Kerven

A wick sticker and liberal amount of good quality duct tape or the metallic tape (I forget the name of it) worked for me. One thing I did for working with waxes that need slow cooldowns was to make double layer felt sleeves to slide over the jars/molds before pouring.

WSP sells some natural fragrance oils, I think. They're costly. EOs generally don't perform well in waxes. You could try using certain solvents, antioxidants and such to help them perform better in wax. I'm not very familiar on the subject so I can't say for certain if that would have a positive effect, but it's worth looking in to. The EOs will still be heavier than synthetic volatile aroma chemicals, so the throw might not be as strong as with FOs. EOs also have a tendency to degrade (or catch fire...) when exposed to heat - another reason for an antioxidant - and flame. Some EOs come with solvents in them to help them blend with the carrier oil/filler you're not supposed to know is there... That said, it's possible to include EOs in FOs. Just about all of Candlescience's have EOs or substances extracted from EOs in them. Rustic Escentuals just had a survey asking about natural fragrances and essential oils. I'd keep an eye on them over the year to see if they eventually stock some "natural" EO-based fragrances.

I agree as well. For me, it's been fantastic in palm and coconut waxes.

I don't work much with beeswax and when I do it's for blending. A recent project has me working with it because it has the pliability I need. However, after some reading I've come to believe that my beeswax may not be typical beeswax. This bag of wax is about a year old and came from Cal Candle Supply. It should be very hard, shouldn't it? I can smash, roll, and otherwise shape mine between my fingers. The actual pieces resemble flattened droplets or melted pastilles... not unlike the pictures of Easy Beads wax. There is no beeswax scent but that could be due to it being a refined/bleached beeswax (it's still somewhat off-white). The most noticeable oddity so far is that, after blending with a softer material, the resulting blend is much harder than either of the original materials. Could there be moisture in the beeswax? Is this normal for beeswax?

Candlewic and Candles & Supplies are, I think, about the same distance (Doylestown and Quakertown, Penn.) from Buffalo. Shipping should take a day or two. Candlewic, last I checked, offered a sampler of soy waxes that included soy-125, C3, and 464 (it might be 415). Edit: It's soy-125, C3, 444, and 4 sets of wicks.

Save On Scents Wellington Camden-Grey Southwest Candle Supply Northstar Swans Candles Maple Street Candle Company

There are oils sold just for that - putting on a warmer. They're FO's blended with a carrier oil. You pour a little into the holding vessel, which is usually over a light bulb of some sort (they have plug-in versions).

Silicone spatula/spoonula.

The coconut base in a coconut wax is only going to be but so hard. In most cases it's hydrogenated or stearin fractions of coconut oil with melt points 90F-110F. Other ingredients are needed to harden it and raise the melt point: stearates, various mono- di- glycerides, soy wax, palm wax, palm stearin fractions, paraffin, beeswax, plant waxes (carnauba, candelilla, rice bran, etc.) etc.. The most economic and domestic materials are probably paraffin and hydrogenated soy, which could explain why we see so many coconut waxes with paraffin, soy, or both as blenders/fillers. If you want to make a coconut wax (you're not going to be able to make one 100% coconut), I'd suggest blending with a soy that isn't loaded with additives... maybe S-113, S-130, or S-150, or maybe 444. If anyone knows of a good source for hydrogenated palm (not palm wax), I'm all ears.

White pepper made me curious, so I had to do a bit of browsing. Believe it or not, Save On Scents has a Petrol & White Pepper FO that has notes of pepper, violet leaf, eucalyptus, cardamom, motor oil (WHAT???), musk, and cedarwood. Consider me intrigued. White pepper blends well with several herbal and citrus scents. Grapefruit and white pepper sounds great, although I don't know how well ginger and grapefruit would turn out. White pepper could be used in a chai tea inspired fragrance, perhaps with a little rose for the romantic aspect... white pepper, maybe some pink pepper, a little ginger, some clove, coriander or cardamom, a little rose, black tea... Bergamot, clary sage, fennel, geranium, lavender, juniper, ylang-ylang, mandarin, lime, lemon, and sandalwood are good blenders. Evergreens, cypress, nutmeg, myrrh, jasmine, and osmanthus might work. Cranberry? For pre-blended FOs, there are a few white pepper and lavender scents available. Just Scent has Silk Blossom, a dupe, with notes of white pepper, bergamot, apricot, silk, jasmine, rose, moss, and heliotrope - no ginger. Keystone Candle Supply has an old Peak FO on clearance: White Pepper. No description. Candlescience's Caribbean Teakwood has notes of peppercorn, ginger, spice, tobacco leaf, teakwood, sandalwood, amber, and dark musk. IDK if I would say that peppercorn is a white peppercorn, but it's a nice FO IMO... although it's not exactly romantic.

Depends on whether or not I'm using lids. If I am, then, yes. I allow it to set, trim the wick, pop the lid on. Then, I either slap on a label and box it or put it in a box (the same box the glassware came in) to cure and label afterward. Can't say that I've noticed a difference in cure with or without lids. Most of the changes that I see with the candle after pouring occur during the initial hardening. For me, having lids on during the cure is purely convenience. One less step later on.

I think melted chocolate is poured over those and allowed to harden before cutting and separating from the sheet. If so, molten wax might be too warm? Soy at around 100F might work, although it may be a bit more runny than chocolate. Cocoa butter on the surface of a candle might run, smear, or bleed when handled, in warm temperatures, or while burning due to cocoa butter's low melt point. As far as affecting the burn, cocoa butter shouldn't have too much of an impact and the pigments (if it's pigmented) shouldn't be in sufficient quantity to either. It might be interesting to try applying a 1/4" layer of slushy soy wax to the sheet, allow it to set some, then use a sharp knife to slice it into shapes. Once cooled completely, carefully separate from the film and decorate the tops of candles with them similar to what's done with desserts and high end chocolates. Not sure how well the wax will separate from the sheet - whether it's too brittle or not... I'm curious to see how that turns out. Maybe a low melt point paraffin that can be brought to ~100F without fully setting? Heat gunning the design onto the side of a pillar might work but I have no idea if an acetate sheet could handle that much heat. Maybe heat gun the side of the candle enough to make it slightly slick, press on the sheet, allow it to cool completely, then carefully peel away? Just some thoughts.

I want so much to say that's a palm blend of some sort (maybe feather palm). Why? Some of my early palm-co92 blends looked exactly like that when poured into cold glass. I mean: exactly. Jump lines, lightly frosted sides, vibrant color. Did I post those blends somewhere public... where's my tin foil hat. Although, with the way the light is glowing through, that's probably a paraffin? It's also a little more creamy in appearance but has the same satin shine on the surface... Now, I want to know what is that wax! I don't mind the jump lines in those. Gives it a sort of birch bark woodsy look from a distance. The wildly off center wick, well, that's another story.

Are the sheets made out actual chocolate or cocoa butter, or are they the acetate sheets embossed with cocoa butter and/or powder pigments?

Anyone know if Accu-Blend imports its materials? I recall having read somewhere that they import a variety of ingredients from Asia. All Seasons Wax would be fantastic, especially if it's not produced domestically. I've lost faith in US wax producers. Until Coco83 is back in stock, here's a short list of other coconut and coconut blend waxes: Coconut-Apricot blend - Swans. The brand appears to be Ceda-Serica, a trademark of Calwax. It does contain some paraffin. Coconut-Apricot blend - Candlewic. See above (the SDS confirms it). Calwax CCP1 - Swans. Coconut/paraffin blend. C6 - TFC. Ultra Wax - General Wax. SC-21 - Cal Candle Supply. Coconut "hybrid" blend. NatureWax Coconut 1 - Fillmore. Cargill brand. All Natural Coconut Container Wax - Swans. No idea what brand but it sounds similar to the coconut oil blend Candlewic had. Needs a hardener. Did I forget any? Is the texture of the Lab & Co waxes similar to coco83? The pictures make it look a bit chalky/fudgy... like chunks of cocoa or shea butter.

It's possible that the wicks were too large, tunneled a bit at the start. Then, the wax on the sides of the holes melted as the flame lowered and heat built up within the wax, flooding the hole and drowning the wick. There aren't many wicks that burn hotter than ECO and CD, IMO... square braided or cotton core, maybe? You'll want to look at wicking for beeswax if your goal is a hotter burn. Although, I'd suggest trying the smaller sizes of ECO and CD in the soy-coconut blend before switching to a different wick series. For a 9oz jar, assuming it's of a similar width to the straight sided tumblers, I'd suggest trying an ECO 6. ECO 8 will give a full melt pool sooner but you may also have an unstable flame, some smoking, and the glass becoming hot when the flame is lower in the candle. However, without knowing the coconut and soy waxes used in the blend and at what ratio, it's difficult to say. Additives, FO, and dyes can also have an effect.

Cotton Candy (CS) Sex on the Beach (CS) Pink Sands (TCS) Strawberry Shortcake (CS) Guavaberry (Cierra) Watermlon (CS) White Tea and Berries (CS) Pink Lemonade

A dedicated space. An ideal wax or, at least, a wax I don't have to worry about with each new shipment. Supplier transparency and full disclosure about products. A local supplier for everything I can't find locally (or at all).

There are some oddities between The Wooden Wick Co., Lumetique, and Candle Art, LLC. The agent/owner of Candle Art, LLC. had another business with the name of Wood Candle Wick, LLC, which was involuntarily dissolved in 2016 - about the same time a local paper reported that the owner had a pending wood wick patent application. The Wooden Wick Co. lists all of Lumetique's patents for the wooden wicks and they're supposedly licensed to manufacture the wood wicks. There's a business entity called Wood Candle Wick Technologies, INC. in Laguna Beach. I assume this is The Wooden Wick Co.. If that's the case, the agent for both Lumetique and Wood Candle Wick Technologies, INC. is the same. Incidentally, both of these entities use the same address in their business license as well. Coincidence? So, why would Candle Art ship a Lab & Co product, which was sold through The Wooden Wick Co.... And who/what is Lab & Co? Is that a DBA name for Candle Art or The Wooden Wick Co.?

@RuruThe coconut waxes vary a bit but seem to perform similarly... with a few exceptions. I haven't tried all of them, but from what I've read and experienced, they all have low melting points and require smaller wicking than required for the soy waxes. The Northwood coconut wax (looks like they're sold out) might work with C3. I can't say for certain as the their coconut wax claims to be paraffin-free, and I'm still convinced the coco83 I used had paraffin and tallow in it. I know the Candlewic coconut-apricot wax had paraffin in it. So.... It's worth a shot, but I'm not promising it'll work. I have a blend of 50% C3 and 50% CW coconut-apricot that's fairly decent (I'm not 100% excited about the throw or the slight frosting and how it gave CS Blueberry Cheesecake the slightest hint of anise and licorice... but that could be an issue with the FO). It does form wet spots when poured hot but the wet spots are nearly large enough to cover the entire surface, so it's not a problem for me. Top surface is smooth with a slight sheen, although it's prone to slight cratering. I poured hot around 185F. Something lower around 130-150F might give better results with glass adhesion and cratering. It's not the best blend I've tried but it's a definite improvement over straight soy, IMO.

One thing that would cause concern for me would be how flimsy beer cans are. If it has a full melt pool, someone goes to pick it up with a firm grip and it crinkles/creases/dents, that might cause the melt pool to splash or spill over. Those beer can glasses look great. I've had my eye on them for a while but they're absurdly overpriced on many sites. Edit: You can purchase the metal cans without the lids. Not sure how sharp the edges would be.

@Ruru When I make coco83/464 blends, I always have a temperature that I heat to (it's between 185-190F) no matter the wax. What temperature I add the FO is a bit more flexible, depending a lot on the ratio of the blend. More coconut, I'll add the FO at a higher temp (185F) and pour at a higher temp (175-185F). More soy, I'll add the FO at a slightly lower temp (170-180F) and pour cooler (approx. 150F). It works decent for me, but that's not to say it's going to work for everyone else. Why do I do that? Coconut waxes, like some paraffins (I don't work with paraffin, someone correct me if this is wrong) and palms, like to be poured hot. Soy waxes like to be poured cool. The maximum temperature I bring them to before pouring isn't as significant as the temperature to pour at, IMO. I mainly use those temperature to give me a bit of room so that I don't have to rush or the addition of FO doesn't drop the temperature below the pouring temp. Every component of significant quantity in the wax should be able to melt in the melt pool, which will reach a certain temp depending on the wax. That's the baseline that the wax should be melted to. The extra 40-50 degrees in my case is to provide wiggle room and ensure that everything in the wax that can be molten is molten before pouring. I also like slower cool downs, even if they're difficult and often result in wet spots, because I have terrible luck with fast cool downs causing sweating. That's just my process. When it comes to temperatures, particularly those at which to add the FO and pour, it's very much a personal guideline. It's not going to work for everyone. I suppose it's similar to baking cookies (sugar cookie cut-outs in particular). You could follow the directions in the recipe, and the cookies may turn out perfect... or they may spread out, have scorched bottoms, puff up too much, easily break apart, set up limp, etc. Why? Maybe the dough was overworked, maybe the oven was too hot (not every oven is the same, even if they're the same model), maybe the dough wasn't chilled enough, maybe the room was too warm, too humid, maybe the cookie sheet had a little residual greasiness, etc., etc., etc. Same thing with candles. Room temp, humidity, air pressure, drafts, uneven surfaces, rate of cooling, residue on the glass, contaminated with moisture, etc., etc., etc. Unfortunately, when blending, it requires more work to figure all of that out because there are no manufacturer guidelines for that particular blend to use as a basis. It requires a bit of testing. I've since moved away from 464 and coco83. C3 has been more reliable than 464, and Candlewic's coconut-apricot wax doesn't have the smell that the coco83 had.

Was your previous wax the Candlewic coconut oil wax, by any chance? I noticed it was removed from their site just before I was going to give it a try.

They admit to discoloration in the wax? Is that before (like when going rancid) or after the burn? A wax as pricey as that should have antioxidants in it. Maybe it's the wooden wick causing it.

Shoebox sized containers, like those above. I group them by FO type and purpose: holiday season (Christmas, spices, leaves, etc.), tropical, fruits and berries, perfume/cologne, bakery/food, random, and empty bottles (to remind me that I might want to try them again). FO's I don't like get their own container. I'm not fond of simply tossing them in the trash so they either get used in testing or continue to take up space (the worse scents) in the hoard until I can find some way to dispose of them.