Laura C

👍 Neat, looks great and Halloween is around the corner already, can you believe it. I like beeswax candles and have bought several from my friend in Canada that has her own business, she makes lovely stuff. I like the smell of beeswax but I have only made a few beeswax blend container candles. I need to add molded beeswax candles on my To Do List.

Cool, those are adorable. I've never seen molds like that with the hang tag hole. And now I have to look away... I have way too many molds as it is. Molds and FOs are dangerous and addictive things, LOL. 🤑

And, you could make some wax melts and add just a few herbs on top. That seems to work fine and not be a fire hazard. I've been doing that without any issues.

That candle and label is very cute.

That's funny. And yes, when you go to sell a candle you must have the wick secured. What are they thinking? Just so happens today, I went back into my YouTube Video history and re-watched some of the videos I had watched in the past and had in mind that they were "good" and "helpful" but had to turn away in horror. LOL. Now that I have more experience and knowledge with candle making, proper candle making, I certainly view those videos in a totally different light. 🤣

Yes, I found the post I was thinking of regarding Wicks Unlimited and @Island girl appears to be satisfied with their wicking service.

Ooh, ooh @ErronB if you do use the wick testing service at Wicks Unlimited would you mind to tell us about the experience? If you liked the service, if you'd use it again etc. you don't have to tell us your candle details. I just live a few miles away from them and I have been tempted many times to try their service but just never have. I'm curious to know if anyone here on Craft Server has used their service. I need to search on here and see if I turn up any info.

Oh yes, I second that. 😄 I have found myself shouting obscenities at the YouTube screen and my husband doesn't know what's going on. LOL.

LOL. Hey @ErronB, well thanks but I don't claim to be an expert, LOL. There are some people on here that do hold that title, they know their stuff. I'm constantly learning like everyone else. You shouldn't feel bad because we have all been there. We've all been there and back again; confused, befuddled, disgusted, mentally exhausted, etc. I know myself, I've made some silly posts or comments on here that I felt stupid for saying at times. Dealing with candle making and testing can drive you bananas at times but if you really enjoy it then you keep at it. If you keep participating and keep making candles then the more you'll learn. Enjoy! 😊

Possible it could have something to do the the different altitudes that you all live in? I don't know. Possible that all their candles are actually hot, sooty infernos? IDK. But I did just recently come across one of his wick testing videos and the candles looked scary; hot, over-wicked messes with lots of carbon balls floating in the melt pools. He didn't seem to have any problems with the way they looked or performed. 😲 Go figure? That is not my scene. Luckily, I now have enough experience under my belt to know when I see a crappy and dangerous candle making/testing video on the internet and can quickly move on. Shew, thank goodness. LOL. Be careful of what you watch.

As a quick answer, top things to look for on a first burn are flame too tall (trim the wick), smoking or sooting, extreme mushrooming, wick drowning, good - great hot throw and candle looks nice and pleasant. As for the resulting melt pool, I wouldn't rule out a wick that left a wax ring around the candle that was anywhere between an inch to a half inch nor would I consider that tunneling yet at that point. After 2-3 more burns that wax ring may disappear or be very thin. And by the time the candle melts halfway down or finishes then hopefully the jar won't be too hot or covered in thick black soot. It's all a juggling act; wick size, jar heat, scent throw, etc. and your own preference for performance.

Sorry, I'm not sure, I'd have to see it and know how it was performing during the burn. That's why it's important to watch some good videos and know what you need to look for or look over some of the candle testing info posted on here.

Wow, @MilosCandles thanks for taking the time to post all this information, it is very helpful. Shipping can get confusing. 😄

And I'll add to what @pughaus said. In addition to knowing how to test for a safe candle, per what he said, your candles should also pass the safety tests performed by big box stores or wholesalers, if that's something you are also interested in. I greatly appreciate his information and see how it will fit into my updated wick testing procedure. But unlike him, I'll also be testing for appearance. He doesn't care about appearance, LOL. safety + great performance + nice appearance = Winner 🏆

Yes, exactly, well said. He did say he didn't make the candles and he listed a link to the person that did. I mean they were "test" candles so you'd think that person made some that would fail. And I just want to add to what you said. In addition to knowing how to test for a safe candle, per what he said, your candles should also pass the safety tests performed by big box stores or wholesalers, if that's something you are also interested in. I greatly appreciate his information and see how it will fit into my updated wick testing procedure. But unlike him, I'll also be testing for appearance. safety + great performance + nice appearance = Winner 🏆

Thanks @CandleRush 👍 Well, it's obvious I was talking to deaf ears and that he has no interest in how a candle looks, only the safety and sci-ency stuff. LOL. As far as his paraffin rant goes and being a "scientist" which he keeps mentioning, he should know that there is plenty of scientific evidence that claims paraffin candles made with food grade paraffin are safe. They use that stuff on produce and other things. Anyway, have fun making your candles. 🕯️

There's so many variables involved but yes, you could be using the wrong wick type for that wax. Try a different type of wick and see what happens.

I know, I agree. LOL

OMG! 🤣

Yes, as people have mentioned it's tricky to try to start out with wick testing by only using a less than full candle. Make yourself some full candles, you can also make them wickless and insert different wick sizes on the fly. Know how to do that? Make full candles without wicks. Once they harden take a metal or wooden skewer and poke a hole in the center all the way to the bottom. Cut the wick tab off the wick and insert it in the candle. Warning, be sure to keep track of which end of the wick had the tab because you don't want to insert the wick upside down, it won't burn properly. Due to the way they are made some wicks are "directional" and some are "non-directional" and they are not always labeled so I just always assume they are directional and insert them properly. Directional means that they were designed to efficiently allow the wax mix to flow in only one direction. Wick info https://wicksunlimited.com/wicks/ Or per TallTayl you can do this and replace a wick that has a tab attached. https://www.craftserver.com/topic/114191-how-to-do-a-wickectomy-to-replace-a-wick-assembly/?tab=comments#comment-1081828 About achieving a full melt pool. I didn't get it at first either and I know it seems odd to not want a FMP on the 1st, 2nd or even 3rd burn but this is the deal. If your candle container gets hot enough to reach a FMP on the first burn then imagine how hot it will get once the candle melts down to the middle or bottom of the container. You are trying to plan ahead and avoid an overly hot and dangerous candle. Make sense? And do yourself a favor and avoid wasted time and materials by watching these two candle wicking videos, they should be very helpful for you. How to choose a candle wick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esnBcoafKNQ Candle Testing. Test Safely and Accurately, from 1st burn to end of life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niZ9Ic5Be2w

In my opinion this candle looks great at this point and sounds like it's doing good from what you said. See how it looks after 4 hrs. And I like to do at least 6 burn cycles with a wick before I give up on it unless it's just blatantly a loser. How did it turn out?

I haven't had time to read all his documentation yet. And no, I don't recall him every trimming the wicks during the video, only at the beginning. I sure wish he would have wiped off the black soot on the jars after commenting on it, it was disturbing me, LOL.

Here's the direct link. Yes, there are links posted on there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1633&v=niZ9Ic5Be2w

Yikes, I posted some questions about his video on YouTube and he seemed bothered by it. I hope I'm just misunderstanding the tone of his reply as he obviously misunderstood the tone of my questions and comments. LOL. I hope I'm wrong. I was not doing anything offensive or critical and didn't mean to sound like I was. Seems like you can't have a conversation with anyone these days without "offending" someone. 😝 LOL.

No drafts, right?