Which hive tool is best?

[Tim1606]

Crushing is a risk irrespective of where the bee space is.

Speed and simplicity of operation is where top bee space wins hands down. Far less scraping and cleaning, all of which takes time.

If a top bee space hive has some wax or propolis or whatever in the frame rest area, the frame will sit a tiny bit high...............but it is still well within the confines of the box, so the next box, or the cover board or whatever can sit down on it without any big issues. Wax etc on top bars, unless exessive, can just be squashed down a bit and the boards etc placed with bee leakage etc.

If it is bottom bee space than you have to keep you frame rest areas scrupulousy free of debris, as a frame resting on anything at all then rides high in the box (above the top edge), as there is no come and go with that. The extra time spent scraping and cleaning adds up. Seems like nothing, but over the numbers it is a real pain. And if you scrape wax and burr comb off you have to clean it up............all knocks on.

Thats the difference between some on here who run say a dozen colonies to those that run 100+.

Some just don't get it.
Time is money as they say and i see where you are coming from here.

 

[DanBee]

If hoffman frames, then it may not just be glued down under the lug,but all the way down where the frame side bars make contact,so glued in another four places on the first frame, if taking the second or third one in,lots of upward force needed to break a seal like this, if trying to pull straight up.

...and that goes double for Manley frames. I check and clean mine each winter so that they are workable in the season.