Beekeeping Pry Bars
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Beekeeping “hive tools” are basically pry barns. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)
Beekeeping Pry Bars
A “hive tool”, the basic beekeeping tool, by any other name would be a small pry bar. The basic hive tool is to help a beekeeper get into a bee hive by prying through the tree-sap based glue bees make to seal up the hive.
In the three examples in the photo above, can you tell which one was sold as a “hive tool” and which one was sold as a pry bar?
The difference between the silver pry bar and “hive tool” is 1/4 inch. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)
Look again, the difference is only 1/4-inch in length and can be a savings of several dollars per hive tool.
The two small pry bars on the right were purchased at a local home and garden center in the tool department. The all blue one has a blue paint coat all over the bar and cost $10. I use marine blue as my signature color for garden benches and my hive tools. It’s an easy way to discourage hive tools from disappearing when working in other apiaries.
The middle, all silver small pry bar is getting a signature yellow paint on it. The original one belonged to my bee buddy David and was inadvertently given away at our last club meeting. Cost of the middle silver one, not counting the paint job, $5 each.
Here are two popular hive tool prices original and on sale. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo) o
And on the left of the top photo, an original beekeeping “hive tool,” purchased for $13.
So if you’re like me and tend the loose a hive tool or three during a season, checking your local home and garden tool section may save you a few dollars.
And if you’re just starting your beekeeping journey, pick up a copy of “A Beekeeper’s Diary Self-Guide to Keeping Bees” 2nd Edition. The award-winning book will walk a new beekeeper through the process and provides some basic bee biology information, too.
