I am only in my second year of keeping bee's, I have learned much from this forum and much from the bee's am really learning right now as this year I am starting two hives with out foundation!
I originally :
a bee brush, used it once. never again, hurts the bee's and was real no reason for it. A frame grip is a great. Use mine every time. I also picked up a frame holder to hang on the side of the hive. That way I have someplace to safely put the frame when I pull it out. Specailly to take pictures. After seeing what the bee's do on foundationless I would buy frames without plastic foundation and just start right out with foundationless. See Bush Farms web sight. Michael has a lot of very good and interesting information.
If I were to start today I would buy:
1. two deeps
2. two supers
3. bottom board
4. inner cover
5. telescoping cover
6. frame grip
7. frame holder (sits on side of hive)
8. j shaped hive tool
9. gloves, your choice
10. I like the dadent bee jacket with vail attached
11. smoker although I have only used mine two or three times and now don't even look for it. I have been blessed with gently bee's
12. frames designed to be used without foundation. I popped all the foundation out and glued in wood strips, the bees are going nuts building comb on this and they are building comb probably five times as fast as they did on the plastic foundation!!!
I wouldn't buy and excluder although they do fit the top of a round charcoal grill, only time i have used mine.
I wouldn't buy nine frame spacers, always use ten frames cept in the super second year and after then space them equally
only my two cents. but i found i bought stuff i didn't need or use, when i first started.
