Willow logs

Willow logs are logs which can be cut from willow trees using the Woodcutting skill. Cutting willow logs from a willow tree requires an axe and level 30 Woodcutting, and grants 67.5 Woodcutting experience per log. Due to this a full inventory will give you 1890 experience. Players can burn willow logs using the Firemaking skill and a tinderbox. This requires level 30 Firemaking, and grants 90 Firemaking experience per log. In addition, members trained in the art of barbarian firemaking can light willow log fires with a bow instead of a tinderbox at level 35, also yielding 90 experience per log. They can also create pyre ships from willow logs at level 40 along with level 40 crafting a tinderbox or bow, a hatchet, and chewed bones or mangled bones, giving 22.5 crafting experience and 90 firemaking experience.

Prior to the 10 December 2007 update, players would often have macroing software control their accounts and would often be seen chopping down willow trees (most notably the ones south of Draynor) in order to get their levels up to chop down Yew Trees. Macroing was against rule 7, now known as 'Macroing or use of bots' under the Honour section of the new Report Abuse system. Players (bots) that had successfully cut large quantities of Yew logs would often be sold by the owner for gold, or be used as is in Real World Item Trading. (The Dec.10th 2007 update did not stop people from breaking rule 7 for long, one week later the "bots" were up and running again.)

Members may also use the Fletching skill and a knife to carve willow logs into unstrung willow shortbows, unstrung willow longbows or willow stocks. This requires levels 35, 40, and 39 Fletching and grants 33.3, 41.5, and 22 Fletching experience, respectively. Willow logs are also the tertiary ingredient in infusing Beaver pouches.

Willow logs are also used to travel to Varrock using the Balloon Transport System.

One of the unique things about willow logs is that when the school year begins around the beginning of September, the supply of willow logs dramatically increases because of skillers coming back to play, and the price of ashes increases somewhat. When the two phenomena are combined, the price of willow logs can sometimes be less than the price of ashes. Meaning for example, buying willow logs at the current (22 December 2009) price of 8 gp and collecting the ashes and selling them for the current price of 11 yields a 37.5% profit. However, selling the ashes may take a very long time because of the limited demand.

Another way to make profit with Willow Logs, is using the Low Level Alchemy granted 30 times a day from Explorer's ring 2: each use gives 16 gp per log (Higher than it's GE cost) and 31 Magic Experience, resulting in 480 gp and 930 Magic Experience

Market
Before the creation of the Grand Exchange, they used to sell for 20-30 coins each. However, since they require such a low level to cut, there was an oversupply, which is why they rest at the much lower (30%) price they do today. This used to make them very hard to sell on the Grand Exchange, but now there is a great demand for them for people training Firemaking and Fletching.

Trivia

 * Although Willow Logs require a higher woodcutting level, they cost less than both regular logs and oak logs, coming from the high supply of them due to the high amount of people constantly training by cutting them. This is also because logs come only once at a time, and both logs and oak logs are used in construction, while willow logs are only used for firemaking and low level fletching, and give mediocre experience compared to the favoured maple logs.
 * Willow Trees only grow by bodies of water, such as ponds, lakes, rivers, and seas, as in real life.