Here’s a 2-minute video that shows how I use an uncapping knife on my honey frames after extracting the honey.

Honey frames often bulge out beyond the width of the frames. Hobbyists and small-scale beekeepers usually use a hot uncapping knife to cut off the bulgy bits before extracting the honey from the frames. But anyone who follows me know that I have no love for that because it’s messy. I use a heat gun to uncap my honey instead. It works for me.

I have a cheap uncapping knife that I’ve never enjoyed using, but I decided this year to use it on my frames after extraction because I noticed the bulgy empty comb was difficult to fit back in the hives, especially if I place the frame in the brood nest. Smoothing out the comb with the uncapping knife works perfectly. And it’s way less messier than doing the same thing before extracting the honey.

I know it adds another step to the process, but I’m not in a rush.