I pruned my plums etc. yesterday and encountered something I had forgotten over the years (these are fairly young trees). So what are those things that look like fierce thorns?! They are maybe an inch or a little longer and come to a sharp point. At first glance they appear to have no structure but on closer inspection I could see a few buds closer to the trunk or large branch.

Many of the tips on these growths had gone dead-looking but the tissue closer to the trunk or branch was still OK. Surely these are not fruiting spurs? I have other short growths (maybe 3-5 inches) that are studded with buds which look more like those.

So....do I cut the spikes off, snip off the dead parts....???