>Hi Joel,
>
>After trying lots of differrent methods I find the uncapping fork fast
>clean, and yes I get loads
>of really good quality wax, which I can make lots of splendid candles
>from. I find as well it takes
>lots less honey with it than a knifeso I get more honey and more good
>quality wax, which can't be
>bad. I dont know what the bees think but I guess they are not very happy
>with any of this !
>
>best wishes
>
>Steve
>
 
Hi Steve,
 
Yes, sounds like the fork has some real advantages.  Actually, the first
time I saw one was in a journal photo-article about a German beekeeper.  He
had a sort of angled stand set on a table, on which he would set each comb,
and was removing the cappings (lifting them off) with one of the uncapping
forks.  No knife, no heat, and obviously (from the photos) hardly any mess.
I'd never seen, read, or heard of this technique before on this side of
the pond.
 
The whole idea of using a long fork to lift off the cappings (and using no
knife at all) is not presented in the usual texts and manuals over here.
Neither are the forks marketed in the US; at least I've never seen them
anywhere.  Seems to me they would be better for a beginner or hobbiest than
the hot electric knives and planes, since much more affordable and probably
a great deal safer.  There is also less burnt and carmelized honey & gooey
cappings to deal with.
 
The beekeeper featured in the aforementioned article (ABJ) I think had a
couple dozen hives or something; in any case the fork was the only tool
used for uncapping in his honey house.
 
A "cappings scratcher" is a very common item here, used to open up the low
spots that the uncapping knife misses.  It is smaller than an uncapping
fork, and the tongs are much shorter (& not so angled).
 
Perhaps someone else could point out if the proper uncapping forks are
available in North America.