Thorn needles

[Henry]

A few weeks ago on a hike, I "harvested" two thorns from a honey locust tree (Gleditsia triacanthos L., to be precise) and let them sit around until last week, when I trimmed them to length with a small wire cutter, using a Bry-O-Phonic soft-tone needle as a guide. Both of the thorn needles proved to be very listenable, a bit softer than a soft-tone steel needle, but much quieter. I played part of a symphonic piece (Sibelius Sym. no 7, Col. M-524, Beecham, NY Phil.) and also an acoustic (I think it was march performed by Prince's Band, but I don't remember exactly). Anyhow, it seemed to me that the reproduction of the Sibelius gained in clarity as compared to the steel. The acoustic band playback was not as satisfying, and sounded better with the steel. The thorn needle lasted almost two sides of a 10", and the entire side of a 12", before it became too blunt to respond properly.

This species of tree is fairly common in the East. You can't miss them, as they are bristling with clumps of large thorns on the trunk and the branches, which are very noticeable. I'm going to harvest some more of these when the weather improves and give them a further testing on a greater variety of music styles.

[Mr Grumpy]

Please keep us posted on the progress.

The Honey Locust and Black Locust in Southern Ontario very rarely have thorns on them, I've only
ever seen a few in my lifetime and I used to work in the forestry industry.

Perhaps you could post some pictures of what they looked like after you shaped them?

[Henry]

Members of the genus Robinia, for example black locust (Robinia pseudo-acacia L.) have fewer, and smaller, thorns than honey locust, according to "A Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs," by George Petrides: "Strong ½"-1" paired thorns flank nearly circular leaf scars," in the case of the black. The original range of honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos L.) is the Mississippi Valley, but it has spread eastward in the US; don't know about Ontario, you might be a bit far north for it to thrive there. Honey locust is known by its dark bark, which is "somewhat scaly, adorned with numerous stout branched thorns, each several inches long." Around here (e. PA) the honey locust trees are covered with clumps of these large thorns on the trunks and branches. The thorns are within easy reach, as the clumps tend to emerge all up and down the trunk. To harvest them, all you need is a pocket knife or, preferably, wire-cutting pliers or snips; you can also simply snap them off the tree, but with caution: they are SHARP!

As for shaping the thorns, about all I did was cut them to length (⅝", c. 16 mm). I did have to shave the shafts slightly with a knife blade to fit into the triangular needle hole of the Exhibition. As soon as I learn how to operate my new digital point-and-shoot I'll take some pix and post them here.

[Mr Grumpy]

We have a lot of Honey locust here but they're not native and are primarily used in the city and sub-divisions to line streets, perhaps it's the temperature that prevents them from growing thorns.
Black locust are native and are more commonly found with thorns in this area but the thorns are still rather uncommon in comparison to the locust that grow in the south.

Have you ever tried any other type of thorn for this?

[Henry]

It's a good thing those city trees don't sprout thorns, or you'd have a lot of unhappy citizens (unless they owned antique phonographs!).

I've never tried thorns from other species, but if I ever see any that look possible, I would give them a try. I know that cactus thorns have been marketed for our purposes but I've no experience with them.