“Wedge” Type Knife (Steam/Electric)

“Wedge” Type Steam Knife

The steam knife is made from high-quality stainless steel and has two tubes on the sides, one of which is connected to a steam generator. The steam generator is not included in the delivery set. As the steam passes through the body of the knife, it heats it to the melting temperature of wax, allowing the knife to remove the cappings from the combs with ease.

Knives of this type are used in the “Wedge” device. This tool is designed to simplify and speed up the process of uncapping honeycombs. A honey frame is placed on the moving part of the “Wedge” tool; the knife is positioned in the centre of the tool. As the honey frame is moved along the rails, the knife comes into contact with the frame and smoothly cuts off all the cappings in a single pass. The frame is then turned over and the procedure is repeated. In this way, in two passes you remove the cappings from both sides of the frame. The whole process takes less than a minute.

There is a second device whose operating principle is based on the same type of knives. This device, called a vertical honeycomb uncapper, has a somewhat different design from the “Wedge” tool. The vertical uncapper uses two knives at once. The knives are installed vertically, with the blades facing upwards. The frame is placed between metal guides and gradually lowered down; as it passes through the knives, the cappings are removed from both sides of the frame at the same time.