Crush and strain method optimisation

Greetings!
I would like to start a discussion on optimising the crush and strain method.
This is my first winter as a hobby beekeeper, and I managed to collect some honey from my hives.
Since the beginning I used the crush and strain method, partially because I have frameless Warré hives, but mostly because I prefer the flavours this method preserves in the honey when compared to centrifugated honey.

At the end of the (looooong) waiting, I found myself with the sticky mass of wax: I noticed that even if it was not dripping anymore over the filter I was using, it still had some "extractable" honey in it.
Is there any tested method to get to those last drops left inside the wax mass without degrading the honey with, say, heat, centrifugation, washing..?
For example I was thinking of twisting a piece of cloth containing the sticky mass tight enough to squeeze the remaining drops out of the wax. The difference with using a fruit press is that the cloth is more easily washable than the press, and that you don't need the volumes of the press itself while dealing with the sticky leftovers, not to mention the economically cheaper tools involved.
I didn't had the chance to test it yet. Would you say it could work?
Any other idea?

Thank you very much!
(This is my very first message on this forum!)

Welcome to the forum & good choice for a first topic!

I did the crush & strain method my first year and wasted a LOT of honey.

Knowing what I know now, I would've put the entire sticky mess in a bowl and placed it inside the hive using an empty super (providing you have a Langstroth hive, not sure if this will work with a Warre).
Some caution is advised as this may attract robber bees, maybe best done in small batches.  In any event, the bees do the all the work, they will pick it clean and recycle the honey back into their comb, leaving you with fluffy wax.
Zero waste.

Welcome to permies Matteo. I do exactly as Pete suggested ... give it back to the bees.

Crush and strain is interesting. I've had varying results.

The first problem is that most of my honey has a reasonable percentage of crystallised honey. That makes it unsuitable for traditional centrifuge extraction, and not very efficient for crush and strain. Two years ago I made a thermostatically controlled honey warming cabinet, from an old chest freezer and a reptile heater. Total cost around £40.

You can bring it up to temperature just enough to melt the honey, but below the temperature for it to denature or melt wax. Then when you crush and strain the warm honey it will flow really REALLY well and you will get much better yield.

For the final wax cleanup I like to make mead. Add enough moderately hot water to cover the wax and agitate it to dissolve the remaining honey. You want to use the least amount of water you can get away with. let it sit for a few hours, then use a sieve or similar to remove the floating solid. Transfer it to a suitable fermentation vessel and enjoy watching it bubble.

Finally, you can thoroughly wash the remaining cappings to remove the last traces of residual honey, and then purify it with your preferred method. I like a solar melter.

Thank you all for the replies!

Pete Podurgiel wrote: the bees do the all the work, they will pick it clean and recycle the honey back into their comb, leaving you with fluffy wax

Yeah I was thinking of doing it at the end of the process, which obviously will never take all of the honey out of the mass.

Michael Cox wrote:Two years ago I made a thermostatically controlled honey warming cabinet, from an old chest freezer and a reptile heater

That's an interesting idea! I might try it out, although I would prefer not to melt ivy crystals, as I fear they might recrystalize again inside the jars and turn the honey into marble!

Michael Cox wrote:For the final wax cleanup I like to make mead

I tried it too! My first and only attempt turned into vinegar (but a very good one), maybe the place where I stored the vessel was too warm?

Thanks for the inputs!

Matteo Tsael wrote:t recrystalize again inside the jars and turn the honey into marble!

Michael Cox wrote:For the final wax cleanup I like to make mead

I tried it too! My first and only attempt turned into vinegar (but a very good one), maybe the place where I stored the vessel was too warm?

Thanks for the inputs!

A result of vinegar, when making mead, is usually a matter of too much oxygen introduced into the carboy (or bottle, jug, etc), &/or missed timing. This part of the conversation would be great, in the fermentation forums!