Wicks, Wicking, Wicked

As far as candles go, finding the right wick can be a continual process. I like the wicks I am currently using, but I think I can do better. There is always room for improvement when it comes to creating the prefect candle!

In my Candlelighter newsletter from the IGCA, I found an advertisement sheet from a wicking company and this had me thinking even more about testing some new wicks. I called the wicking company, Wicks Unlimited, and they had some good suggestions and recommendations as far as which wicks to test.

I currently use a wick that burns upright and has a solid core. The melt pool that occurs tends to be even. I was told that these wicks work good with soy wax, but there is another wick that does not have a solid core. It is a braided wick. This wick tends to bend when burning and does not mushroom or have the carbon built up as much as wicks that burn straight. I was told that this wick also works well with soy wax.

The company offered to send me some samples. I thought that this was great. So after talking on the phone with the wick company, I thought that I would look in my box of extra wicks. Guess what? I found some of these wicks. I think that this is the wick that I first used when I started making candles. Funny how things come back around. I had to test the two sizes I had. I have burned the two different wicks with two different candles and one candle burns great and the other I am not sure is any better that what I currently am using. Hmmmmm

I did notice that when it came to the wick, bigger is not always better. The smaller of the two wicks melted the candle slower, but was able to pool the candle, the bigger wick melted the wax too fast and therefore had a tendency to tunnel.

I am going to have to get all the sizes I want in this new wick and pour one scent with all the sizes to see what wick works best and then decide if it is any better than what I am using. I am looking forward to testing all the wick sizes. We will have to wait and see what happens.

You know what I will be doing: Wicking new wicks and testing newly wicked candles.

Until next time, Share a Little Light with someone.