Can you identify a wick by appearance?

[angellie5]

I have some soy candles in front of me that I bought a long time ago. I love the wicks in them, but so far I have not tested these. I think I have ruled out Eco's, HTP's, cotton cores, and zinc cores. I'm thinking they're CD's, but I have yet to try those, so I'm just not sure.

For you experts: they appear to be a thin flat braided wick with a darker thread woven in each cotton section. They are self-trimming and the weave is much tighter than my Eco's and this makes them slimmer all the way around. They curl when they burn and when single wicked, it takes the wax on the opposite side of the curl a while to catch up, but they still burn clean. The flames aren't huge like my HTP's and they're not messy to trim, you just break them off. The wick tab is a lot bigger than my Eco's tab, but that can vary by supplier, right?

I'm relatively new and still testing, but I'm stumped and frustrated. It's like love at first sight and never finding out the guy's name LOL!

Anyone have any ideas?

[bugtussle]

Sounds like a CD. The 2-color tan/brown braid are usually CDs. Carole

[Jami]

I agree, sounds like a CD wick. I wish I could tell a difference in the size of wicks, not just identify the type lol

I have a few wicks that I would get out and lay aside then not use them. By the time I would get around to making more candles, I would have no idea wha they are. I bet I have 20 like that lol

[bugtussle]

When I get wicks in from suppliers, before I do anything, I color-code the top of the wick by wiping it on a stamp pad. Green ink is CD7, CD8 has no color, CD10 has red ink. I do the same with my zinc wicks. That way I don't have to throw away a wick because I don't know what size it is. Those new wicks BCN carries runs a colored thread thru the center. Good idea, but they are high and I love my stamp pads. Carole

[Violetsexoticcandles]

I agree- I've used a lot of CD wicks (pretty much all I use) and that is what your wicks sound like.

Are you going to start makin your own? If so, have fun! It's definitely an addiction....

[kandlekrazy]

If the candles came from a fairly large company, they can have custom wicks. I've seen some in soy candles I've bought that don't match up with any of the wicks I've ever bought.

[Sharon in KY]

When I get wicks in from suppliers, before I do anything, I color-code the top of the wick by wiping it on a stamp pad. Green ink is CD7, CD8 has no color, CD10 has red ink. I do the same with my zinc wicks. That way I don't have to throw away a wick because I don't know what size it is. Those new wicks BCN carries runs a colored thread thru the center. Good idea, but they are high and I love my stamp pads. Carole

What a great ideal. I don't use too many different sizes but I'll have to remember this. Thanks

[angellie5]

Color coding them is a good idea! I'll have to remember that! I've just tried to keep them in the bags they came in.

Yes, I'm on my way to making my own that aren't too shabby. Not as good as those who sell, but for my own purposes they're fine. I've gotten my wax down with the Eco's, I just love the burn of these mystery wicks better and I wanted to try them. It is an addiction, but so much fun. When I first started out, I told my DH this would save us money, since it's cheaper to make them than to buy them. Um, when do you get to that point LOL? So many waxes, FO's, wicks, jars, etc. to try . . .

I actually melted down a small candle from this company today and pulled the wick out to compare it to my others. I'm not sure if it's a custom wick or not, but I surely hope not! The candles are nice so if I don't come close to mastering this craft, I can still order these to get my fix.

I'm going to get a sample pack of CD's and test them, so we'll see. Thanks for the help!

[topofmurrayhill]

Sounds like a great description of CD but also HTP.