BEESWAX CANDLE MAKING

One of our craft projects is making real beeswax tapers, hand dipped. They are very practical and simple to make. I will not only explain what supplies you need and how to dip them but the benefits of beeswax over paraffin based candles.

Lets start at the beginning. Beeswax. I usually buy real beeswax from a candle making supplier, or you can find a local bee keeper or even buy it on E-Bay or Amazon. I use unfiltered beeswax. It's a little more primitive and the candles come out with interesting characteristics. No two are the same. If you plan to burn any candles in your home, you first need to get a sturdy candle holder and put it in a safe place with something under the candle holder to catch melted wax. Also be sure no papers are anywhere nearby. We had an old cat who walked on the table where the candle was burning. He walked OVER the lit candle if it was short enough and almost set himself on fire repeatedly. Also children can be a factor in safety. I have a son who LOVES fire. I taught him how to start a fire with just a flint and steel and some tinder . I always worry about him burning the house down.

Supplies. You will need to get 2 equal size metal cans or buckets. You can use large / tall olive oil cans. The taller the better. You can also find good containers at a kitchen supply company or simply by going to yard sales. You will also need a thick metal pail to melt the wax in on the stove top. The olive oil tin can be used but generally they are very thin and not very sturdy. Keep in mind that the bigger/wider the pail, the more wax you will need to melt to get the melted wax high enough to make 7" to 8" tall candles. So keep it narrow but tall. Where the olive oil tins come in handy is holding cool water . I'll explain shortly.

Now for the hard part. Wicks. This is basically trial and error and experimentation. The thicker the wick the hotter and brighter the candle will burn, but it won't last as long. So you need to find a compromise. There are many types of wicks too. Some are pure cotton, some have a metal wire in them to keep them standing up straight. Many different thicknesses add to the confusion. Your best bet is to talk to the candle making supplier to start and specify you are using real beeswax, as some wicks are better suited to beeswax than paraffin. I usually get several thicknesses of wicks to experiment with. It's a never ending experiment. Very thin wicks don't burn brightly and sometimes the melted wax at the top extinguishes the flame. I go with a thicker wick normally. Beeswax candles usually burn much longer than commercial paraffin based candles and beeswax is not only a renewable material but it burns cleaner than paraffin.

Paraffin is a petro-chemical and gives off fumes similar to diesel exhaust. Beeswax burns cleaner and gives off no toxic fumes and has the benefit of actually cleaning the air through the use of negitive ions, which attract pollutants. They also leave the room smelling of honey and lend a beautiful atmosphere to any meal or occation.

To start dipping I always put down tin foil over the stove and the floor right by the stove. I am very good at making a big mess and my wife is very good at reminding me of it. The wax should be cut into small pieces and put into the metal pail. Turn on the stove top and keep it on a low setting. Any wax will catch fire if it gets too hot, so use a lot of caution and never walk away from the stove when the flame is lit. You will need some heavy duty oven mitts or gloves to handle the hot pail . I get the wax melting slowly while I fill the olive oil tin with cold water and put it on the tin foil on the counter top , close to the wax.

I get my wicks ready. I normally make 1 pair at a time. Using one long wick, I dip both ends at once, giving me 2 candles at once. First I attach a metal washer to the end of each side of the wick. This will give it enough weight to sink to the bottom of the wax container. Just put the end of the wick through the hole in the washer and tie a simple knot. You will need to gauge how long to make the wicks. Use as little as you can get away with to be frugal. Any wick length between the 2 candles needs to be kept to a minimum so you don't waste wick material. When you are done you can either cut the 2 candles apart or just hang them up , like I do in the above photo.

O.K. , the wax has melted and you have the 2 washers tied to the ends of your wick. The cold water is ready and the tin foil is down to make a fire resistant surface. You also have your gloves or mitts close at hand, but not close to the fire. You are all set. Start by holding the wick in the center being sure the ends are as even as you can make them. Put 2 fingers under the center of the wick while you hold it. This will seperate the 2 candles and keep them from sticking together.

Dip them slowly into the wax. Let the washers hit the bottom then slowly pull them out and dip them in the cold water to harden that layer. Repeat this about 4-5 times then it should be heavy enough to cut the washers off. As soon as you cut them off you should scrape out the wax before it hardens fully to make the next set of candles easier. Getting hardened wax out of the washer openings is difficult. After that you can continue to dip then cool the candles until you reach the thickness you want. I generally make them about 3/4" wide at the base. This should allow them to fit most candle holders. You can always trim the base to make it fit and melt the base to make it stick into the holder more securley. After the candle is the right size, hand it up to dry, or if it's cooled down enough, lie it down on foil or waxed paper. Hanging is better as it has nothing to deform the shape or has anything to stick to.

Tempreture of the wax. As a rule of thumb, the hotter the wax, the more times you will need to dip it to get your desired thickness. Each layer will be thinner because the wax is thinner. I usually go for a slightly cooler wax. This is safer and lets me dip the candles fewer times. When you make candles, it's more econamical to make as many as you can at once. You have to heat the wax, which can take an hour or more, depending on how much wax you need to melt. Then you need to constantly add more wax, in small pieces ( which melts faster, using less fuel) so have wax in small pieces ready. Be very careful not to drop the pieces in as the spashing wax is a fire hazzard and a burn hazzard. When my kids help, which they love to do, I am always right there to supervise.

Options. There are various types of beeswax you can buy. Different scents and colors. It depends on the plant or flower the bees collected the pollen from and thereby made the wax from to seal the comb with. The comb wax is used by the bees to seal in indevidual chamber of the honey comb, where the bee larve are housed until mature. When they are ready you can harvest the "cap wax" that forms the seal and use it for candles. You can also buy scented oils to add to the wax. But I found that since I need to always add more wax, I either need to stick to one scent or use none at all. If you mix the oil scents it will smell kind of funky. If you are planning to sell the candles you need to strive for consistency. Also some people are allergic to the scents or just don't like them, so I don't use them in my candles.

Anoter option is to pour the wax into a mold. I have tried many types of molds, and I find the ones made of silicone are the easiest to work with. They are easy to use and easy to clean as well. Molds made from aluminum or steel need a wax release spray or you will never get the candle out. They usually have a small wick hole in the bottom if metal. Either way you will need special wicks. They come in bags and have a round metal base into which the wick is pre-inserted by the manufacturer. Most of them have a thin wire in the wick to help it stand up straight.

If using the silicone molds, you simply put the wick with the base in the bottom. Try to center it as best you can. Slowly pour the melted wax into the mold being very careful not to splash any on yourself. If you pour it too fast it will be hard to keep the wick centered. The lenghth of the wick should be taller than the mold so you can stabilize it. I put the still hot candle in the mold in the freezer for a little while so it cools faster. When it's cool you can flex the mold to release the candle.

Molds can be found in all kinds of shapes and sizes and textures. We use one that has a pebbely texture to it and looks like it's made of stone. The trick to getting a good looking candle is to pour the wax to the top of the mold and when it settles as it cools you might need to top it off. Also let it cool long enough to harden a bit before you try to remove it from the mold. If you plan on making a number of candles at once, you may want to buy several molds to keep the process moving along.

HAND LACED COWHIDE SHOULDER BAG WITH 19TH CENTURY HOMESPUN HEMP STRAP

One of the things I like to do is make the things I need by hand. I would rather make my own winter hat or shoulder bag, than go out and by one. It's fun, and educational. I sell some of the products, barter with them or just give as gifts.

If you would like to try it, you will need some simple tools to start with. First of all you need to have an idea of what you would like to make. A fur hat or deerskin bag or something less primitive. Use your imagination or think of something you need.

DEERSKIN SHOULDER BAG

Next you will need a couple of sizes of Glover's sewing needles. These have a chisel type point so they puncture leather. If you plan on working with thick leather , I would get a few of each size as they might break at some point. Next you'll need strong thread. The two I use are artificial sinew, which comes in rolls of varying lengths and thickness and is very strong or waxed linen (cotton) thread which is not as strong as the sinew but comes in white and off white . You can even find it in different colors if you look around. Some people prefer using all natural thread.

DEERSKIN POUCH WITH BLUE JAY FEATHER

NORTHERN BLACK RACCOON HAT WITH BRIM AND BLUE JAY FEATHER

It would depend on what you are sewing and how it's to be used and obviously your preference. Either thread will be strong and durable. Sometimes I use the waxed cotton if the color looks good against the color of the leather.

You will also want a sharp awl to make holes in thicker leathers. I use a very thin awl so I keep the holes to a very small size. You can get a very utilitarian awl or a more rustic one with an antler handle. Size matters in this more than handle type.

I know a few people who have a nifty device for spacing needle holes. A small wheel attached to a handle. The wheel has little knobs on it . When you roll this across the leather it leaves little indentations evenly spaced and that tells you exactly where your stitches go. Your sewing will be straighter using it. I don't know the name of the tool but I have seen it for sale in leather working catalogs.

Of course you will need a nice piece of leather or fur pelts. I sometimes buy leather on E-Bay but it's hard to tell the thickness or other characteristics from a photo, and I have been disappointed with the piece more than a few times. So I sent away to a leather company ( Weaver Leather) and they opened an account for me for free and sent me a thick catalog of leather working tools and many samples of leather, with a description of each as well as item numbers next to each piece. I can pull out the swatch and feel it for texture and thickness and see the true color before I buy it. The customer service people are very friendly and helpful too. I hit them with multiple questions before I buy anything.

After I figure out what I'm going to make, then I can concentrate on what to make it out of. If you are making a piece of clothing the leather or fur will need to be thinner and softer than if you are planning to make a hand or shoulder bag. This needs careful consideration, at least for me so I don't end up buying a piece of leather I have no use for. There is a rule in carpentry that goes " measure twice, cut once" . The same should apply here. Think about what you need and research types of leathers. Always ask questions. Consider the size and shape and I always try to allow for a change of plan by getting a piece that is larger than what I need. I might want to make 2 of whatever it is. It's more economical to buy a larger piece for multiple projects than to by smaller ones for individual products. If you buy leather from a catalog or online you also need to look into shipping costs.

NORTHERN BLACK RACCOON SHOULDER BAG WITH 19TH CENTURY HOME SPUN HEMP STRAP

Buying fur pelts is next. Make sure you get professionally tanned pelts. I buy mine on line from a great place in Montana called Glacier Wear. They have top quality pelts in varying grades and sizes and a nice selection of ready made products such as hats and mittens. They will gladly assist you with any questions. Here it is hard to gauge exactly what you are looking at. So I always talk to someone in customer service before I buy anything. You can also find a local taxidermist who might have tanned pelts for sale that you can look at first. Be sure not only to look at the thickness and color of the fur but check for bald spots or holes carefully. When fur is tanned, they stretch it a bit. You should do the same at home. Start by soaking the pelt in water for an hour or so or simply use a sponge to wet it well. Staple the pelt to a piece of plywood or something similar, starting on one side. Then carefully stretch it being sure not to let it tear.

HEMP POUCH



RED FOX FUR HAT



When it is stretched a bit, staple the other side, keeping it taught. Let it stay that way until dry. Usually over night. Stretching the pelts will give you an extra 15 to 20% more surface area. Just use care when doing this that you don't rip the leather and you can get the staples out easily without damaging the pelt.

Keep in mind that if you plan to eventually sell any fur products, many people find them offensive and cruel. Most pelts come from the wild and are either shot or trapped, so there is a cruel aspect to it depending maybe on the hunter or trapper. I have listed many things for sale on E-bay and a handmade only website called Artfire.com. I have received several comments about dealing in dead animals and being a nasty person in general. Keep in mind that most people either eat meat or have leather shoes or belts. It's mostly the same. A fur pelt is a piece of leather with the fur still on.

DEERSKIN POUCH

Fur pelts , if sewn well will be very sturdy and stand up to rain and snow without worries. Just go over your sewing carefully and make sure it's strong. The sewing and the type of thread you use is the weak link. Everything I make is fully functional, not a decoration. It would be very difficult to explain how to actually sew in a blog, so you'll need to do some research and practice. Talk to people who know about sewing. Just keep it neat and keep the distance between the holes to about 1/4" or so. I usually start with the piece inside out, and sew the seams up from the inside. A piece of leather is easier than fur. The fur does not let you see where you are sewing much and it's very easy to go astray or stick yourself. I use a small piece of heavy leather to help push the needle through or a needle nose pliers to help pull the needle through after the leather is penetrated.



WOVEN HEMP POUCH WITH HEMP DRAWSTRING



BOBCAT ARCERY QUIVER

WOVEN FLAX POUCH

I make a variety of products for sale. Many types of draw string pouches, leather or fur shoulder bags, several fur hats made from beaver, raccoon, red fox and arctic fox pelts. I usually have matching shoulder bags and I use real 19th century homespun hemp, originally grain sacks woven by farmers wives in Canada to get the produce and grains to market, for straps. I cut the sacks into 2 1/2 " strips and then sew the edges up with waxed cotton thread, which blends in nicely with the color of the hemp. When hardware is called for, like buckles or "D" rings, I use hand forged iron. It adds a nice rustic touch. When our family goes on a hike my kids always find good looking feathers that I can use as a decoration on a hat or bag. To secure a flap on a bag I employ real deer or elk antler button or tines, which is the tip of an antler. I drill two small hols near the center and sew it in the body of the bag. Then make a small slit for a button hole. Keep in mind you can always make it larger later. Obviously leather stretches with use and over time. So make the hole a little on the small side. It can always be cut larger if it's too small or you can put a couple of stitches on the ends of the slit to make it smaller. Most things can be fixed or re sized after the fact.

The products I make are for sale . E mail me at wscheps@hvc.rr.com and I can send you photos and prices. If you want something custom I will need a 50% deposit so I can purchase the right leather or pelts. On average it takes 2-3 weeks to get the finished product. I also make and sell hand dipped beeswax candles. Look for instructions on how to make them in a later post along with many other topics. Be well and keep smiling.