Bottling idea

[TheMasonicHive]

Hello everyone,


I was thinking of an idea and I need some critiques.

I will be selling my honey in 8 oz. Muth Jars.  The standard spoon won't fit into the opening.

I was THINKING of drilling out a very small hole in the middle of the bottom of the cork, maybe going 3/4ths of the way in, then cutting a honey dipper to length, dabbing a bit of wood glue in the hole and on the end of the stick and jamming it into the cork.

I think this would be a nice way of keeping the cork look, and packaging an applicator within the bottle.

Any ideas or thought?  Your harshest critiques or wild speculative thoughts are appreciated!

[luvin honey]

Sounds cool :)

[jsmob]

Good idea. Just make sure what you use as an adhesive is a food grad material. Wood glue would not qualify, I believe.

[slacker361]

i am a new beek so take what i have to say that way. But i agree with teh wood glue , it might not play well with food, also I was thinking about having the wooden dipper submerged in the honey for long periods of time, will that have an effect on the wood?  maybe plastic? but then you have to worry about BPH

[TheMasonicHive]

Haha, BPH isn't that "enlarged prostate"? I know I've seen that term in pharmaceutical commercials.

I had similar thoughs about the wood being submerged in honey but for some reason I get the feeling that it really can't do any harm. If anyone knows to the contrary that would be helpful.

As for the glue, I definately mispoke. I'd make sure to use some kind of foodsafe adhesive.

I'm mostly going to rely on the small hole to secure a super tight hold on the stick.

[Grandpa Jim]

That is an interesting idea, very unique.  If you drill the hole small and push the stick into the cork it may expand the cork making it too tight.  It could be a real challenge to get the right size hole to hold the stick just right.  I do think the end result would be worth the challenge.  Could be the next Burts Bees.

[TheMasonicHive]

When it comes to the adhesive, I'm a bit concerned about making this work.

I use Titebond III for putting together my supers and so forth, but apparently it is approved for "indirect food contact"

http://www.titebond.com/ProductLineTB.asp?prodline=94&prodcat=1

Since there will only be a small dab embedded deep in the cork and on the stick, do you think this would be safe to use?

I'd imagine that this certainly qualifies as "indirect".

[slacker361]

you aer right about BPH ....LOL.....I meant Bisphenol A, or BPA

[TheMasonicHive]

hahaha, OK.  I hadn't heard of it before.

I just looked at it looks like BPA is something used in plastics.

None of the items I'm using are plastic.  They are glass bottles with cork stoppers, and the dipper will be wood!

If I'm missing something, please enlighten me!

[TheMasonicHive]

darn.  Looks like my idea wont work.

The diameter of the mouth of the jar is only an inch.  I can't find a dipper that will fit through the mouth!

This sucks!

[AllenF]

Use beeswax as a glue.  That would work.

[slacker361]

the bpa was for the idea of a plastic honey dipper in , since I didnt know if the wood dipper submerged in honey would have an effect on the wood. the bees wax idea might work, or maybe propolis

dont listen to me , I have only had my bees for 4 weeks I KNOW NOTHING      LOL

[AllenF]

You came up with a good idea.

[greenbtree]

Take the wood honey dippers to a square wheel belt sander (or something) and remove diameter until it does fit?  (Of course this is turning into a lot of work...)

JC

[TheMasonicHive]

Slacker, I've been keeping bees about 2 weeks longer than you, so we're both newbees!  Your suggestions and attention are appreciated!

I really do think this is a great idea but I need to find some way to make it feasible.

There MUST be some smaller diameter honey dippers out there.  I imagine there would be because these bottles have been around since the 1800s and someone must have used or made one!

[wd]

Sounds like a custom item to me. could do it your self or ask some else to do it. http://www.craftparts.com/honey-dippers-p-3670.html

[jsmob]

You know there are all kinds of honey dippers. Like the wood ones you are thinking of, or spoons, or even the original honey dipper...YOUR FINGER. I am trying to be funny, but my point is don't get stuck on a certain type of dipper. Most anything will work. As far as plastics go, I would not worry about side effects. I see a lot of plastic honey bottles out there. ;)

[TheMasonicHive]

jsmob.

I know there are different things I can use, but I'm more of a person who really is keep on packaging.  To me a package for a product should be attractive, clean, and useful.

The problem with the 8 oz. Muth Jar is that your standard spoon will not fit in it.

So the question becomes to the customer "Why do I want to pay more for that jar?"

To me the answer is to keep a classical look and add a practical applicator to the bottle that doesn't disturb its natural beauty.

Its about adding without really adding and keeping the look classical, thats the reason I'm dead set on the honey dipper!

[fish_stix]

If you can find a "right size" dipper then just tape it to the outside of the bottle. People will appreciate having it. If you can't find it then don't worry over it! People will find a good way to get the goodies out of the jar! My wife has sold a bunch of honey in the little flat mason jars because women like the looks of the jar. They figure out how to get the honey out efficiently! Give a muth jar to a woman and any problem of removing honey is history!

[luvin honey]

You know there are all kinds of honey dippers. Like the wood ones you are thinking of, or spoons, or even the original honey dipper...YOUR FINGER. I am trying to be funny, but my point is don't get stuck on a certain type of dipper. Most anything will work. As far as plastics go, I would not worry about side effects. I see a lot of plastic honey bottles out there. ;)

People ARE getting a lot more concerned about plastic, though. And someone buying a glass bottle for that reason may be turned off by plastic...