OK, thanks.
Searching, I learn that you are in favour of uncapping by cutting into the comb. The dual rationale being the commercial value from the wax cut off (particularly the value-add as wax-based products) plus your belief that giving the wax-worker-bees a job to do (rebuilding the front of the cells) keeps the hive humming along nicely, rather than have them building Queen Cells.
I (and maybe any other recent drifters) now know where you are coming from!
At the risk of getting off-topic, wouldn't there be less messy ways of keeping the waxy bees employed (if that really be needed), and of harvesting wax? (Innocent newb question, seeking enlightenment!)
Hot air gun decapping does sound as though it very neatly sidesteps a traditionally messy process.
The idea of using starter strips, rather than wired foundation, in (at least some) frames would seem like a more purposeful means of driving wax production, both for bee employment and wax harvesting.
However, I'd thought that to drive honey production, minimising wax production, was 'a good thing'.
As always, I suppose that the skill (beekeeping and commercially) is in striking the right balance!
