We used to have the spiky kind in our yard in Revere. And yes, they're as bad and painful as they look. Also, the non-killer version makes good browse - Mandrills love it!
I heard that honey locusts (the pulp and beans of the seed pod) are edible. I tried them once (I'm one of those types who has problems with tasting and smelling things), but they had more of a tatseless soybean thing to them.
One interesting thing about honey locusts is, they were often promoted as a permacultre crop in Australia, because they were fast growing, dry tolerant, nitrogenated the soil, the leaves were edible fodder for goats, and you could even cook the sugars out of the pods. However, they have become an invasive weed species because of this, the seeds get spread by birds.
I know from harsh experience that if your sprinkler hits the side of the locust tree trunk in its watery traverse, the thorny bits sprout where the water was hitting.
All the goods thing you say about the tree are true. However, it is important to mention that it is also very weedy. Seedlings pop up everywhere and can be difficult to pull out. Growing up our neighbors had a honey locust and it was one of my jobs to pull out the seedlings. Not so happy memories...
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