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Beeswax Questions


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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?

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I'm not sure typical beeswax will perform the same as what I'm using. From what I've read, it should be hard and not pliable. That (being pliable) seems to be an indicator of moisture contamination or cutting with oils. The original supplier appears to have changed their product packaging so I'm wondering if they're offering a different product as well.

Edited by Kerven
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Beeswax varies considerably from lot to lot depending on which part of the comb is used. Fresh Capping, for instance is the caviar of wax it burns much more easily than the comb. If the comb is older, darker or if the bees just produce more durable comb good luck. 

 

If you think soy is a bugger, then girder up when starting the beeswax adventure. It’s more than twice as expensive to experiment with.  The only reason I still bother is because it is in my contract to do so. As soon as I’m done with that event I’m done making beeswax in anything other than an occasional taper for myself. 

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