Candle making: how to make a candle wick

To make perfect candles you must know about the different kinds of wicks are used. A wick is the real life of a candle.

What is a wick?

A Candle wick is meant to be used in a candle. A candle wick works in the principle of capillary action by which it able to transport the melted candle wax or the fuel to the flame. When the melted wax or the fuel reaches to the flame it gets vaporized and then it burns.

Mostly the candle wicks are finely coated with wax, and that helps to light the candle. When the wick burns it pulls the melted wax fuel to the flame and it continues burning without any interruption.

The wick is the most important part of a candle, without a wick, a candle is merely a block of wax. A wick without wax is just a string that of no use.

In fact, the good burning of a candle depends wholly on the quality and the size of the wick that you use for making varieties of candle. Candle wicks are generally made by braided cotton, with a piece of metal wire in the centre for stiffness and hardness to generate more heat for burning larger candles. Traditionally this core was made of lead, but most of the countries banned the lead cores because those release poisonous substances. Presently, people prefer to use zinc cores in candles.

Types of wicks

There are three kinds of wicks

Cored wicks with a piece of metal wire in the centre of a candle used for hardness and stiffness to create sufficient heat for burning larger candles.
Flat-braided wicks, which are mostly used for making the tapered candles. They almost look alike a normal braided wick, but they are squished flat.
Square-braided wicks are generally meant for making larger block candles.

How to make candle wicks?

Braided wicks can be easily made at your home; first you must take three strips of heavy cotton yarn or string and soak them in the liquid mixture made out of 1 cup water, 1table spoon of salt and 2 table spoon of boric acid. (If you prefer, then you can use a mixture of vinegar, water and turpentine). The cotton strips must be soaked for at least 12 hours. Then after that, the cotton strips to be dried outside. When the cotton strips are dried completely then they can be braided into a single wick. Make a point that the strips to be cut into the length of about six inches more than the length of a candle to be made. A sharp knife and a pair of scissors are to be used to trim the wick.

The next important step is to prime the wicks. To make this effective, dip the wicks into melted hot wax till it get saturated with the hot wax. It can be easily known that wicks are completely saturated, when its release bubbles. Then remove the wicks from the hot wax and dip those into water and put them on a wax paper. Use a paper towel to remove excessive moisture. Lay them dry on the wax paper around 30 second. Soon the wicks will turn stiff and hard. To make it more qualitative and effective you can do this step twice. Prime wicks are generally kept or rolled up in the newspaper.

Caution: please use a paperclip to dipping and taking out the wicks from hot wax because you may burn your fingers.

VISITOR COMMENTS on "Candle Making: How To Make A Candle Wick ":

	More Articles
1. Make Your Own Bath Oils - Recipes Make Your Own Bath Oils - Recipes If we go back to the history, the art of Aromatherapy has been [...]
2. Hand Creams Hand creams Creams are cosmetic formula made with the different ingredients to provide smoothness as well as the glow to the skin. There are different types of creams for different parts [...]
3. Oriental Massage Benefits Benefits of the Oriental Massage Body message has always been used to heal, relax or soothe away pain; all civilizations have registered its healing powers. Oriental [...]
4. Essential Oils Essential Oils - What does this Exactly Mean? Essential Oils are the oils obtained from plants or flowers. It is called “Essential” as this [...]