Turbo hive tool

01 · THE TWO ENDS

One opens the joint, the other lifts the frame

The flat blade goes into the joint between supers and shears the propolis, and it scrapes burr comb off the top bars. The frame-lifting end does something else: it slips under the lug and, bearing on the edge of the box, raises the frame without you putting fingers in or pulling on the top bar. That is what saves the lugs when a frame has been stuck for months.

02 · THE LENGTH

Thirty-two centimetres of compromise

Seven centimetres more than an ordinary hive tool is a third more leverage, without reaching the size of the honey-house ones that sweep over the neighbouring frames. If you work propolised hives and want one tool for the whole day, this is usually the length that wins.

03 · HANDLING

Part first, lift after

The lifting end does not replace the usual order: shear the propolis between the shoulders, slide the frames against the wall, and only then hook the lug and raise it vertically. Lifting without opening a gap drags bees against the neighbouring comb, and a crushed bee puts the apiary on guard.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

One-piece stainless steel: it takes flaming and caustic soda, which is how you really disinfect between apiaries.