I was considering buying a Hackler Honey Punch for a friend's birthday as he
is always complaining about the cappings mess when extracting.  In fact, he
told me that he is considering 1999 being his last year unless he can find a
way of eliminating the cappings mess.  He uses a Pierce hot knife now and
someone told me that the Hackler is the best thing since sliced bread.

I checked the archives and there were just four references.  Of interest,
two loved it, and two hated it!  Everyone seemed to agree that use
eliminated the cappings mess, but the two who hated it found that they were
really slowed down by having to continually immerse the device in hot water
to keep it clean.

The manufacturer suggests use of an electric device to keep hot water
nearby.  If this is the only objection, it seems to me that owning two, with
one always in the hot water, would eliminate this objection.  Compared to
Pierce knifes they are inexpensive (about $40).

I understand that this device is really popular in Europe, but has never
caught on in the US.  I would appreciate any advice concerning whether this
device is worthwhile or whether I should choose something else.

Lloyd
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