’t outlast oak in dampness for storage. That said, I still grab any dead or dying hickory when scouting for firewood in these hills. It is one of my top 3 favorites here.
Shagbark Hickory IMO is the best of the best WHEN SEASONED CORRECTLY . It outperforms all the other hickorys and hardwoods even including Osage despite most ratings to my experience. The downside is that it has a short window of peak seasoning. Unlike oak and others, once it hits the ground the clock is ticking. I’ve cut into red oak that has been on the ground for 20 years and found great heat value in it after an outter shell of rot. If Hickory has been on the ground for a single year it’s almost not worth getting, it turns papery and spongy fast. But if you can get it fresh, split and stacked under cover for 6 mos to a year there’s nothing better in the east and it’s so plentiful where I live (western Virginia) it’s a foundation wood for me. Also like you wrote it’s a handy wood to have around, makes great bow staves, stakes, handles and walking sticks. I’ll take a 2 or so inch diameter branch, chisel an end and drive it in the ground with a sledge hammer to shore up the end of a pile, it’s tough as steel, you just can’t do that with the other Hickorys
I have a firewood business on Los Angeles, anyway I can get wholesale hickory would out here?
Bonno,
SW Iowa and Shagbark!! Tell me more, I am in the same area and always looking for it.
though
Still loving me some hickory !!! Got me a new wood splitter and got a full cord of shagbark,pignut and beech cut this week ready to season all summer here in west Tennessee.
I just cut and split a cord and a half shagbark hickory for next season can’t wait to use it
I collect the bark from shagbark hickory off the ground while walking my 150 acres in northeast ohio and I save all the bark from the trees I harvest to use for kindling. I never have a problem starting a new fire or restarting my stove in the morning. Shagbark bark starts easily and actually leaves coals. It can also be used on the grill for smoking
I agree with Randy. I have 5 wooded acres in ohio, all hard woods, primarily shagbark hickory, the the bark of the shagbark makes the best kindling. I gather it all year and store it for winter. I split the wood by hand and it is work but worth it. Ive found the colder it is outside the easier it splits
I just built a Holz hausen of a cords of pure pignut hickory here in CT. Power. Implant took down tons of trees and I fe Bird it and cut and spa it it. The first surprise was how easily it split when green. Inside a short handled fiskers mall and it split in 1-2 sacks. Once in half I could carry these huge pieces out of the woods and split them further at home. It’s gorgeous wood I’m planning on for next fall 2018.
Live in central Jersey. Got 2.5 acres with 1.5 all wooded. Have access to ash (what’s left of it since the ash bore is killing most of them), oak and other lighter woods like poplar but lucky enough to have a decent amount of shagbark. It’s true, shaggy is a tough cut and split but for me, worth the effort. Seasons fast but burns hot and long. Wish I had nothing but!!!
I have cut, split by hand, and burned roughly 150 cords of wood for personal use and approximately 100 cords at $4/cord back in the 50s. I still split all of our firewood (~5 cord/yr.) by hand. I wouldn’t insult trees by using a hydraulic splitter. (Just slightly for effect) Hickory (outside of poorly burning elm) is most difficult to split but burns the hottest. (No experience with Osage Orange) Ran a trapline in Alaska in the winter of 61. We built a dog sled and ordered hickory for its runners. Very durable.
Love Shagbark, thanks for all the comments but you guys are missing a great tip, if you get the shaggy bark, soak it in water for a bit and then put it on your grill (gas or charcoal but charcoal best) last ten-20 minutes at least let it smoke it is so much stronger than the hickory wood itself in smoke flavor especially if the bark is harvested spring very early summer. If a live tree only take very loose bark so you don’t hurt the tree, but when I cut one I harvest all the bark for BBQ’s it is the best of the best.
I had a firewood buisness for ten years back in the 70s and 80s. I love shagbark hickory. I love the smell too. It smells like leather to me. But I have to say black locust was my favorite. It never rots. If you find it dead standing its like petrified! Hard as a brick. It grows fast. which is unusual for such a hardwood. Red oak is got so much water in it, it takes a while to dry. But if you split it smaller it helps. I dry all my firewood in a hoop house. Dries much faster!
Thanks for great information, especially about shagbark hickory drying quickly. I’ve been burning black locust for 20 plus years always finding dead trees standing or laying on the ground. Bark falls off in about three years after dying. Makes super coals in my hearthstone wood stove. Trying hickory for the first time this year so appreciate the comments.
I got a bunch of Pignut hickory from a tree service guy, as part of a mixed load of grilling wood. Nice looking wood, and I’ve found it splits pretty easily, due to it’s very strait grain.
What surprised me most was the aroma of the smoke. I was expecting the quintessential hardwood smoke smell- like you get from bacon or liquid smoke. That’s my experience with shagbark. THIS, on the other hand smells sweet- almost fruity! It’s not quite dry yet, I’ve just burned some thin pices and small chunks, but I’m very much looking forward to grilling with it!
We have mainly mockernut here on our property in SE Oklahoma. Only been here two years, and will say I love the mockernut wood!
It definitely is a sweeter smell, and burns hot! The wood is more difficult cutting down with the saws, but I do believe it is worth the effort! Gets hot in these parts, so wood can dry out in a good 6-8 months if it keeps dry.
Lots of oak here as well, and a bit easier to cut down than the mockernut, but no where as amazing smelling or as hard and hot as the mocker!
One thing I will add about hickory…. As mentioned by others, the wood itself doesn’t last out in the weather. But bark from a shagbark hickory will last years even underground. The bark makes great kindling, no splitting needed. Once you get the bark going, you’ve got yourself a fire.i use that in our fireplace and take a bucket of it when we go camping.