Summertime Locust Festival

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Simonkenton

Minister of Fire
Feb 27, 2014
2,397
Marshall NC
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My brother's girlfriend had this tree go down in her yard 3 weeks ago. I don't have room for any more wood, but I just couldn't resist.
I have whacked lots and lots of locust. The biggest I have ever cut was 12 inches at the base.
This beast is 22 inches diameter at the base.




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My brother splits 'em with the Ochsenkopf aluminum wedge, and the sledge hammer.
This wood is pristine, no rot.


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This is the finest load of firewood I ever have gotten, and I have gotten many, many loads.
My brother also got a truck load out of this giant locust.
Locust is hard to cut, even with a big chain saw. Very hard and dense.
Takes much longer to cut than oak.
21 percent moisture content.
 
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Nice haul! Anything special about the Ochsenkopf wedge? I tried looking it up but came up blank. I just use steel wedges of various sizes. Curt
 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/253526189385

That is an interesting question. I bought the Ochsenkopf four years ago from Baileys. They are a top provider of chain saw stuff.
But, I see that now Baileys has quit selling them.
It is a twisted wedge and as you drive it into the wood, it twists and is very effective at splitting the worst wood.

However, I must say, I have used mine quite a bit and it has just begun to get a little crack on it. I think it is weird that they make this tool from aluminum and not steel. I suspect that Baileys quit selling them for a good reason.

I got another one named the Wood Grenade, it is made of steel, it works great, works better than just a wedge, and is lots cheaper than the Ochsenkopf.
 
Cool, thanks for the info! I wasn't too crazy about using aluminum, but I'll try looking for the steel version. Thanks again! Curt
 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-7-...PriorityMailLegalFlatRateEnvelope!37919!US!-1

Here is a wood grenade for fifteen bucks. Ochsenkopf is German for "Ox Head." This thing was invented by Krauts, I can't for the life of me figure out why they made it of aluminum.

This wood grenade they say is forged iron, looks like steel to me. I have used mine a lot and it is holding up well.
I think you will like the performance of the wood grenade better than a standard wedge.
 
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Here it is, all split and stacked. Stack is 14 feet long, and 3 feet high. It is a lot more wood than what it looked like in the truck.
Big stack of pristine locust, this is a beautiful thing.
 
Nice score! I love getting a great solid score of locust.
 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/253526189385

That is an interesting question. I bought the Ochsenkopf four years ago from Baileys. They are a top provider of chain saw stuff.
But, I see that now Baileys has quit selling them.
It is a twisted wedge and as you drive it into the wood, it twists and is very effective at splitting the worst wood.

However, I must say, I have used mine quite a bit and it has just begun to get a little crack on it. I think it is weird that they make this tool from aluminum and not steel. I suspect that Baileys quit selling them for a good reason.

I got another one named the Wood Grenade, it is made of steel, it works great, works better than just a wedge, and is lots cheaper than the Ochsenkopf.

I have one of those wood grenades, and have always liked mine. It only comes
out rarely when a round is trying to eat all my wedges. I have four wedges. This
is my way of saying "OK, wood, now I'm serious!"

Nice Locust score!
 
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Here it is, all split and stacked. Stack is 14 feet long, and 3 feet high. It is a lot more wood than what it looked like in the truck.
Big stack of pristine locust, this is a beautiful thing.
Whoa, a couple of those big splits should make an excellent overnight burn on a cold night.