Uncapping knife advice?

[malawi2854]

Hello,
In preperation for year 2 as a beekeeper, I am hoping to make my honey harvest slightly easier, and less bodged together than it was this last year!
So I thought I would start now, and get the equipment I will need.

I've got a few bits on my shopping list (i.e. buckets, jars etc.), which I understand, but uncapping is confusing me a bit.

Naturally, as with anything in beekeeping, there are 15 ways to do it, and no clear "winner". I'm hoping for a bit of advice on what might be best for me!

I've got a single colony, maybe 2 by the end of the next season - so in no way a bee farmer (yet).
This year, I used a normal kitchen knife to uncap... which appeared to me to work fine... but I'm guessing if everyone uses other devices, maybe my fork isn't such a good plan!

SO - I've been looking at uncapping forks and knives - and I think I favour a knife, it looks like a cleaner and tidier process - I don't think I can afford an electric one, so that leaves me with cold knives - but then, do I want it serrated, bevelled, long, short... WHO KNOWS!!!


Any advice - much appreciated!

 

[johnandyrob]

Have you thought about an electric hot air gun/paint stripper haven't use one myself but was talked about on the forum you could try a search on it Regards Andrew

 

[Hombre]

I think that a good length kitchen knife, serrated is ideal and the cranked de-capping knives a real pain, expensive to boot. Backed up with a de-capping fork for the odd bits that the knife won't reach easily.

Job done and no silly expenses incurred.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Same advice as Hombre has given,stick to serrated kitchen knife,kitchen devil.

 

[MuswellMetro]

I think that a good length kitchen knife, serrated is ideal and the cranked de-capping knives a real pain, expensive to boot. Backed up with a de-capping fork for the odd bits that the knife won't reach easily.

Job done and no silly expenses incurred.

agree long flexible serrated knife ,a kettle and a heavy jug for the hot water, place the knife between cutting in the hot water

but i also have a un capping fork (heavy duty not the £hornes one) for those frames that look like the Himalayas they often produce, after extraction i cut them flat

 

[Midland Beek]

Uncapping knives fail becaue you get left with a pile and wet cappings which will contain a not insignificant amount of honey. That's why I use a heat gun, augmented by a scratcher.

 

[Poly Hive]

Make a piece of wood just longer than your bucket. Using four bits of scrap make two notches as it were so that the bucket rim will fit in between the gaps of your four bits. In the middle of the length of wood pierce it with a nail, and the sharp tip is used to support the side bar of your frame.

Proper uncapping is beneficial to the hive. Yes you get honey in your uncappings but you also gain a not inconsiderable amount of wax which has a serious value.

The honey can be extracted by means of pressure, patience and straining, and or washing them with cold water to make mead.

On returning the frames to the colony the required wax work will keep the waxy bees busy on constructive work as opposed to hanging around feeling full and building queencells.

Almost forgot the knife. I used cold water to clean my knife and used two very old fashioned carving knives. Extracted tons with them, so beware the siren voices that say it need all clever expensive kit, it does not.

PH

 

[Tom Bick]

My first year uncapping fork and a big mess to boot

My 2nd year bought a heated uncapping knife not that easy found it hard work

My third year hot air gun very fast no mess easy worked for me but I had no wet cappings to deal with but be careful and work fast.

 

[stilllearning]

if you go for an electric one ,be careful, some cheaper ones just warm up in the middle and are pretty useless, if you are going to go for a cold knife a serated edge i find is better and good strength to it as well. a lot will depend on what honey your extracting as some uncaps a lot easier than others

 

[Rosti]

Hot air gun every time, see separate thread that debates the relative merrits. Simple, clean and flexible. You can even melt back the comb if you want to give them some re-drawing work to do. R

 

[belinda bee]

I have used an uncapping fork for five years very quick no mess the trick is very lightly scrape the caps on the frame of capped honey. then pop the frames into you're extractor and bingo only problem i have is i get hardly any wax for making my candles .

 

[hedgerow pete]

i use standard frames and as such i then cleave the wax and honey caps off almost flush with the frame.

the reason is its easier to run the knief down the frame as a guide
i obtain wax, which i do realy need
the cells are not completely destroyed but will allow reuse


the hot air gun is great as it just unseals the frames but you get no wax harvest from it

i dont like the cranked knieves as for most people they are to heavy to use

and as for seperating the wax and honey, after all the cappings have drained i can either spin them in the extractor , or i am hoping to invest in a spinner this year

 

[Rosti]

Good point made on the lack of a wax harvest with a hot air gun Pete.

For me wax harvesting is not a primary objective (or need) but I recognise that for some it will be and so will rule out the gun option.

 

[Poly Hive]

Check #7

PH

 

[Rosti]

Yep PH, I only scanned it so missed your 'harvest wax comment', your comment on wax making you have made in a previous thread, but the difference between partially re-drawing comb (air gun) and partially re-generating wax (capped) can't be an anti-swarm protection in it's own right, at best it's something that could reduce the urge by an indeterminant amount. Not sufficient justification in my book for avoiding the wrath of my better half - which is a certainty if somepone puts a decapping knife in my hands in her kitchen and combines that with honey. The resulting mess and my wifes reaction are both sure fire bets!

 

[johna]

Use long serrated knife-catalogued as a "HAM KNIFE" ,you'll find its flexible and long and narrow.Just replaced mine after 40 years of use.I use an uncapping fork for the difficult bits.I've got an electric uncappng knife as well but dont like it as it's heavy and cumbersome with the cable getting in the way and I can't seem to get the temperature right.

 

[Poly Hive]

I can't comment on what you do with a knife Rosti and the mind boggles.

Can't say I ever found it a problem. Bless the broadsheets.

PH

 

[Cazza]

Just a thought regarding hot air gun. I quite fancy trying this but I am very clumsy. Is it possible to melt the kitchen work surface (sort of a formica type of one)or set fire to the newspaper or clingfilm I use to keep the kitchen from getting too sticky? Or would I have to be completely careless to have this happen?
Cazza

 

[Rosti]

Just a thought regarding hot air gun. I quite fancy trying this but I am very clumsy. Is it possible to melt the kitchen work surface (sort of a formica type of one)or set fire to the newspaper or clingfilm I use to keep the kitchen from getting too sticky? Or would I have to be completely careless to have this happen?
Cazza

Anything is possible! ... but unlikely, you have to be pretty close to the gun, mine has heat shielding so you can put it straight down and an auto stop/release trigger (Black & decker £30 bought for paint stripping originally). I stand the frame on one corner on the cross mount of the spinner, do one side then deftly flick over to do the other, before loading, very simple. On full wack my gun runs at an effective 400-450'C (paper ignites at circa 235'C), but it has settings to allow lower air flow and lower temperature. I find it best on full wack because you can move it quicker and get less heat penetration into the comb that way and the cappings just 'roll back' with no drip. Added Edit note: Just realised, I am holding the frame as I do this by one lug, my fingers are closer to the hot air than anything else, I haven't manged to burn myself....... yet - so surfaces etc should be pretty safe as well.

If I can persuade my son to hold a video camera come May I'll try and put a short video together when I spin out the (hoped for) rape honey (unless someone tells me there is a video already in the archives / HP's bee shed?) R

 

[Vergilius]

I find that electric ones are better but uncapping forks/bread knifes are fine.


Ben P