DevonBees_Em · Devon, UK · Honey · Jul 22, 2026

First go at cut comb — when exactly do I pull it, and is thin surplus foundation essential?

Fourth summer in Devon and a farm shop has asked me for cut comb honey, which apparently sells for silly money here. I've only ever extracted. I've put a super of fresh frames on my strongest colony over the tail of the bramble flow. Two questions. First, timing: do I wait until every cell is capped like extracting, or pull it earlier? I've read the comb gets 'travel stained' and darker the longer bees walk on it, and the whole point is that snow-white look. Second: I fitted normal wired foundation before reading that you're meant to use thin surplus unwired — how much have I ruined? Do people even do foundationless for cut comb?

#cut-comb#comb-honey#foundation#harvest

▲ 7 votes 💬 3 replies

3 replies

InesMel · Jul 22, 2026

Pull it as soon as the section is fully capped — don't leave it on 'to be safe'. Every extra week means propolis tracks and travel stain on the cappings and you lose the white. I check every 4–5 days once capping starts. And freeze the cut sections for 24–48 hours before sale; it kills any wax moth eggs, which is essential for comb you can't inspect from inside.

muglabalci · Jul 22, 2026

Wired foundation is the real problem, not the thickness — nobody wants to chew a wire, and cutting through embedded wires wrecks the slab. This year, sell those frames as extracted and take it as a lesson. Next boxes: thin surplus unwired, or foundationless with a starter strip. Foundationless gives the most delicate bite of all but the combs are fragile in hot weather, so handle flat.

VTBeeHannah · Jul 23, 2026

If you do foundationless for this, put the frames between two straight drawn combs or you'll get lovely white banana-shaped comb you can't cut squares from. Ask me how I know. Also a cheap ruler-and-pizza-wheel cuts neater squares than a knife, and drain the cut edges on a rack overnight before boxing.

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