Good luck with the bees Steve. It's vital that more people do this.
My Grandpa had several hives and kept bees all his life. He had the hat, veil and  gloves but nothing like your space age outfit.
Granny would often just put the comb on a plate and we ate the honey on freshly made scones, birs of wax comb and all. 
We didn't mind it being a bit crunchy and it didn't affect the taste. She did extract it and bottle it too but I never saw how.
If we were lucky Granny's cousin Mary Brown would have been by with fresh butter from the farm. So glad to have enjoyed a rural childhood always knowing whose hens had laid our eggs.