Hickory Maul Handles

[WDH]

BB, the bitternut should work just fine for you if you can get some clear pieces for handles and the smoked meat should taste delicious.  

[Chuck White]

There's one of those on the property that we hunt!

Don't know if it's Pignut or Mockernut.

I'll have to take a close look at it next time I'm in that area!

I've often wondered, because the branches have what looks like a 3-4 inch burl out near the end of the branches!

[WDH]

Some species are light seeded and travel on the wind, taste delicious to birds that scatter the seeds widely, and are pioneers that are adapted to colonize disturbed land and are generally shade intolerant.  

Other species are heavy seeders and the nut literally does not fall far from the tree.  Many of these species are shade tolerant and are considered climax species, and hickory is one of these.  The nuts don't travel long distances well except by water.  

[cutterboy]

WDH, thanks for the pictures and discussion on the pignut and mockernut hickories. I have a lot of shagbark but also some that have smoother bark. After seeing your picture of the pignut bark I am quite sure that is what they are.
Thanks for keeping us informed.

[customsawyer]

Any time I've sawed pignut I could always tell by the smell. Smells just like a hog pen.

[Clark]

I am on a harvesting site where there is a small amount of bitternut hickory. Does it make decent smoking and handle wood? It's all we have up here (actually I'm 84 miles south of home, and the first time I've seen it) for hickory.

Even without the very accurate mileage I'm guessing you're near Mille Lacs because that seems to be the natural northern terminus of the species in MN. Now, unnatural extension of the species does bring it quite close to your home.

Clark

[barbender]

Right you are Clark, between Deerwood and Garrison. I have some Butternut and Hickory in the dump trailer I bought off the job. I just couldn't leave those Butternut saw logs, they probably would've ended up in the firewood pile. I'll saw them up👍🏻 I think we spoke before about a stand of bitternut being on the north shore of Lake Winnie. I've read excerpts of a book written in the 1930's iirc where the author claims to have seen the stand at that time. I keep my eyes open up there, but I've never seen any. But then, I didn't really know what to look for, either. Now that I've actually laid eyes on it, I'll be able to recognize it better. Anyways, I don't know if there's still any up there or not, none of the Forest Service foresters I've ever talked to about it have ever even heard of them. I do know they planted bitternut up in the Cutfoot Experimental Forest, they planted some species to see what will thrive in a changing climate is the idea.

[Clark]

And a butternut for the fun of it? 

I thought we had talked about the bitternut hickory before. I've been told they are at or near the Bowen resort. The owner knows about them. I know people who have seen them and there are less than 12 up there. The theory is that seed came north in a canoe paddled up the Mississippi. Difficult to say but the sulfur colored buds are a dead give away.

To bring us back on topic...I'm guessing the Native Americans were looking to grow some hickory for more hatchet handles. 

Clark

[barbender]

I'll have to look into that more, Clark. Maybe they were a native forestry project, who knows?😊 The Mississippi corridor had other outlier populations as well, like the Eastern Red Cedar of Cedar Island in Cass Lake. My Grandpa grew up in Cass Lake, and he told me when he was in Shop in High School, they would go across the ice in the winter out to Cedar Island and get pieces of cedar from the old stumps that were left from when it was all logged. Then they made jewelry boxes out of it in their shop class.

[WDH]

Bitternut is one of the pecan hickories  .

[barbender]

More devilish to saw then, I take it?😊 There's maybe 2 sticks that are big enough to saw for handle blanks. As in, maybe 8"😁

[WDH]

It could very well challenge you, but with your skills and experience and a good sharp blade you should be OK.  Should be  ??? .

[barbender]

From all the experiences yourself and others have shared about hickory, I almost feel like I should try to sneak up on it or something. It seems to ward off full frontal attacks😊

[WDH]

Yes, try being sneaky.  

[customsawyer]

Sharpen to 4° on the blades and don't be afraid to put the lubemizer on full blast if things start to go wonky.