# Do I need a electric uncapping knife?



## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

http://www.harborfreight.com/130-watt-heavy-duty-hot-knife-66182.html
This link may or may not answer your needs.


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

Most of my friends use steam knifes, I have used an electric knife for a good number of years and find this an excellent tool on ALL comb. I over-ride the thermostate as I don't want the knife to get hot - just pretty warm. Works great! Can recommend it.


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## indypartridge (Nov 18, 2004)

Mbeck said:


> This should be my first year with a sizable honey crop.


"Sizeable" as in how many supers? 
I've done 6-8 supers with just a cappings scratcher. (I use it to 'lift' the cappings off rather than scratch.)
I've also found a cold knife such as this one -
https://kelleybees.com/Products/Detail/?id=3336333633323338&grouped=1
to be effective.


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## dfaulkner (Mar 26, 2011)

My cold knife with offset handle sits in a hot water bath between frames. Run a towel over it, cap a frame, back in the hot water, reach in my pocket to feel the $75.00 I saved!


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

Scrapfe said:


> http://www.harborfreight.com/130-watt-heavy-duty-hot-knife-66182.html
> This link may or may not answer your needs.


Wow! $20.00 but the reviews are aweful and it's not food grade.
Do you have experience with this product?

Max2, how do you over ride the thermostat? Dimmer switch?

D, how long does it take you to do 6-8 supers with a scratcher? Mediums?
My best guess is that I have about 1000# out there now, a mixture of deeps and mediums.


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

"Max2, how do you over ride the thermostat? Dimmer switch?"

Simply with the on/off switch on a plug-in board. I place it right next to the knife.


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## dfaulkner (Mar 26, 2011)

I only scratch cells the knife misses. That's the same procedure as the electric knife. No time lost.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

I have been using a long thin vegetable knife for comb that is fully drawn. I use to use a fork to scratch the short comb that the knife missed but after seeing how Mark does it with an ordinary hive tool I now use that. Hard to beat.:thumbsup:


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## boukers (Aug 4, 2010)

@ Acebird, you've sparked my curiousity with Mark use of the hive tool to uncap???? please elaborate


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

Sorry Indy is the one that uses the scratcher.

What brand of knife do you use Max?

I might need to just pull a couple supers after I get my extractor and do a test run. I hate to buy stuff I don't need or like. 
I better get my game together I'm sick of building equipment!


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

What's up with the Squeak Creek handy dandy hive tool, decapper, can opener,smoker packing,seat ripping device??


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

+1 on the cold knife with offset handle. In a knife-to-knife competition I can beat a hot knife by a good margin.


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## barbarakrecic (Oct 28, 2011)

I have small hands and an electric knife is just too heavy for me. My hands cramp horribly and by the time I am nearly done, i can just barely hold it up. I use a kitchen fork and gently scrape. I'm in no hurry (six hives only) and then I take all the propolis off the frames after the honey's been extracted. For me, it a day project. I just don't get a lot of cappings this way which I'd prefer.


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

"What brand of knife do you use Max?"

It says on the handle: "Pierce Mfg - MASTERMODEL III". We are very happy with it. Had it for years, very fast and only use the scratcher for the missed cappings.
I note that Mann Lake has a model but I can't get a 230 V at this stage.


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

"I have small hands and an electric knife is just too heavy for me."

My wife ( also small hands) seems to work well with the electric knife. But they are on the heavy side. Maybe a planer is better? Never used one.


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

AstroBee said:


> +1 on the cold knife with offset handle. In a knife-to-knife competition I can beat a hot knife by a good margin.


There seems to be 10 ways to uncap! I think it is a matter of getting used to whatever you have.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Like I said you take the hive tool and use it like a shaver. Just drag it over the top surface. It is a lot quicker than you might think for comb that you can't get with a sharp knife. A scratcher breaks up the caps into tiny bits. Those tiny bits of wax will plug up your screens faster.


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

How would this application work?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL7vbrJ6Pvw


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

Looks like it would work?
I think I'm going to start with a cold knife and a scratcher and see how that goes.


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## garlicbee (Jun 3, 2010)

a bread knife sitting in a thermos of boiling water works for us


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## shinbone (Jul 5, 2011)

What about using a heat gun, as in the youtube video in Max2's post above? Looks to be really easy and readily uncaps all the cells, regardless of surface uneveness


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

I live in Florida, what is this Thermos device you Canadians speak of?
Sounds like Greek! Hehehe


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Was a very lucky young beekeeper when my uncle from Oklahoma sent me his old extractor and in the bottom was his old electric capping knife. Tried using a cold knife once and it did not compare. 
About the time I replace it I will find that old hot knife.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

AstroBee said:


> +1 on the cold knife with offset handle. In a knife-to-knife competition I can beat a hot knife by a good margin.


Is the knife serrated?


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## WWW (Feb 6, 2011)

I also have an old electric decapping knife, to adjust the heat on it you turn a tiny brass screw mounted in the blade, I have it set as low as it will go and the knife works great at pealing off the cappings without boiling the honey but I do wish the blade was a bit longer for the deep frames.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

I got an uncapping knife for my birthday and I have to say using it almost a year later it has its advantages. When the comb is shallow you can uncap easier with it than a cold knife.


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

snl said:


> Is the knife serrated?


Yes, item number 900 from Brushy Mountain. Jim Lyon educated me last year that not all hot knives are created equal, so my comparison from 2012 above may not be representative of what an expert with a high quality hot knife could do. Nonetheless, the cold knife I referenced is a nice tool.


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## schmism (Feb 7, 2009)

I tried to use a non-headed serrated knife to uncap. it was painfully slow compared to my electric uncapping knife and the results, how smooth and even i could uncap the cells, wasn't even close to the same. (electric knife doing a WAY better job)

I do use a capping scratcher for cells that are "below" the surface of the frames. Only other tool i might consider is a heat gun after watching several vids on youtube.


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## michkel (Dec 1, 2012)

I love my heated uncapping knife.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

schmism said:


> I tried to use a non-headed serrated knife to uncap. it was painfully slow compared to my electric uncapping knife and the results, how smooth and even i could uncap the cells, wasn't even close to the same. (electric knife doing a WAY better job)


If you are a purist and don't want your honey heated the cold knife is a good option. Slower yes, but with patience it can go well.


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## Biermann (May 31, 2015)

The heat gun is tempting, but with the upper on a proper catch container for the honey and wax. I fear that the opening will close up before I have the second side opened, let alone eight frames to fill my centrifuge.

But, we will try and hope I can remember next year!

The memory is a treacherous thing when one gets older. Thanks for youtube! we can refresh our memories now.

Cheers, bee good, Joerg


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## libhart (Apr 22, 2010)

+1 for the serrated bread knife, but two points. Get a good one. I bought a used Cutco 1724. Cutco will sharpen their knives for free forever. You have to pay shipping to get it there and back, but it is *sharp*. Once factory-sharpened it should last many, many uncapping sessions if properly cared for and used for nothing else. Second, a serrated knife works when moved back and forth, it won't just glide through things, so you have to "saw" with it. But I actually like it better than the heated uncapping knife that I've used.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

I started with a very, very old uncapping knife. It's not heated but very sharp and thin. I did a great job cutting through the cappings. As the arthritis in my thumbs got worse, I had trouble holding it without resting a lot. I bought an electric one. It's a little faster and the handle was quite a bit thicker making it easier for me to work with. I use a scratcher for sunked areas where the hot knife doesn't slice the caps off.


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