My grandson gave me a log that we thought was walnut medium to chocolate brown heart wood, white sapwood when I pulled the bark off it had small thorns in the sapwood does walnut have these or am I dealing with something else will try to post pics asap.

Not positive but if the heartwood has a greenish tinge it might be Locust.

No it is the color of cocoa, and no thorns anywhere on the tree or limbs.

With the bark off, infant branches could look like thorns...

Walnut does not ever have thorns

Black Locust?

Do you have a black light? Black locust is fluorescent and will glow yellow/green under a black light. Walnut will not.

Pictures would help. Pictures of the end cut and bark too.

A picture would help, but it almost sounds like a thornless Honey Locust to me. Was it cut in a suburban area?

I'll try to find a black light and will try to get picks up. The fact that there no thorns on any part of the tree or limbs to me rules out locusts, I'm not familiar with a thornless locust it was cut in a rural area but was around a residence.

Actually there is a thornless Locust that was created many years ago. So that being said, it could be Locust.

That could be Kentucky Coffee Tree as well. FYI, Black Locust, Honey Locust, and Coffee Tree wood will all 3 glow a yellow green under fluorescent light.

Whatever it turns out to be, I'd be working on a bow from that's for sure.

Not under a fluorescent light... the wood itself is fluorescent, but yes, that's why I asked for a picture of the bark too.

Jeff I will post a pic of bark tomorrow wish I had a black light the last time I seen one of those was early 70 in a place I shouldn't have been and wouldn't be today.

I thought everybody kept a black light from their youth. We have two stashed away and still use them for Halloween. I believe that you can still pick up a thirty or forty watt screw in bulb at HD or Lowes.

That wood looks like it would make a pretty bow.

Yeah brad I would like to leave some of the sapwood on the back but with all the pins I'll be looking for suggestions

The pins won't hurt the sapwood at all as it relates to being the bows back. That's more the rule than the exception with Juniper, and I build quite a few bows from Juniper.

One of the staves I would like to thin the sapwood to 1/8 to 3/16 will I have to leave each pin raised

Take one or two layers of sapwood off and nearly all the pins will be gone.

That's what I wanted to here thanks guys

Yes, It is walnut. The "thorns" are actually epicormick buds that are under the bark. They'll usually remain dormant unless the tree is injured or the trunk is exposed to a lot of direct sunlight after previously being shaded

Most hardwood species have them to some degree. If you've ever noticed some hardwoods with hundreds of tiny branches along the trunk, those are epicormick branches. You'll usually see them in an area that was disturbed such as a select cut, lot clearing, power line, etc.

Thanks that's interesting can't wait to make bows out of it.

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