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To Trim or Not to Trim... That is the question...


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Having purchased countless container candles over the years, I've came across this many many times, and I'm curious as to the candlers on this boards response.

I have purchased candles that have the wicks already trimmed to the correct, or near correct height, for immediate use without having the customer possibly monkey it up.

And, I've came across many candles where the artisan leaves the wick long, and makes it into a piggy tail curly-q.

Why? For looks supposedly?

This is just my opinion and after seeing so many curly-q ones, Im probably in the minority here but...

It's been my experience that not all, but most, customers don't read the instructions on the candles to begin with, and they wont, and don't trim the wicks accordingly in the beginning, or as its burning, then they get made at you guys for making a candle that doesn't burn cleanly ( all because they don't do proper candle care )

So , I was just, in my own little warped brain, thinking, wouldn't it make more sense to pre-trim the wick, so they at least get one decent burn out of it first?

Sorry if I offended anyone with my question. Im just trying to figure out why some trim and some don't.

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I agree 100%! Show them the correct way & maybe they'll get it. It does look very nice with the piggy curly que, but like you said, most don't read the instructions.

Having purchased countless container candles over the years, I've came across this many many times, and I'm curious as to the candlers on this boards response.

I have purchased candles that have the wicks already trimmed to the correct, or near correct height, for immediate use without having the customer possibly monkey it up.

And, I've came across many candles where the artisan leaves the wick long, and makes it into a piggy tail curly-q.

Why? For looks supposedly?

This is just my opinion and after seeing so many curly-q ones, Im probably in the minority here but...

It's been my experience that not all, but most, customers don't read the instructions on the candles to begin with, and they wont, and don't trim the wicks accordingly in the beginning, or as its burning, then they get made at you guys for making a candle that doesn't burn cleanly ( all because they don't do proper candle care )

So , I was just, in my own little warped brain, thinking, wouldn't it make more sense to pre-trim the wick, so they at least get one decent burn out of it first?

Sorry if I offended anyone with my question. Im just trying to figure out why some trim and some don't.

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I understand that many on this forum do not agree with having them, but I chose to on certain items. I trim mine to the right height on containers and pillars. I do, however, make numerous food type candles (sundaes/muffins/etc) which have the piggy thing - it's cute! BUT - with each of those items the instructions to trim it first are not only on the warning label, but in two other extremely obvious places on the packaging. One of the stickers I add to these is almost annoying - but it does get the point across. And, if I'm selling in person they are also verbally warned.

Edited by ksranch
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To remind my future customers to trim the wick, I'm thinking of giving them each a pair of complimentary toenail clippers with a label on them that says, "Okie Wick Trimmers." lol I'd also give them a printed sheet with burning/safety tips. Maybe the joke will make it stick in their mind.

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Those curly wicks are not the smartest thing to put on any candle!! 9 out of 10 customers do not read warning labels and I actually had a customer at one of my home shows say she uncurled a wick like that and lit the damn thing that long. I try to educate ALL my customers, but it usually goes in one ear and out the other. I don't need to put my insurance in use by someone having a fire because of a 'piggy tail' wick the chandler thought was cute.

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I agree with Chris and other "trimmers." I want people to at least SEE and start with the correct length for the wick... No amount of warning or number of warning labels will ever make this a safe practice, no matter how much I love the look of curly wicks!

I DO love the curly look and have used curled wicks on decorative fru-fru occasionally, but I'll never sell a candle with a wick that isn't trimmed to the length I recommend. I'll reserve using curly wicks for fire-starters - 'cause that's exactly what they are. JMHO

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I trim my wicks but keep them just a little long. I use soy and I've had it swell enough that the wick is too short if I don't leave it a little long to begin with. But even if it doesn't swell and they light the wick when its a little long, the worst that will happen is that the flame is a little larger than I would want.

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Swell? Never heard of soy wax swelling?
Absolutely. This is one of the undesirable crystal phases of soy wax - similar but not as dramatic as cauliflowering which looks like brains. This is WHY mitigating frosting is so important - not just because of some OCD need for good looks. This is why "embracing the frosting" is a really bad idea. In storage, a candle can swell until it appears that there was never a wick. Melting the candle slightly resolves the issue.

Container soy candles DO have a shorter shelf life than other types of wax. I won't sell an older soy candle for this reason. I also won't leave a wick too long just in case someone buys one and lets it sit on their shelf for years before burning it... Best to find out WHY that candle's crystal form changed and solve that problem, especially if the candle was recently poured. It usually takes a year or more for this to happen. When a swollen soy candle is burned, the wax quickly takes up less space (the air space between the crystals vanishes as the wax melts) and a wick that's a little too long becomes very much too long and a torch.

Edited by Stella1952
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Whatever, Stella. I do a lot of outside shows in the summer. My candles are subject to temperature changes. Sometimes it happens. Even at their longest, if the customer lights the wick, its still fine. I trim them to a half inch instead of a quarter inch. It gives me a little breathing room. It is not a "torch."

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One of the more valuable lessons I learned from top when he used to grace the board was to leave my wick a little long. Testing a candle the way a customer buys it enables you to guage how the thing will operate under normal conditions. Yes, the flame is a little large at first and then settles into the expected burning pattern. I use to sell my candles with really short wicks and leaving them longer proved to be good advice. I would never do the pig tail thing with a bead or whatever because it just adds expense and its too dangerous IMHO.

Steve

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One of the more valuable lessons I learned from top when he used to grace the board was to leave my wick a little long. Testing a candle the way a customer buys it enables you to guage how the thing will operate under normal conditions. Yes, the flame is a little large at first and then settles into the expected burning pattern. I use to sell my candles with really short wicks and leaving them longer proved to be good advice. I would never do the pig tail thing with a bead or whatever because it just adds expense and its too dangerous IMHO.

Steve

Does the advice to leave you wick a little long apply only to soy wax? I can't imagine paraffin wax expanding to cover the wick or make the wick too short, can it happen?

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If I recommend that the customer should trim the wick to 1/4", that's how the candle should begin as well. An old trick of the trade was to leave the wick longer for the first burn so that it would achieve FMP faster. Perhaps that's a good idea with paraffin, but for palm wax or soy wax, there is no race for FMP, particularly on the first burn. This might also be advantageous for certain shapes of containers, but it's asking a bit much for customers to understand that for the first burn, we leave it longer and cut it shorter on subsequent burns. It's tough enough to get them to even trim a wick in the first place!

Since the NCA also recommends that candle wicks be trimmed to 1/4" (regardless of type or wax), I think that's a real good idea to follow.

http://www.candles.org/safety_rules.html

Edited by Stella1952
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I'm sorry, Horsescents, but you are just arguing for the sake of argument. If the NCA makes that recommendation to consumers, don't you think it's a real good idea that WE AS CHANDLERS go along with it? SHEESH!!!

No, YOU are the one arguing for the sake of argument, Stella! In fact, I think you're trolling. Electricians are given different advice than homeowners who use electrical outlets and appliances in their homes, right? Homeowners are told to never, never, never stick anything into an electrical outlet, yet Electricians have all kinds of probes and things they test outlets and power lines with because Electricians are more knowledgeable about electricity than consumers! Chandlers are wayyyyyy more knowledgeable about candles than consumers, so the advice is different to chandlers than to consumer. Sorry you can't grasp that concept.

Ever heard of Luvox? Google it!

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Just more hair splitting. The brief flare up of a wick is not going to speed up a full melt pool. A flare up might last 30 seconds or a minute max and then the extra wick is gone and begins sucking wax. A fast forming melt pool would be due to over wicking the container and even then its going to take some time for that to be achieved. My cow, it takes a few minutes for a full force heat gun to melt the top of a 3 to 4 inch container so how in the world does a lowly wick hasten fmp? More hooey. IMHO

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