Kevin Fischer

Not to drastically change/hijack the subject, but you made me think. The "perfect candle" is such an interesting subject. In your intro you mention a variety of things... MP, throw strength, hangups. What we call perfect depends on context and goals. For my relative that wants to bake in FO? They probably don't care about anything more than the HT and scent (meanwhile their candle has mushrooms that would make the 60's jealous). Conversely, my fellow makers might care much more about melt pool characteristics and a long lasting burn life instead of optimizing the HT for an auditorium! And is it perfect for the customer, the maker, or the at-home crafter that "just wanted to be successful" at even making the darn thing? That's one of the things we should love about this trade/craft/muse.

Two main laws of candle making: 1. Test. 2. Test again.

As someone with a technical background I can appreciate the debate that seems to rage at the highest levels of the industry, but I haven't seen the impact of these publications at the supplier, manufacturer, or distribution layer outside of the increased popularity of "natural" waxes. Yankee and Village haven't slowed down as far as I can tell. If they have, it's merely to adopt that which is popular and sell what's hot right now. I suppose a few loud voices can occasionally drown out a sea of overwhelming empirical evidence. I appreciate the NCA making a statement (albeit 3 years ago) given they have the ears of many of us makers. The few studies I've read through on the matter essentially require you to breath incomplete combustion on an obnoxious scale for a very long period of time to be harmful (think thousands of candles at once in a small, windy room for a week straight lol).

As with most things, you'll learn the most by getting your hands dirty. In this case, it might mean having a light pleasant fragrance on your hands for many hours after you wrap up haha. After a candle (or a few), you'll know if this is something you want to keep doing and improving at. I'd encourage you to limit the shortcuts you take (given that you're not fully vested in the hustle) to give yourself the best picture of what the craft is actually like. Good luck!

Dumb question, but why is it desirable to know the lot number from a buyer's standpoint?

Here's the list of new/updated fragrance from their site: Hemp Fragrance Oil (3 out of 5) Top Notes Lemon, Lime Middle Notes Hemp, Green Leaves Base Notes Vetiver, Patchouli High Tide Fragrance Oil (5 out of 5) Top Notes Ozone, Citrus Middle Notes Sea Salt, Jasmine Base Notes Violet, Cedar, Powder, Light Musk Lavendar Tea & Tonic (none) Top Notes Cucumber, Honeydew Melon, Ozone Middle Notes Lavender, Camphor Base Notes Chamomile, White Tea, Light Musk Mango & Coconut Milk (5 out of 5) Top Notes Pineapple, Orange Middle Notes Mango, Peach Base Notes Coconut Milk, Sugar Rose Petal Gelato (5 out of 5) Top Notes Champagne Middle Notes Rose, Jasmine Base Notes Cream, Sugar, Benzoin, Light Musk Sea Minerals (4 out of 5) Top Notes Ozone, Linen Middle Notes Eucalyptus, Sea Salt, Freesia Base Notes Moss, Powder Sweet Orange & Sriracha (none) Top Notes Ozone, Chili Pepper Middle Notes Orange, Mandarin, Guava Base Notes Peppercorn, Coconut Watermint & Clementine (5 out of 5) Top Notes Citrus, Basil Middle Notes Orange Peel, Mint, Chamomile Base Notes Agave, Tomato Leaf Honeysuckle Jasmine (5 out of 5) Top Notes Lemon, Ginger Middle Notes Jasmine, Honeysuckle Base Notes Wood, Violet, Amyris, Powder Amber & Driftwood (4 out of 5) Top Notes Ozone, Citrus Middle Notes Sandalwood, Benzoin Base Notes Amber, Dark Musk, Cedar, Powder Citronella (none) Top Notes Lemon Peel Middle Notes Lemongrass, Camphor Base Notes Powder Egyptian Amber (5 out of 5) Top Notes Ozone, Jasmine Middle Notes Leather, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean Base Notes Amber, Dark Musk, Light Musk, Powder Gingerbread (none) Top Notes Ginger Middle Notes Cinnamon, Clove, Nutmeg, Almond Base Notes Molasses, Sugar Pineapple Sage (5 out of 5) Top Notes Pineapple Middle Notes Green Leaves, Palm, Anise Base Notes Sage, Sugar Pomegranate Cider (none) Top Notes Lemon Peel Middle Notes Pomegranate, Cranberry, Red Currant Base Notes Apple Cider, Spice Watermelon (5 out of 5) Top Notes Honeydew Melon Middle Notes Watermelon Base Notes Sugar

For sure. The point I'm making is that although wick type is important, if one doesn't conduct proper sizing within it then choosing that type didn't matter in the first place. But you're definitely right - the spice of life in candle making is what keeps it exciting.

Given the sensitivity to the combustion system all candles are designed to be, I'm finding that the actual wick type is secondary to proper testing and size selection (within that type). For instance, I've found the best way to build a high performance candle is to select the right size wick for my system - yes, some wicks burn hotter than others (looking at you, HTP). Here's a small table I put together. Not inclusive of everything on the market but I captured a few of the big ones. Wick Series Description Distinguishing Features Popular choice for CD Flat braided cotton with paper in the weave. Is quite stable despite not having a core. Rigid, and generally recommended for viscous waxes (vegetables), but works fine in paraffin too Any ECO Similar to CD except the paper is designed to make “self-trimming” more efficient ECO performs best in lower melt-temp waxes (vegetable) Vegetable LX No core either, and braided uniquely to improve stability and reduce issues with sooting and mushrooming “Stabilizing threads” that improves flame stability. Generally recommended for paraffin wax. Paraffin HTP Flat braided weave with “high performance” fibers. Burns hotter than most other wicks. Have a tendency to curl for performance - generally towards the “V” side of the braid. Paraffin Zinc Core Actually has a core. Cotton braid with high stability (due to the core) Super stable. Relatively versatile. Any Every wick is generally a braid of some form of fiber and may or may not have a core which everything is braided around. The core serves to provide stability to the wick whereas the fibers are meant to enhance a candle's performance. Before anything is brought to market, it is common to chemically treat this braided bad boy with a wax coating. The best coatings permeate the entirety of the braid system without stressing the fibers to enhance the combustion. What I really gather is that candle makers don't need a wick strategy for selecting wicks - they need a testing strategy. I'd wager that most any wick type will work for any candle (with some obvious exceptions). And each candle maker may have preferences for their threshold of "works great" actually means. Think melt pool preferences, HT, CT, etc. Some wicks offer neat features (or better versions of those features), but nearly all of them pursue some level of self trimming and stability. HTP wicks curl a lot which can be a headache to position, but they offer some pleasantries in the areas of pollution too. Trade offs.

Thanks @Laura C, @TallTayl and @BusyBee! I'm going to take a careful look through all of these over the next few days and report back with (hopefully) useful information and findings. If I do a good job the information might be useful to anyone else asking my same questions (or people just getting into the craft wondering what the heck all those things mean).

Hi everyone! It's an honor to be part of such a positive community. I've come to a dead end in my own research on this topic, but I swear I've tried everything. There's tremendous variety in wick technology: CD, ECO, CSN, LX, HTP, Wooden Wicks... Is there a good resource for truly diving deep and learning about all these technologies? What do all these letters mean? I've read the summaries on Candlescience and a few of the other distributors, but I'm looking for a bit more of a tech dive on how these wicks are put together and the major differences between them all. Thanks in advance