Locust for posts?

Kind of off topic, but does anyone know if
locust would be as good as hedge for line &
end posts?

The nephew is putting a new pasture fence up, &
was thinking of using hedge for the posts.
When we were kids, I remember my G'pa cutting
some locust for posts. Now, I can't remember
where they were used or how long they lasted.

Anybody have any words of wisdom??
Jim
 
black locust, hedge apple, some say mulberry, red cedar make good posts. cut them when the sap is down for the best. locust and hedge apple are the best ones
 
An old man I worked with years ago told me he cut and sold hedge posts, (Osage Orange), when he was a kid and he said he gave a 100 year warranty with his posts without ever getting a claim. gm
 
As you can see Hedge is best then Black Locust


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Much obliged for these data, guys.

I believe G'pa said that the "oiliness" of
hedge & locust was what tended to keep the
moisture out of it.

I guess the old memory bank can come up with
information sometimes. Maybe has to have a
little nudge at times.
Jim
 
hedge is the best as far as wood goes. Only downfall to anything wood here in Easter KS. is the burning season. next best is Steel but the draw back there is you will need a welder to weld in the pipe brace.
 
Just my put on fence posts from both hedge apple (Osage Orange) and Black Locust. Dad bought this farm in 1951 and cut several pick-up loads of black locust fence posts on relative's farms in Kentucky and Tennessee for use here on this farm as the original fencing was for the most part split rail oak fences from when it was homesteaded in 1880. I have yet to see any of the black locust posts he put up in his fences needing replacement to this day. On the other hand since hedge apple is so plentiful here on the farm he cut a lot of them for fence posts (usually anything but straight) which he used in corners and for line posts in livestock and field fences. In the slightly more then 15 years I have been back on the farm I believe I have replaced all of the hedge apple posts as they have other undesirable characteristics other then decay and rot. Namely, you can only get a fence staple or nail in them when they are green and when they later cure they fall out as the post shrinks away from the staples and nails losing all retention to the post. The only way to get something back into the cured wood is to drill a hole and then you lose a significant amount of the grip on the fastener used to retain the fence wire to the post. I have now replaced all the hedge apple posts on this farm for that reason as continuing maintenance of keeping the wire and cross braces secured to those posts is a timely and difficult task. I have reverted to only using steel pipe and welded braces in corners on all new fences I have constructed and have yet to have any issues. The mailbox black locust he used for our roadside mailbox for instance is still as solid as when he put it in the ground back when be bought this farm and the wood attaching pieces for the mailbox are still as rigid as when nailed to the locust post. HTH in your selection process of fence post materials, Hal.
 
The black locust lasts a really long time But if you dont strip the bark off sometimes they'll take root and start growing, but they were also cut in the spring
 
Locust was about all you could get here when I was younger , before treated became a thing . Excellent posts .
 
Pop and bro and I put in a hedge corner post at the barn yard entry in 1955 or so. I tried to drive a 16 into it a few months ago.... no go, just bent it over. Tried abut 5 times ... no go.
 
Locust is good if you can find the ones that grew in the forest instead of an open field. Field grown locust won't last long. Field grown locust grow too fast and just aren't as dense and water resistant as the ones that grew much slower in the forest where they competed with other trees.
 
Yea some here in ohio call some small ones second growth locust and some seem ok and some have rotted off at ground after ten years. There is some sort of Blythe in lots of them that promotes rotting pretty early
 

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