Archive for » June, 2009 «
Have you felt burned out over wicks as you begin your soy candle making journey? Maybe I can help spark a flame to the wick mystery for you.
Wicks can be confusing when starting out as a soy candle maker.
“Which wick should I use for soy wax?”
“What’s all the flame about lead free wicks? Paper core? Zinc core? Braided?”
“Why can’t anyone make wicks easier to understand?”
Are all questions I had when I started making candles back in ’05.
First of all, what IS a wick exactly, and what does it do? The wick is a flammable material in the candle that is used to illuminate surroundings. In order for the flame to continue burning and shining light, it needs a fuel. For the sake of this website, we talk about soy wax as candle fuel. I’ll get into other natural candle fuels later, but for now, we will focus on soy. The flammable material (the wick) and the candle fuel (the wax) have a symbiotic relationship. They need each other in order to work as a candle. So, the wick is what holds the flame that in turn, lights its environment. Basically, it’s the most important component of the soy candle. The most commonly used wick material is braided cotton. Within the braided cotton wicking world, we have various models to choose from. There are paper wicks and even wooden wicks that can be used. I stick to flat braided cotton, because I find it is best for soy.
The wick that I prefer to use in my candle making is called a “pretabbed” HTP. Pretabbed wicks already have the metal clip on one end that holds the wick upright in the container. The letters stand for High Temperature Paper. HTP wicks are ‘flat braided’ with smaller paper fibers entwined throughout the braid. This makes them stiff. They don’t have a core, or something in the center of them to hold them up. They are designed to bend at the tip when burning. This basically means that the wick is burning itself up within the flame. It produces a cleaner burning candle, because it doesn’t produce a lot of smoke and it helps the candle be somewhat “self trimming” because the spent wick is burned up within the flame. The wick won’t get overly long, so it won’t produce needless smoke, or a flame two inches tall.
What are all the numbers concerning wicks? The easiest thing to remember is the larger the number, the thicker the wick. Most suppliers who sell the HTP wicks have the size of wick (usually something like HTP41 or HTP105) with the size of container suggested for that wick. The smallest numbers are used for tea light containers. They go up to sizes that are used for containers as large as 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Don’t forget to use your Wick Target to determine the diameter of the container you will be using so that you can choose the correct wick size to get burn pool that goes to the edge of the container, ensuring an even burn all the way down.
Lead? Zinc? What’s the smoke about these two metals and what are they doing in wicks? Zinc is used in some wicks, to make them stay straight as they are burning. We NEVER use zinc cored wicks in soy candles. The wicks that have zinc cores do not burn well with soy. However, allow me to shed light on the zinc/lead mystery for you.
Years ago, manufacturers used lead wires in wicks to help them stay straight as the candles burned. It was found out that lead puts toxins in the air as it’s burned. Now NO American candle maker uses wicks with lead in them, and they haven’t for over 20 years. Lead cored wicks aren’t sold here in America. When you see an American candle company telling you they use lead free wicks, it’s only a gimmick to get you to buy their candles. They are preying on your ignorance of the truth that lead cored wicks are not used here. There are, however, some candles that come from over seas that still may have lead in the wicks. About 2% of candles in stores may have them. This is another reason it’s nice to make your own candles, because then you know exactly what’s in them.
I hope this informative article has helped light your way to the best wick to use in your soy candle making.
Pretabbed HTP wick suppliers: