Garth Cambray wrote:
 
>Hi All
>
>On the value of wax: cut comb is a big waste of money...<big snip>
 
Garth has presented some interesting and valid points.  The economics can
indeed favor the increased volume of extracted over comb honey.  As Walter
Kelley pointed out, however, comb honey is a unique product, whereas
extracted honey is so similar-looking to cooking oils, corn/maple syrups
and other run-of-the-mill food products.  I think of it sort-of like the
difference between maple candy and maple syrup, the former being much more
expensive specialty food, which requiring a large volume of syrup to
produce a small volume of candy.  The price reflects this(!), but people
who enjoy it are quite willing to pay more.
 
Mr. Kelley really pushed cut-comb, especially for beginners, and  claimed
it sold "faster and at higher prices" than extracted.  Evidently this is
not the rule.  Comb honey should certainly be worth a great deal more than
1.5 times the price of extracted, and some producers can (do) get a VERY
sweet price for it, if they have access to a good retail market.  This can
make comb honey a profitable endeavor despite the lower yields one has to
expect.
 
For anyone who does wish to produce comb honey, for a specialty market, for
the sheer novelty value, or just for the challenge, cut-comb isn't really
so bad -- at least, yields of cut-comb are (IME) substantially higher than
section-comb, as the bees can draw larger combs and aren't forced to work
in small isolated spaces.  C-C is cheaper to produce than sections, too,
but will often bring at least the same retail price.
 
I have had a few customers mention that they really love comb-honey, but
that they can never find it.
 
FFT