Oh-MYo

"I contacted my wick manufacturer a while back and they told us in no uncertain terms that these are exclusive to OVC." OVC might have to slug it out in court with Ms Decker. http://www.freshpatents.com/Candle-having-a-planar-wick-and-method-of-and-equipment-for-making-same-dt20050217ptan20050037308.php Hope the link isnt too long. Interesting read though. In any case Ivy Ridge Traditions says that the: "elegant WoodWick candle features a natural cedar wood wick " http://www.ivyridge.com/news/ Conversely Dana's website( sorry cant find the link right now) says her WW candles feature an Ecowood Wick TM. Her patent application lists every kind of wood known to man, including wood composites and 2 slices of veneer with cotton in between. Interstingly, Dana, an ex model also has a patent application for lamp fuel. Ah, the world of high fashion....lol Soooo it seems just a matter of testing. I'm off to my lumber supply for some cedar....hehehe

Okay, I have wondered this for a long time. Likely some smart chandlers here can answer my question. IS there a way to burn a square pillar without messing with it a whole bunch? No offense to those who do make square pillars but how the heck are we supposed to burn them? I can understand a square container candle...but a pillar.....? Not to mention other shapes that are not round. A melt pool is round....k? The corners of a square candle are never gonna get in on the action. So you either have to whittle the corners off as it burns down or just use it as a decoration. I dont even wanna think about a blowout. Now I know ya'll test your candles before you sell them....soooo. How do we do this? What am I missing?

Several days ago I noticed the Wood Wick threads here and thought, "what a cool idea!" For me, it was...no worries about cooling wax making your wick go crooked; once it's in and straight..it's there for good. No poking. So, I played a little. I have some wick....clips..that look sorta like a bobby pin bent into a "T" shape. Worked great to hold a popsicle stick. You can buy them at the dollar store--100 for a buck. Soooo...the first popsicle stick worked pretty good. Very clean burn, no smoke at all, until you blow it out and it smokes just like you would expect wood to smoke. Seemed a little under wicked for my votive cuz I had to keep pouring wax off, while the wood continued to burn away. It did give off a wood hissing/popping sound if I stuck my ear close to the candle. But hair and open flame don't mix too well. Second popsicle/kraft stick wouldnt even stay lit! Well, wood is just like that; not all wood fibers have the same density or capillary capability. So I'm thinkin they must be using a fiberboard of some sort..for consistency. Especially if it smokes, that would be the glue burning....yeck! I tried some veneer that wouldnt even stay lit. Smoldered down to ash and went out. Even a stick of incence poked in a candle sustained a nice flame without smoke. BUT burned down to the wax in 20 minutes. 2 bamboo skewers placed parallel with a space the width of another skewer in between sustained a nice flame without smoke...but again, burned down too quickly. I think if OVC WW candles are still smoking they need to go back to the drawing board too. For me that is unacceptable--especially at those prices!! I think wood wicks on the free market would be awesome if they could perform like we want them to. In the meantime I am eagerly awaiting news of other experimenters....wood wick success stories

Yes please, where do I sign up with PETSA? I read all 11 pages of the PETSA thread and am still laughing. That was fun. Glad to see I'm not the only one who doesnt "get" dipped bears. I have been soft on bears all my life. My hubby and I still have bears, each one has a name and we don't go to sleep at night without saying goodnight to each and every one of them(9 at last count). Strange part is they answer back in their cute little voices. The even have their own "bear secrets"......lolol Okay, now you know just how kooky I am.... I could dip Barbie or a cabbage patch doll with no compunction. The dipped TP is a lot cooler than it sounds! I just might do that for Christmas. .....brings a whole new dimension to "full body waxing"...owwwwwwch!! Thank you all for the wonderful warm welcome.

Thats a beautiful burn Top...I'm sooo impressed! I dont make pillars but I have never seen a department store, even a 3" pillar burn that nicely. Thanks for showing us how the experts do it.

Have you hugged your candle today? Personally I stopped burning pillars long ago because of this. They will tunnel unless you..well..hug them. And you can only do that when they are warm. That is, after they have burned for several hours and your melt pool is pretty big. One hour burn for every inch of diameter more or less. When you squeeze the top slowly you can feel it give. Go slowly and go all the way around, pushing the outside in towards the middle. If you already have a sizeable tunnel you may have to take a sharp knife and just cut some off the top. Of course be careful not to push so much in that you drown the wick. You may not even know this until 20 minutes later when the wax starts to melt more into the pool. So go slowly. Dont even bother lighting a pillar unless you know you have lots of time to burn it. My pillars always ended up looking stupid because I would end up having to push soft wax into the middle with my fingertips and sometimes the top would crack because I was too impatient. I have never seen a pillar burned that didnt end up looking retarded after several burnings. Yes, please experts, we would love to hear how to burn a pillar and still keep it looking as nice as possible.

Depends if theyre really wicked or just naughty....lol...sorry, couldnt help it. It seems to me that a candle warmer warms the glass ..(the whole glass that is) much more than a regular wicked candle which would only be warming the area where the flame is. The heat itself, whether in the tab or the glass must disperse...upwards(heat rises) into the wax for the most part. And at the same time the temperature is much lower than that of an open flame. And since I would think that the scent will have diffused long before the wax level gets anywhere near the bottom I cant imagine anyone using a candle on a warmer that doesnt give off any scent. My local Micheal's(craft supply store) heats wicked candles in it's display electric warmer. And only one online store: http://workathome.scent-team.com/faqs.php mentions anything about this concern while many many companies sell electric candle warmers.

We are the BEARS and we are writing to ask you, please to stop dipping us in wax. How would YOU like to be dipped in wax and then had your hair combed in it to boot? Nah, we didnt think so! Ya'll stopped tarring and feathering each other long ago. We like kid cuddles and My-how-pretty-he-is...es. We like to sleep on your bed when youre not looking, cherry soda and lollipops. We like to be inside on a rainy day and to hear all your kids stories. Some of us play with dolls(oooh!, please dont tell!) and we like tea parties. Oh, my goodness, we LUVVVVV candles. And maybe soap....but only a little bit. More than one bath a year just doesn't make us very happy. But this dipping has just got to STOP! We are mad as H E double hockey sticks and were not going to take it any more. Signed Sincerely Snuggles Bear President; Society for the Preservation of Cuddly Bears ============================================== -----Alrighty then...on a slightly more serious note, Hi my name is Shera and I am a candleholic. Have been lurking for some time learning a lot of great stuff. And my goodness how nice everyone is here! Pleased to meet you all. I make and burn my own candles. Just bought my first soy candle last week.....nice. Rank amateur I know. Wax Drip even....lol But it's so nice to see how people are so good about sharing info and encouragement and I wanted to just drop in and say hi. Now about those poor bears!!!!.... Okay, okay, I'll let it go.....dont mind my quirky sense of humor. No offense to anyone, just playin:-)

Am wondering--has anyone ever had this happen? A jar cracking after having been used for some time? The reason I ask this; I use 4 ounce mason jelly jars, which are already quite sturdy. I reuse constantly..and have never had a problem. But then I dont use a thermometer, just melt until the wax is liquified.