🐝💗Our Backyard Beekeeping Journey!💗🐝

[Sally PB]

I have decided to let my 100,000 + girlfriends buy me a heated decapping knife.

A heated knife will be great.

I got a heated knife and I must be doing something wrong, as after struggling to decap one frame, we went back to a serrated knife. I will give the hot knife one more try and hopefully figure out why it was a PITA.

Hubby didn't use it. His idea was to lay the frame flat and saw off the caps with the serrated knife. I was trying to decap down a frame held vertically. The caps are flush/subflush with the frame in some areas, proud of the frame in some areas. I don't know if serrated hot knives are available, but I wish I'd gotten one. This is a Pierce, and it was highly recommended. And not cheap.

Any suggestions would be welcome!

 

[5Australorpasaures]

I got a heated knife and I must be doing something wrong, as after struggling to decap one frame, we went back to a serrated knife. I will give the hot knife one more try and hopefully figure out why it was a PITA.

Hubby didn't use it. His idea was to lay the frame flat and saw off the caps with the serrated knife. I was trying to decap down a frame held vertically. The caps are flush/subflush with the frame in some areas, proud of the frame in some areas. I don't know if serrated hot knives are available, but I wish I'd gotten one. This is a Pierce, and it was highly recommended. And not cheap.

Any suggestions would be welcome!

I'm using a serrated bread knife that I can't seem to keep my off hand fingers out of the way of, nothing serious that duct tape doesn't take care of. Had a heat knife yrs ago and I think it is with my old suit and smoker that I still have not been able to find. Deep comb is needed though. I peg the frames vertically sawing down to roll the wax away from the frame on a decapping tub set up. I have seen serrated decapping knives (unheated) on the Dadant, Mann Lake and Better Bee sites though.

 

[drstratton]

I got a heated knife and I must be doing something wrong, as after struggling to decap one frame, we went back to a serrated knife. I will give the hot knife one more try and hopefully figure out why it was a PITA.

Hubby didn't use it. His idea was to lay the frame flat and saw off the caps with the serrated knife. I was trying to decap down a frame held vertically. The caps are flush/subflush with the frame in some areas, proud of the frame in some areas. I don't know if serrated hot knives are available, but I wish I'd gotten one. This is a Pierce, and it was highly recommended. And not cheap.

Any suggestions would be welcome!

Here's a video I found, using a Pierce knife.

If you're not worried about getting lots of wax, a heat gun works great. With very little mess. We use it right over our extractor.

 

[Esc_Quaily]

Welcome to the world of beekeeping. Congratulations to you and your husband. I am watching this post now to see your progress

 

[drstratton]

Welcome to the world of beekeeping. Congratulations to you and your husband. I am watching this post now to see your progress

Thank you and welcome!

Do you also keep bees?

 

[R2elk]

This is the closest I have found to the method I use. I have a tub that I lay the frame flat on. I am using medium supers so two passes lengthwise does one side of a frame.

 

[R2elk]

I find this tool interesting.

 

[drstratton]

I find this tool interesting.

That looks like a cheese slicer. The method you use as well as this one seems to work really well.

 

[drstratton]

Just spotted this beauty on my Dahlias. It's a Hunts Bumblebee. It was moving off before I could get a good picture of it. I've never seen one before.

 

[Apis mellifera]

That looks like a cheese slicer. The method you use as well as this one seems to work really well.

I have one of those and I never took it out of the box, I should try it sometime. I'm so used to the Jero double serrated knife it's hard to try something different. Everyone just has to find what works best for them. I like making candles, so I need to render the wax.