Butcher, Baker...

I hate waste. Bear and I love candles. So I decided long ago that the bits left over from candles should get recycled.

There are hundreds of guides on t'net on making candles, and it gets rather complex. Different candles with different purposes, wax types, hardness, wax harderners, wicks and wick widths, methods using double boilers and thermometers, moulds, moulds versus dipping...

Most of it is outside my purposes. All I want to do it recycle the bits from candles we'd bought and made.

Because they come from many different candles, they are likely to have different hardnesses, and as I prefer not to buy moulds - I have, but it defeats the object - you may as well buy candles !

So I thought, get back to basics.

History.

The basics of a candle are that it has to be a substance that when exposed to heat, becomes liquid, then gaseous, and burns. The wick has to be something that can pull up the melted substance into itself, and as it's exposed to heat, and becomes gaseous, allows that gas to burn. Strictly speaking, that a wick burns is incidental.

In ages past, the wax was tallow. Tallow was part of the fat of an animal caught or bred for food. The wick was often dried reed, wheat or barley stem. The services of a candle maker were once highly sought after. He (it was usually a 'he') would travel from village to village, farm to croft, and for a fee (about 2p or fivepence) make your candles for you. He knew what part of the fat from what animal was tallow, highly specialised knowledge. You normally dried your own reeds.

He'd expect to stay with you, be provided with food, beer and wine, and a place to sleep, for as long as it took to make the candles you wanted from the materials you had.

Anyways, back on track.

So faced with a bag of candle bits, what's the simplest thing to do? Chances are, there are bit's of wick in there. Don't worry about it. you can fish them out later. Keep in mind candle wax is hot please.

I have an old pan I melt old wax in. The results and colour are going to be variable, inconsistent, and burn rates are going to be different. You can change colour and smell by adding food colouring and either a few drops of flavoured oil (ie home made lavender oil) or spray in some perfume at the end.

I've had great success melting wax in a snack-noodle plastic container in a pan of boiling water. Once it melts, remove it from the pan. I've hung wick from a skewer until it sets. Alternatively, either wait until it almost sets, and stick a skewer in it and poke a wick through. Or drill a hole and poke it through.

Yoghurt pots are useful, but beware. They can shrink in the heat of the water. Fill no more than 1/2 to 3/4 full. I've found that cooling them quickly in the fridge makes them easier to remove from the mould, but the candle sinks a little in the middle. Topping up makes getting the wick length difficult, and often leaves a separate candle in the depression., hung on the wick. Not that it makes any difference - it just looks a bit odd.

Wicks.

I've tried ordinary string, but even left to soak in wax, it's too smoky for me. I don't live near a source of reed, and grass is too thin. Basically, the wider the candle, the thicker the wick needs to be - you may have more success. Experimenting is half the fun.

I use different thickness's of wick from a craft shop. It costs about 45 pence per yard.

The important thing is that you don't have to go for much commercially.

Edits and Tips :-

A couple of other things. I've found that the hotter the wax, the clearer and shinier the candle.

If, like me, you use left overs from other candles, choosing a colour may be difficult. However, it's good fun to stir in drops of food colouring and see what comes out. Try a drop at a time. The more you add, the deeper the colour.

Layered candles - pour some wax into your mould, and set it aside to set for hmm, 20 mins?
If you can leave a slight indent with you finger, then pour in a layer of a different colour. Repeat as necessary. If your first reaction is OW! it's too hot.... :)

Decorating a candle. The sky is not quite the limit. For instance, unless you like black sooty marks on your walls and ceiling, don't even think of melting in crayons for instance. I know, I did it.

Try adding a few drops of scented oils or perfume.

It's amazing what you can do with glitter and the white 'paper glue'. Don't be tempted to use contact or epoxy (eg, Bostik or Copydex) they produces toxic fumes.

For instance, wrap some masking tape around a candle, leaving a space between each turn. Paint in between with glue, and sprinkle glitter. Leave overnight to dry, and carefully peel off the tape.

You may be tempted to add glitter to a candle. It looks pleasing. However, it will sparkle when burned, and because glitter is often plastic, it'll smell a bit burned. You won't be happy with sparks landing on your carpet or floor. At the very least, there'll be lots of little black marks on your mantle/floor/window sill/shrine/altar.

Last, but not least, never be tempted to stand a candle on any flammable surface (for instance, on the top of a TV) Always us a stand or saucer on any surface. And I'm sorry if sounds obvious, please remember that candle wax is hot. When pouring from off-heat to a mould, always use a double boiler, pan or container with a pouring lip so the wax goes where you want it to go.

I'll leave that for now. I'll cover 'long' candles, candles for specific purposes, candles for specific religious purposes at a later date. Heck, I might set up a separate blog :)