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You also make soap right, why not use it in CP? My recipe has soy wax flakes in it and it's fabu!

Barbara, you know you are feeding my desire for a slab mold, right? That is really cool. I know I would have to adjust my soaping ways to accomplish this but I think I may take a stab at it! Now to convince my husband that the lumber I plan to purchase needs to be made into a new mold asap! Thanks for sharing!

I have used wine before and did nothing but chill it in the freezer until it was ICE cold and then added my lye to it. I used one that was a blueberry mead and made locally and added a blueberry fo so not sure if the scent came through but the color sure did! It was beautiful! I had no issues soaping it at all. Turned out fantastic! Go ahead and just act like the wine was water

A couple suggestions. If you really want to single wick, there are still options available. I'd steer clear of wicks with zinc if your blend has soy in it. Since the HTP 105 did not cut it, I'd maybe test the 126, 1212 and 1312 to see if any of those will work. In the CD series if the 18 did not work there is still the 20 and 22. A wick that isn't burning correctly will often both soot and mushroom or one or the other. I personally am going to bet like many others that double wicking is going to be a better option though. Maybe start with two CD 8's and go from there. Glad to see you've put so much into testing and documenting!

They should be fine to wash at a minimum with very hot water and dish soap. I've used various kinds of silicone/urethane molds and all have been fine being washed in the kitchen sink using super hot water and Dawn dish soap. HTH!

IGI will not release exact amounts no matter what anyone here says but I do know that that IGI 6006 from experience is about that. It is an excellent wax with much better availability than smaller off brands. HTH!

Vybar will not increase scent throw in any wax...and for that matter no additive will increase it. Vybar is a paraffin additive designed to allow for a higher fragrance load in a straight paraffin wax. Vybar also prevents mottle again in paraffins. The two waxes you have do not require additional additives. You will not need vybar. Straight paraffin waxes benefit from vybar as the average fo load a paraffin with no additives can hold is only about 3%. By adding the vybar and other binding additives you can get it to retain closer to 9%. You can add in a few grains of vybar per lb of wax in a paraffin blend for tough blending scents or just slightly decrease the scent amount. Blended waxes already in most cases contain vybar or a similar binding additive. Adding too much can work against you by totally locking up the scent in the candle. For the best scent throw you need to look at several things. First and foremost does your wax work well with your particular scent. The only way to know this is by trial and error testing. Some scents do better in some waxes than others. Wicking is also vital since scent comes from melted wax. If you are not getting a full melt pool with a depth of between 1/4-1/2" (max of 1/2") your scent throw will not be at it's full potential. Curing! Curing is SO much more important than people realize. With a paraffin candle you should cure a minimum of 24 hours before burning and with soy a minimum of 48 hours. Some scents however can take two full weeks to fully reach their potential. I know, more info than asked for but it all sort of ties in together. Hope this helps ya out!

Sadly price does not always equate strength. In my experience, buying costly oils will often get you a deeper, more complex scent but it does not always mean stronger. Some of the cheepest oils are the strongest. Sounds odd but it's true. I recommend like another poster said looking to see what others have used but don't use that exclusively as a gauge of what to buy and from whom. I currently use oils from 6 suppliers with the majority coming from one. Try samples of scents from different places and pick the scents that do best for you in your wax for the price you want to pay

I figure if it looks too big it probably is. What kills me is per the ASTM safety standards flames should not exceed 3" in height. OMG! I about fell off my chair over that one. It's nuts and it's certainly not safe, not at all. I would say a flame should never exceed 1" even after that candle has been burned a really long time. 1/2" flame height seems about right to me.

I am aware that they don't process the shea but they do melt it down to repackage which is when the grainies appear. Sadly they just kinda heat and pour into bags, inside a box and use zip ties to close it. It stinks that they can't scoop it like other suppliers so it stays nice but then we'd be paying a load more I am sure. LOL

That is where my shea comes from as well. It does not at all affect the outcome of the finished soap since yes, you melt it down. I actually use this for body butters. I heat it back up, hold it heated for 20 minutes and cool back down fast. It then comes out nice and creamy. The grainy texture comes from their process of cooling. Wish it were creamy from the get go but it's never been the case. I've been using shea from them for years.

I use the same binder clips as Top however I use them to hold my wick in place on my soy jars by winding my wick around a wick rod then clipping in place with the binder clips. I pour to just before the clip inside the jar. Keeps things nice and even on Jelly Jars. For my pint masons I pour just up to the neck and on my apothecary jars I pour just above the shoulder and eyeball those.

Scented, just a thought on the honey. I've always soaped 50/50 lye to water but the one time I did use real honey, I added it to goats milk and blended that really well and I had no issues with it blending. Maybe discount your water to lye a bit and add some water with the honey blended in? Just a thought as I am certainly no expert on honey soaps. LOL ETA: DUH! I love the looks of the soaps even if the honey didn't blend well. Great work as always

And I am going to have to say it probably isn't. That will melt in a tart melter, so would on a jar warmer too. Kitchenfairy, I would try just regular cheepest you can get salt. I know from making bath salts that any salt will hold both color and fragrance...I'd grab a container of sea salt perhaps from the grocery store, the fine grain and give it a go

I saw those too. I was thinking they were more likely a fine grain salt. I've used the salts in tart warmers, the really big ones and they worked well. This sounds like a larger version of that. I am sure they named it sandle vs something with salt because it sounds better.

I don't have time to cut, wax and tab every wick I use. It's not practical nor is it realistic for someone doing more than a few candles at a time. I buy most my wicks in master cases pre-tabbed and waxed.

Yep, that is true! I ship only Monday for out of state or more than a state away (1-2 day ships) when the temps on either end are over 80*. If the temps are over 95* on either end I simply won't ship until I see a forecast where it clears some. It's frustrating but I do it to protect them since if I ship in the summer I will NOT replace candles that are melted...it's a ship at your own risk kinda thing. I prefer 1-2 day methods for this reason. Sadly as a wholesaler it puts me in a pickle but I'd rather their goods arrive safe than melted. USPS is a good summer choice but don't forget that the item may be on the carriers vehicle which isn't AC'd for an entire day before they deliver too.

In some cases you can win and collect but in others even with a win, as stated you will never see a dime...so in theory you are out more than what you started with. In Minnesota and Wisconsin (I only know about those two states since I used to own rentals in each) if a person is sued in court for damages and the petitioner wins, they will grant a judgement. Judgements are worth only the paper they are written on unless the person makes enough to be considered above the federal/state/local poverty guidelines. If they have received any form of public assistance, food stamps, daycare, housing, medical etc. the courts will NOT garnish wages for a period of 18 months AFTER that support stops. So in a nut shell depending on the amount, I'd say maybe, maybe not to do it. I personally wouldn't bother in either of those two states for less than $1000. Just not worth it to me. Getting the judgement is the easy part, collecting on it is the hard and sometimes impossible part to the system. Good Luck!

Deb, I never thought of that since I don't do anything that short. hmmmm I should pull out some tins and see what the shortest candle I can get away with it in is. I know it works great in JJ's which is typically what I test first since overall if I have to wick up/down in one size I do in all jars. Good point there. Thanks for sharing that too!

That is why you use a heat gun to remelt the top. You will have a perfectly level surface. Trust me, I've done this for the past five years and it's never failed me. Bruce from Wicks Unlimited was the one who recommended it. He does the exact same thing. As long as you use a heat gun to melt as I stated the surface back to level, why go thru all the work of melting, cleaning out the jar, rewicking and pouring? This takes 5 minutes vs. 1 hr.

I PM'd you but with many wick series there are almost gaps in sizes. You are right. I prefer, especially when working with soy, to have a wick series that is a. cotton and b. has a multitude of various sizes where instead of leaving a gap the sizes almost overlap. Does that make sense? For example in a 2.5" diameter jar, a CD 10 may work well for one scent, but for others I need a CD 12...there isn't a ton of variation between the two wicks but the 12 is a bit hotter. I can single wick up to about a 3.4" diameter with a CD 22 and down to a bitty tealight with a CD 1 or 2. It is really a great series of wicks and I find that most people will use it permanantly once they test them.

Go to http://www.forcraftssake.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7_8&products_id=20&zenid=eb86813d9b64a5474e5bc716fa1738f3 That bad boy is the tank. It's worth it's weight in gold, cuts super fast and super even. The only down side is you can see a semi circle line grid in some bars after they are cut...so you know they are not hand cut but goodness who cares. LOL You can buff that out if it really bothers you...which it does not me!

I personally do not use RRD wicks and honestly they are not my favorite series, not by a long shot. Have you considered testing the CD wicks at all. That jar has a diameter of 2 5/8, for that I would say to start with a CD 12. I would say that should yeild great results with no excess sooting. When I am testing wicks in waxes I typically will know within a few candles if I don't like the way a particular wick burns. I will usually then change series and go from there. A CD 12 should give a nice even burn with your jar and wax with most fragrances.

Ditto on the tank cutter. I just cut thru 13 logs in five minutes with one. They work awesome! The only down side is my logs are longer than the cutter so I have to put it down twice on it but no biggie and certainly less time consuming than cutting by hand

Sounds to me like you are experiencing some degree of soot by the gray color you describe. What jar are you using? I used eco 135 for years and can probably help target the right wick for you. Also try not using more than an oz per lb of scent. The more scent the dirtier the candle will burn. As for the Universal Soy Additive and or coconut oil, I never used either. Just pour your candles at a slushy stage and most all frost and pitting will be eliminated. HTH!