Worldwide Beekeeping

Beekeeping => Beekeeping 101 => Topic started by: neillsayers on November 19, 2015, 11:00:37 pm

Title: novice decapping question
Post by: neillsayers on November 19, 2015, 11:00:37 pm

I'm trying to prepare myself for the day(hopefully next year) when I will be extracting honey. I have seen a couple of you tube videos showing melting the cappings with judicious use of a heat gun instead of cutting or scratching. Anyone with experience with this method?

Thanks
Neill

Title: Re: novice decapping question
Post by: apisbees on November 19, 2015, 11:25:02 pm

I tried it, was not to impressed. the wax reformed over the cells on a lot of the cells. It may have a different effect depending on whether your bees cap the cells with dry cappings or wet cappings.
I have hot knives, capping plain, but keep going back to the capping scratchier. Don't try lifting the cappings just scrape the surface to brake the cappings.

Title: Re: novice decapping question
Post by: neillsayers on November 19, 2015, 11:44:06 pm

Thanks apis, I appreciate the advice.

Title: Re: novice decapping question
Post by: rwlaw on November 21, 2015, 08:10:51 am

Tried it also, with about the same result as apisbees, not impressed.
You can get away with a  bread knife (apis is right, gots to have a good scratcher too) for starters, my favorite is the cold decapping knife that Kelly sells, it has the serrations on both sides of the blade. As I'm left handed it cuts straighter along the frame.

Title: Re: novice decapping question
Post by: Lburou on November 21, 2015, 11:56:29 am

My experience echoes those comments above.  The cell tops just solidified again, leaving no choice but to do it again, thing is, it saves no work when you have to take a frame out of the extractor to redo what you missed.  I take the entire top of the cappings off, that way, you will only work a frame once for cappings.  :-)

Title: Re: novice decapping question
Post by: neillsayers on November 21, 2015, 12:58:03 pm

Thanks guys,
 You may have just saved me some grief.

Title: Re: novice decapping question
Post by: Papakeith on November 22, 2015, 08:56:28 am

same results as the others.  It worked, sort of.  I found a bread knife from Savers did the job for two years before I bought a heated knife

Title: Re: novice decapping question
Post by: riverbee on December 11, 2015, 07:06:46 pm

neil,
some use this method..........
my HO, cut the caps off with a hot knife, a 'cold' knife (of some sort) or a plane.  then save the wax cappings that you cut off to use for candles and lip balm or sell to another....

Title: Re: novice decapping question
Post by: neillsayers on December 11, 2015, 10:01:52 pm

Thanks river and others this is my go to place for advice :)

Title: Re: novice decapping question
Post by: efmesch on December 12, 2015, 02:27:02 pm

My favorite is my (French) cold uncapping knife.  I've been using the same one for over forty years now and find it the best of all I've tried--hot knife, electric scraper, uncapping fork.  This knife is thin and flexible and by the right use of pressure, you can uncap cells that are a bit low too.  However, an uncapping fork is essential,  There are often cells that are too deep in the frame to get opened by the knife and only the fork reaches them.