Inside: Although using a hive tool may feel awkward at first, it will soon become second nature. And once you learn some hive tool magic, you’ll be free to concentrate on your bees instead of your movements.
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The only item every beekeeper needs
Some beekeepers shed bee suits or gloves. Some don’t use smokers. Others don’t even wear socks. But no beekeeper I’ve ever met worked without a hive tool.
But here’s the catch: hive tools come in endless designs, shapes, and sizes. It may take a little trial and error, but once you find the right tool for you, you’ll never be without it.
What makes a hive tool special?
Hive tools need to work under stressful conditions. They must be strong enough to separate boxes glued together with propolis, but small enough to rest in your hand. The ends must be sharp enough to scrape frames but safe enough to carry in your pocket. They must be thin enough to fit in tight spaces but stout enough not to break. And they should also be easy to clean and sharpen.
Popular types of hive tools proliferate at bee supply stores. These are inexpensive and work well. But specialized designs exist, too. And many beekeepers make tools they like even better.
No rules exist for hive tool design except strength and safety. Since you don’t want your tool to bend or snap, materials and workmanship are important for a quality hive tool.
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How does a hive tool help a beekeeper?
If you are a newly minted beekeeper, you may think you don’t need a tool to open your hive. But this illusion soon disappears. A colony of honey bees will soon fuse its home together in creative and irritating ways.
Before long, the lid will be stuck to the inner cover, which is stuck to the super, which is stuck to the brood box. Once you get into the brood box, the frames are stuck to the frame holders or to each other and sometimes the side walls, too. To avoid ripping combs and killing bees, you need to slit all those waxy connections. Hence the hive tool.
Lots of times, you won’t be able to force the frames back into the brood box without scraping them of excess propolis or wax. Your hive tool will help do all these jobs and more.
I use ratcheting tie-downs on all my hives to discourage raccoons and similar creatures from removing the lid. The ratchet mechanisms always stick so badly I can’t get them to release without a lot of cussing and moaning. After struggling for years, I finally learned that a J-hook hive tool releases these like magic.
Other beekeepers use hive tools for stuffing fuel into smokers, pinching queens, removing vermin, or cleaning boots. In fact, you will find so many uses for a hive tool that you’ll wonder why we don’t issue them to humans at birth. Remember that the next time you’re invited to a baby shower.
The most common hive tool isn’t magic
The standard hive tool that comes with most beginner kits is a double-ended metal bar. It’s thin and flat with one end bent at a 90-degree angle like a paint scraper. For some elusive reason, one end has a hole you can use for prying nails from wood. (In all my beekeeping years, I’ve never had an impulse to remove the nails from my bee boxes during an inspection. But you never know.)
Both ends work for scraping. The bent end is sometimes better for scraping bee boxes because it doesn’t dig into the wood like the flat end, especially if the wood is soft. The bent end is also good for lifting frames and prying stuck boxes. Although the standard hive tool is okay, it’s not brilliant. I use it for end-of-season clean-ups, but it’s not something I use in day-to-day beekeeping.
A word of caution: don’t carry this tool in your back pocket with the bent end pointed out. I’ve seen people slit lawn furniture and carve long grooves in the paint of new pickups because they forgot about this weapon in their pockets.
The J-hook is my go-to style
Three features make the J-hook tool an excellent choice. First, it is flat. Flat means it’s less likely to accidentally cut things or get tangled in a lawn mower. Second, it’s longer, making it better for reaching between hive components. And third, one end resembles a J, allowing you to lift frames from a sticky hive.
The scraping end is sharp and effective. Like the regular hive tool, it also has a nail remover on one end, in case you feel the urge to destroy your boxes. Both the regular and J-hook hive tools have a painted end to help you find them until the paint wears off a few weeks later.
Hive tools come in endless designs
Beyond these two common designs, beekeepers have designed dozens of other versions over the years. For example, I have one that is long enough to reach the length of long top-bar combs that get glued to the hive interior. Others are short with a wooden “handle” in the center. Some remind me of Swiss army knives, with multiple types of tools sprouting from the main stem.
I don’t think a right, wrong, good, or bad hive tool exists. Every beekeeper is different, so finding the right one for you is the best choice. For me, I like to keep it simple. And being a klutz, I’m better off wielding a tool that’s not too complicated.
Personalized tools make popular gifts
Because every beekeeper uses them, hive tools are popular gifts. Personalized ones are everywhere. I have one that says “American Bee Journal” along the length and another that says “U Montana Master Beekeeper.” Friends, family, bee clubs, and retiring beekeepers donated hive tools as well. Although it’s hard to explain, hive tools multiply like varroa mites.
Regardless of the sheer number of hive tools in the world, beekeepers misplace them constantly. Years ago, I estimated I spent 40 percent of my beekeeping time looking for a hive tool I used only moments earlier. Go figure. Later, Bee Smart Designs came out with a cool wearable magnet that you can strap on to keep your hive tool close at hand.
Your magic hive tool is also a knife
Once you become skilled with the hive tool you like best, you will resemble a magician, wielding it one way or another, and managing every task with a single implement. Then, with your beekeeping work done for the day, you can stick it in a jar of peanut butter and make a sandwich for the road.
An experienced beekeeper with a hive tool reminds me of a chief with a vegetable cleaver, making it do whatever he wants, quickly and efficiently. Keep it in your palm, never let go, and soon you will be doing the magic yourself.
Rusty
Honey Bee Suite
About Me
I backed my love of bee science with a bachelor’s degree in Agronomic Crops and a master’s in Environmental Studies. I write extensively about bees, including a current column in American Bee Journal and past columns in Two Million Blossoms and Bee Craft. I’ve endured multiple courses in melittology and made extensive identifications of North American bees for iNaturalist and other organizations. My master beekeeper certificate issued from U Montana. I’m also an English nerd. More here.
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No doubt about it, after a couple of seasons you’ll likely land on a version of tool that will become your Go-To. I experiment now and then, but like you Rusty, I keep coming back to the Dadant J-Hook for the reasons you cite. The standard tool is my go-to for cleaning boxes and frames because as you note the bent end scrapes very nicely without harming the wood. I may experiment with new tools from time to time but yes, no beekeeping job is too big for my beloved standbys, LOL!
By “Hive Tool Magician” in the title, you mean we’ll learn to make them disappear.
Somewhere *in* my house, I’ve lost my first hive tool. It came with a (don’t get a) beginner kit and was too small to be useful, but it has sentimental value.
My j-hook is absolutely the best tool for lifting stuck frames. But I usually forget to use it.
Perhaps my most frequent remark, as I peer all around the beeyard (not that I ever talk to myself, of course) is “well if you were a GOOD beekeeper you would still have a hive tool in your hand.”
Roberta,
I still have my original hive tool but, so far, it’s spent most of its life lost, usually under a hive stand.
I own 2 of the flat/curved-end tools, and 1 J hook. I realized last year that the J hook’s scraping end is sharpened on 2 edges, which turns out to be better at scraping junk out of the corners of boxes. I agree, the J hook can be better at lifting, but then again, I have a frame gripper lifting tool which is even better (when I remember to take it out to the apiary). The worse problem is chiseling the propolis apart anyway.
Also last year, one of the covers succumbed to the elements and began to fall apart. While evaluating whether any of its components were worth salvaging, I used the nail puller on a dangerously protruding nail. I was as surprised as you are.
As for which style I use the most – um, the one I can find right now.
Well, I’m glad to hear one of those little holes got used for something!
Everyone wants to know: How does a J-hook hive tool release ratchet tie downs? Please post a video or at least pictures!
Mark,
Okay, I’ll take some pics.
Thanks Rusty! I love reading your stories!!
To reduce the chance of transferring bee diseases from one apiary to another, I have a hive tool for each apiary. I store it and a few other duplicate things in a medium super on top of one of my hives in each apiary. Doing that is really cheap insurance against American Foul Brood. Compare the cost of extra hive tools, gloves and smokers to the cost of burning multiple colonies of bees with all of the bees, bottom boards up through the top cover. I took no chances and burned all of the honey as well.
Learn to identify American Foulbrood in this 90-second video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnfLPfOeyeA
If you find it, killing the bees with soapy water, burning the bees and all of the equipment they touched is the best way to make sure it doesn’t spread to other hives – managed and/or wild ones.
Mark,
Going further than one tool per apiary, many beekeepers use one tool per hive. Other beekeepers, dip the tools in alcohol between hives. Personally, if a beekeepers has been persistently free of AFB for years, I don’t think that degree of caution is necessary. Even after 20 years, I’ve never had a case of AFB in one of my hives. But I’m sure it varies by location. If neighboring beekeepers have it, your hives are certainly more vulnerable.
And don’t forget that magic magnet tool belt thingy you wrote about a while back. I bought 2, then put each of the magnet holders on one belt! LOVE IT!
I use the flat J hook style tool only for Langstroth hives, and the double ended +90 deg bend version for top-bar hives. I find it frustrating to use them the other way around.
I too have never drawn nails with the mysterious hole but it is so useful for hanging up the hive tool that I use exclusively in the workshop for cleaning up boxes and frames.
Mike,
I agree. I always hang my hive tools using that little hole.
Great hive tool article! BTW, I use the little hole frequently to thread a cord through it and fashion it into swarm catching tool! I hold the end of the cord and boom-a-rang the custom rope carrying hive tool over a branch so that I can shake a swarm down!
Cathy,
That’s a great idea! Why didn’t I think of that!
Rusty,
Thank you for your articles and attention to all the little details. I’ve been reading your articles for years! I absolutely love them. Some make me laugh out loud and reread them to my husband so that he can laugh too. I will say that the j-hook tool is the best one for me when I can find it. I always manage to put it down or away (after a day in the apiary) and am never able to find it for weeks. That’s when I switch to what’s left on the shelf. I feel that both have served me greatly. But prefer the j-hook style. I use the open circle to remove my gently nailed in mouse traps at end of winter. That hole works perfectly for that job.
Keep up the good work, I will probably be getting the magnet you spoke of. Perhaps I’ll keep hold of my tools longer if I do!
Hi Kellie,
I always read the comments carefully because I learn so much. Your comment about “gently nailed in mouse traps” floored me. Why did I never think of that? I just leave the traps on the landing board and the mice (or somebody) toss them to the ground, but you nail them in place. Brilliant! I will definitely try it.
Thanks for the compliment. If I can make someone laugh—even for a moment—I feel I’ve done a good thing. Thanks for letting me know.
I absolutely loved this blog post on becoming a “Hive Tool Magician”! Beekeeping is such a fascinating and important hobby, and your article really highlights the artistry and skill that can be involved in it.
The analogy between a beekeeper and a magician is so clever and apt. Just like a magician with their tools, a beekeeper must master their hive tools to work harmoniously with the bees. Your tips on selecting the right tools, maintaining them, and using them effectively are incredibly helpful for both beginners and experienced beekeepers.
I also appreciated the emphasis on safety and respect for the bees. It’s essential for anyone involved in beekeeping to remember that these little creatures are crucial to our ecosystem, and handling them with care is paramount.
Unlock the Beekeeping Magic at [https://ozarmour.co/en-us/blogs/news/the-science-behind-beekeeping-smokers-how-smoke-affects-honeybees] ✨
Overall, this blog was not only informative but also beautifully written. It’s clear that you have a deep passion for beekeeping, and your enthusiasm is contagious. I look forward to reading more of your insights and tips on this enchanting hobby. Beekeeping truly is a magical world, and you’ve captured its essence wonderfully in this post! ✨
I use a knife as my hive tool – a basic, fold-into-the-handle knife. It’s just as prone to getting lost as other tools, but I’ve preferred it since the beginning as I find it easier to maneuver – levering bars, cutting comb, etc. The point is also useful for winkling out and killing hive beetles/wax worms. This time [of] year those are an especial pest – though a half-sheet of Swiffer knock-off hanging between the bars near the entrances makes for a hive beetle great trap.
Sara,
That’s fascinating because, in all my beekeeping years, I don’t recall someone using a knife in place of a hive tool.