# beeswax candles and wooden wicks



## Woodpecker

Is there a reason no one makes( that I know of) beeswax candles with the wooden wick? If not could I do this myself as a complete beginner? tyia


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## mustangsally17

I'd be interested also in a response, actually never heard of wooden wicks. What do you use? Where do you get them?


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## Wisconsin Ann

I've been trying to come up with a formula for using beeswax with the wooden type wicks...but they just don't burn well. I suspect it's because the wooden wicks need oil to soak up and continue to burn well without burning down into the pool...

Pure beeswax just doesn't work well for container candles. It's got way too high a melt temp. You could use a formula of lowmelt wax to bring down the melt temp, but...why would you want to waste the beeswax?

I've had some success with using a thin split of wood soaked in melted wax for an hour...keep it hot so it soaks into the wood. I've also soaked in olive oil overnight to saturate..that works fairly well. Then put some wax in a container, insert the wood, wait for it to solidify in place, then add more wax. Regular container wax..perhaps a little higher melt temp.

When you burn it, you'll get a HUGE pool, which is good, and it burns it very very slowly. A quart mason jar size works well with a 1/2" wide wick. (a popcicle stick will work, but even thinner is better) If you can split wood really thin, a 2 layer works the best. Each layer soaked, and then held together using wax...like..soak them separately, and then pull out of the melted wax and let them set up together into one wick.


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## Wisconsin Ann

This is a freshly lit (the pool hasn't filled yet) candle using a 1/2" wide, 1/32"thick piece of pine as a wick. Balsa or basswood work well, but the balsa seems to burn more quickly(it's a VERY light wood...little density). This candle gives off a lot of light and heat. The heat is a problem if you use this near anything flammable. It's in a pintsized jelly jar, which is actually too small I'm thinking...this one tends to drown itself after an hour. I might use higher melt wax if I make any more in this sized container.


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## LovPRQueen

That is a really neat idea. I've been wanting to recycle our old candles!


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## pinemead

Mustangsally, wood wicks make a larger melt pool and throw more scent. They also pop and crackle like a fireplace (on a much smaller scale). Pre-made, ready-to-use ones are hard to find, but are becoming more popular.


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## Woodpecker

That makes sense. Thanks all. Does anyone have any of these wooden wick candles to sell so I can try them out?


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## mustangsally17

Thank You all , good information, Ann, you never cease to amaze me.


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## Wisconsin Ann

I tell ya what...I'd not heard of the wooden wick candles before it was brought up here on HT a while back. Once I started looking into them, I thought they might be great for actual light..you know? instead of "atmosphere". It's quite a bit of light. Very interesting trying to come up with a good formula for containers,and now I'm trying for pillars. The huge flame keeps either drowningitself, sinking down into the center, or dripping wax all over the place. 

ahwell. keep on trying, eh?


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## primal1

I had read somewhere they were also made from reeds, a grasslike plant from wetlands.
I haven't done any testing yet but i have a bunch of lemon grass growing and i'll use that once i get my new melting tub fitted with a tap!

Recently though I did see an antique iron clamping device that i was told was to clamp wood wicked candles... no more info available though


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## Wisconsin Ann

hmm...reeds.....very fibrous, lightweight, they suck up color thru their hollow cores...and I have some upstairs right now! heck, they're all over the place outside in the swamps. Cattails everywhere...I don't think the stems would work, but a pair of leaves might be just the ticket...

wooohooo!! thanks for the idea, Primal! I know reeds were used for oil lamps..hadn't thought about them for candles tho.


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## primal1

Wisconsin Ann said:


> hmm...reeds.....very fibrous, lightweight, they suck up color thru their hollow cores...and I have some upstairs right now! heck, they're all over the place outside in the swamps. Cattails everywhere...I don't think the stems would work, but a pair of leaves might be just the ticket...
> 
> wooohooo!! thanks for the idea, Primal! I know reeds were used for oil lamps..hadn't thought about them for candles tho.


Glad to be of use... I would love to hear your results so please post back when you get around to testing! Good luck!


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## Woodpecker

Please let us know how this turns out for you. This is a interesting concept.


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## Aimee529

What about using a hard wood like oak or maple instead of a soft wood like pine....since the hard woods burn longer would that keep the wick from getting drowned? Also does the wick have to be treated or just "stuck in there?"


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## Wisconsin Ann

The way a wick,.... cotton, linen, wool, wood..whatever the material...works is that it soaks up the wax as the wax melts and it's the melted wax that burns...not the wick. Yes, the wick burns a little as the wax goes down...the pool of wax needs to soak up into the wick.

So...you need a wood that will absorb melted wax or oil. There are some hardwoods that absorb better than others....certainly worth trying out. Hardwoods burn hotter than softwoods, that would be something to factor in, as well. Soaking the wick or wooden wick in oil or melted wax is called "priming"...like when you prime a pump...it gets the "wicking" motion started.

<ann goes off to think about this a bit...>


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