TheUnquietKey

Hope everyone is staying sane and healthy during these crazy times! Does anyone have any photos of candles they've made using straight IGI 4627, straight IGI 4630, or either of these two blended with soy? Before jumping on the paraffin testing train, I'm really curious to see what the two of these look like cured. Thinking about working with IGI 4627 and blending in a small amount of soy for added creaminess (I don't know what soy yet). Thanks in advance!

Hi! Just curious if anyone has a favorite parasoy wax that they would highly recommend for container candles? All things considered; CT, HT, ease of wicking, glass adhesion, sooting/smoking, etc. I've been testing Joywax since July and I really enjoy this wax for a lot of reasons but I want to broaden by horizons to learn as much as possible about the reactivity of different waxes. I'm not a huge fan of straight soy but if anyone has any rave reviews of straight soy or straight paraffin wax also, I'm all ears. Thanks! Kristin

Thanks everyone for your responses! TallTayl: Are CSN and CDN wicks the same, for the most part? If not, how are they different from one another? Is the major difference with both of them that they burn cooler than other series? Sarah S: From your experience with Joywax, did you find that any hang-up you had early on in testing melted down eventually about halfway down the jar? I took your advise and tried HTP83. I did a 7-hour power burn and still have a bit more than an 1/8" of wax on one side that hasn't melted. From your testing experiences, do you think this wax will eventually catch up or will the memory ring I've created after 7 hours prevent that? ErronB: That's so strange, I haven't experienced any weird smell from the joywax when burning and I've tested through two full slabs of it. Perhaps they've tweaked the formula? I tried CD10 and had a similar experience to HTP83, noted above. The only difference is the CD MP seemed much deeper than the HTP MP. I just fear that the remaining 1/8" or so of hang up won't catch up because of the memory ring.

Hi All! Sorry this is going to be a long one! I'm a newbie here on the forums as well a newbie to candle making. Over the past three months, I have been diligently wick testing and regularly visiting CraftServer for tips and tricks of the trade and finally decided, it would be worth my while to come on here and ask for some guidance/advice. I know three months is the equivalent of mere minutes when compared to the years worth of experience many of you have and the years it takes to become truly skilled at this art form; however, I'm very serious about refining my skills and making this a lifelong hobby/career. I had my heart set on putting together the perfect Halloween collection for release this year but I'm struggling with finding the right wick and I refuse to put out a sub par product. If my first collection has to wait until Christmas or maybe even next year, I'm okay with that so long as my product is safe and of utmost quality. To break things down: Wax type: Joywax (parasoy) Wick Types I've Tried: CD8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 HTP 105 and 1212 LX 20, 21, and 22 Zinc 51-32-18 Zinc 60-44-18 Large Wood Wicks What FO: Testing wicks with joywax only, no FO to start (see below) What % FO: N/A What size candle - 8.5 oz. 3" Diameter. Link: https://www.candlescience.com/containers/straight-sided-tumbler-jar-libbey What additives are you using: None I've noticed there have been many discussions on the forums about whether it's better to test with or without FO but I've stuck to testing without because I really wanted to get a feel for how the wicks react with just the wax. I understand many FO's can react differently with wicks/wax so I prefer to have solid notes on wick/wax/container only before adding FO. Saying that, throughout my testing, I found that CD12's seemed to be a really solid option. They burned cleanly, no sooting, no mushrooming, FMP (very minimal hangup but I have a feeling I'm going to get this no matter what with joywax because it's so soft). I tested CD12's without FO first and was happy with the result so poured again with FO and was super impressed with both the CT and HT. But....womp womp womp, I found that at certain times during my test burns, the glass was uncomfortably hot. For testing, I've only been pouring to about 3/8ths of the glass. I've read from several sources that the bottom 1/4-3/8-1/2 of burn are typically the most troublesome and where any major issues with the wick/flame will present themselves and I'm glad I did this because I was able to determine how hot the glass was getting. The glass at it's hottest point was about 150-152F. It never stayed at this temperature for long and many times throughout the test burns, I could comfortably touch the glass and move it but it was those few times where I had to pull my hand away that caused me concern. HTP105 burned very similar to CD12 for me but I also had the same problem, the glass was too hot to handle at times during the test burns. The others all seemed way too big (large dancing flame/sooting/really deep MP) or way too small (tunneling). I plan to test HTP104 this weekend to see if maybe I'll get similar results to 105 but mitigate some of the hot glass issue. Short of changing wax/glass, does anyone have any suggestions/recommendations of what I should try next? If I ultimately have to change wax/glass, I certainly will but I want to give this combo my most earnest effort first. I hope I've given enough information. Let me know if I've left anything out! Thank you in advance! Kristin

Hi Peggy, Just curious how your testing is going? I'm in a very similar situation as you and I'd love to know what some of your conclusions are. I, too, am testing in a 3" diameter Libbey glass jar with Joywax (which is a parasoy blend if you're not familiar with it) and have tested a multitude of different wicks including: CD8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 HTP 105 and 1212 LX 20, 21, and 22 Zinc 51-32-18 Zinc 60-44-18 Large Wood Wicks After ruling many of them out, I have found that CD12 and HTP 105 have burned the best, by far. The problem I'm encountering is that the glass sometimes get uncomfortably hot. Have you run into this problem? Did you find any better alternatives to the CD12 and HTP 105? Any help is very much appreciated! Thanks in advance, Kristin