For example, if you were taught beekeeping using another type of tool and have never really tried the J tool you would wonder why you should bother with it and would no doubt think up all sorts of reasons why it is not the tool for you and indeed may well be the invention of the Devil.
lol.thats a bit ott..............................nevertheless.........J tools have cost me money in the past and when we can buy in the very best in spring steel for 2.50 a shot from the USA then why not just provide them in abundant quantity of the type that works best for us. No point in going for expensive stainless steel, as they get lost long before they get really rusty anyway. We get through about 30 hive tools a season. Many reasons, and in the end it is just not economic looking for them for more than 5 mins. They are just a consumable to us.
I actually learned my beekeeping with neither type. My grandfather was a millwright with a small engineering company, and all the stuff I learned with at my fathers side was made by my grandfather. The old hive tools he supplied were of a flat pattern. For years, when working alone, I used heavy ships deck scrapers as hive tools. Brilliant, robust, but gave me forearms like Popeye. He also made a load of other things, including my fathers early extractors etc, a very versatile man. If we ever have a need for it, I still have two pairs of the hive carriers he made way back in the early 1950's.
Have seen folk using J tools on poly boxes. Have heard the definite opinions that they are the only tool to use, especially emanating out of one of the poly box makers. It does seem that some agree, others not. It was all traditional hive tools seen on the last Danish visit apart from one beekeeper. Really not an important subject and it was not discussed.........just noticed what type they had on the side of their smokers.
But, if you come to work/help here, and I or Jolka see a J get wormed under the lugs or topbars, we will relieve you of the thing and give you a nice shiny new one of the safer type. Its not just prejudice, its real practical experience. I have far better things to do with my time than think about hive tool styles if there was no good reason to do so.
We do not find it any different with wood or poly..........but then we do not go for the end frame first.....in either style of box...........its usually the second one..........and you are levering frame against frame, and no purchase against poly sides takes place...........
Did I say safer type? My son has just laughed when he saw this and reminded me of a minor accident here several years ago that resulted in one of our Ukraine boys having to get a couple of stitches in his foot. He sharpened his hive tool as it was not scraping the inner covers properly with the butt end as directed. At the first bee yard he lit his smoker and could not find the hive tool...........he DID have it, I had seen it minutes earlier............then he yelled........it had been on the ground in the grass........butt end up...........all nice and sharp....and he stood on it............nicely slicing into his instep. Guess if you make stuff ***** proof you make it beekeeper proof too.
had to come back.........the starred out word seems innocuous unless we were to get flame wars going......India Delta India Oscar Tango............not even in upper case either in case the bot thought I was yelling.
Works for me.
