Hey guys, here is what a creative beekeeper inventor did to help us… The Perfect Pocket Hive Tool is now a perk on the Hive Genie Indiegogo campaign. Get it at a super cool price… Hive Genie Indiegogo Campaign and help make Hive Genie a reality… spread the word!
Good morning all(at least in North America),
I saw a link for this fund-raising effort on Indiegogo in an email from Flow Forums a week or so back.
My hive is just far enough from our house to make the journey to it a bit of a pain, so I really sat up while watching the video about the capabilities of the HIVE GENIE.
I do enjoy visiting and working my hive, but the ability to monitor critical parameters of the hive from the house on the computer seems like a wonderful idea.
I am one of the funders for the campaign because I believe a tool like this will be a great help to back-yard beekeepers like my self, just like the FLOW HIVE campaign I signed up to fund. I think this idea is worth your time and consideration because I’d love to see his campaign reach his goal and add another option/tool to the beekeeping community.
I’m not sharp enough to provide a link, but do a search on Indiegogo for HIVE GENIE and it will pop up.
Jack
Thanks for your support!
Hi Jack,
You are , I am sure, plenty sharp, but until you have made a few more posts you can’t add images or links; -)
In the meantime;
Thank you Sara you made my day!
A bloke was at my house showing me the beekeeping gear he’s selling. Guess what he had, a perfect pocket hive tool for $5 so I grabbed one.
What a great deal! Do let us know how you like it - it looks a bit small to me in the youtube video, but maybe it works really well.
Shame the Hive Genie didn’t reach its goal on indiegogo - my husband would have loved one, scientist that he is… 
Dawn
You could always try the Arnia
Hi Dawn, no worries. I’ll let you know how it goes. It looked really nice & well made in stainless, I had to grab it. I saw it first on this thread:) I used to use a bread & butter knife as a hive tool after losing my proper hive tools, I grabbed a b&b knife just to tie me over & kept on using them for over 20 years. I used them in my earliest beekeeping videos & would you believe I inspired a few other people to use them. I’m sure the p.p.h.t will be more convenient than a b&b knife.
I wish the Arnia was more approachable price wise. It’s pretty outrageous for the home hobbyist beekeeper.
How much is a basic system?
It was $1625.00 with all of the components they offer. Plus there was a yearly subscription fee to the tracking software that was $160/yr. Obviously they are targeting the commercial guys not us hobbyists but it still seems a bit steep to me in the end.
Phew!
Expensive boy’s toy!
Hi Dawn, I tried it out today, it’s worth every penny. Great for scraping burr comb, squashing beetles, scraping burr comb off q.excluders while still in the hive. The chisel has just the right amount of sharpness so as not to cut into the wood while scraping. I just need to get the knack of removing frames with it. I find the other hive tool easier for removing frames. I had an occasion to use the nail puller, that worked well. Thumbs up from me:) cheers
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Thanks Jeff. I was mostly concerned about the hook end, as I like using the little square corner just below the hook on a standard hive tool to give leverage when lifting frames. The pocket tool doesn’t have that corner sticking out, so I guess the technique will differ a little.
Anyway, I appreciate your report, and when I am ordering other stuff, I will have to look at getting one of those thrown in the box too.
Yes, way too pricey for me, but I have asked them to send me a full US and UK price list, so that I can see what is on offer. I think David would only want to spend a couple of hundred dollars at most.
Dawn
Your welcome Dawn, I can’t stop raving about it, the width of the chisel, it’s a nice little scraper at your fingertips. Well worth the money.
OK, if anyone is interested in the Arnia system, I have a current US price list in a pdf document. As it is 500kb, I won’t post it here. I also have a “data sheet” explaining the system, which is 1.4Mb in size. If anyone is curious, send me your e-mail in a PM, and I will forward the info to you.
Dawn
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Oh dang it, my husband wants one… 
Dawn
You shouldn’t let him read this forum 
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