My love relationship with osage started 20 years ago, when I had the urge to build myself a selfbow, I read a few how to books, all listed osage as a top bow wood. My great uncle had a saw mill so I figured that would be a good starting place to find something to practice on. To my surprise, he had a mother load of osage cut in six foot staves or in his case, fence post. He said that he put them there 15 years ago and to help myself. He pointed out across his hay field and said "see them fence posts that aren't decaying from the ground up, those are osage. They will be there long after I'm gone. They use to make wagon axles out them, wears like iron. Don't cut to much of it any more, too hard on my saw blades." He since has passed on, those fence post are still there. Guess he was right. I still have one bow out of the two staves I took. It has aged with time, defining the unique character of the wood. I have long given up my bow building but always enjoy looking at a aged piece of hedge.