Buzz
You can purchase a wick to use when making candles at home, but it's also quite simple to create your own. The borax-coated wick (known as 'hàn the') is the most common type, though there are also wooden wicks and loose wicks that can be easily made with just a few basic materials.
Steps
Borax-coated wick
Boil water. Boil 1 cup (250ml) of water in a small pot or kettle. Heat it until it simmers, but make sure it doesn't reach a full rolling boil.
Dissolve salt and borax. Pour hot water into a glass bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of borax. Stir until the ingredients are fully dissolved.
- This borax mixture will be used to treat the materials for making the wick. The borax treatment can help the candle burn brighter and longer, while also reducing smoke and soot produced during burning.
- Keep borax out of reach of children and pets, as it can be toxic if ingested or inhaled.
Soak the cotton wick in the mixture. Take a thick cotton string and soak it in the borax solution for 24 hours.
- Make sure the cotton string is longer than the height of your candle mold. If you are unsure of the height, you can soak a 30cm string and trim it afterward.
- Rope is a suitable material for making a wick, but most thick cotton threads will work. You can also use embroidery thread, small pieces of cotton cloth, or clean shoelaces after removing the plastic part.
- Soaking the cotton string for 24 hours will yield the best results, but you can remove it after about 20 minutes. However, the result won't be as effective as the longer soaking time.
Dry the cotton string. Use tongs to remove the cotton string from the borax solution. Hang the string to dry for 2 or 3 days.
- Ensure the cotton string is completely dry before proceeding to the next step.
- Use clothes pins or similar clips to hang the soaked cotton string in a dry, warm place. Place aluminum foil underneath the hanging string to catch any drips.
Melt the wax. Break off about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of candle wax. Melt the wax using a double boiler.
- If you don't have a double boiler, you can use a clean metal can and a small pot.
- Bring the water in the small pot to a simmer, with a water level of about 2.5 to 5cm. Do not let it boil vigorously.
- Place the metal can in the hot water and let it warm for a minute before adding the wax.
- Be cautious when handling the melted wax, as it can cause severe burns.
Dip the soaked cotton string. Carefully place the dried cotton string soaked in borax into the melted wax. Try to coat as much of the string with wax as possible.
- While you can use the cotton string soaked in borax without additional wax, the wax helps to stiffen the wick, making it easier to handle and allows the wick to catch fire more easily.
Dry the cotton string. Hang the cotton string as described earlier and leave it to dry until the wax hardens. This step will only take a few minutes.
- As with the previous step, place a sheet of aluminum foil underneath the hanging string so that the wax can drip onto it.
Repeat the process. Soak and dry the cotton string one or two more times to create a thicker layer of wax.
- The ideal wick is firm, but still flexible.
- If you don't have enough wax to dip the wick again, you can lay it on a piece of aluminum foil and carefully pour the remaining wax over it. Let the wick dry on the foil rather than hanging it again.
Use the wick when needed. Once the coating on the wick has dried, the process is complete, and you can insert the wick into your candle.
Wooden wick
Trim a small wooden stick. Use scissors to cut a wooden stick so that it is about 2.5cm taller than the height of your candle mold.
- Use small wooden sticks available at craft stores. These sticks typically have a diameter ranging from 1.25cm to 4cm.
- If you're unsure about the size of your mold or how large the candle will be, cut the wooden stick to about 15 to 30cm. You can always trim off the excess later, as it's better to have too much than not enough.
Soak the wooden stick in olive oil. Place the cut wooden stick in a shallow dish. Pour enough room-temperature olive oil to fully submerge the stick.
- Although wood is a flammable material, soaking it in oil helps the wick ignite more easily and burn more evenly. Olive oil burns very cleanly, making it a suitable choice for candles.
- Soak the wooden stick for at least 20 minutes. If you prefer, you can soak it for up to an hour to allow the wood to absorb more oil and burn brighter.
Wipe off excess oil from the wooden stick. Remove the stick from the oil and use a clean paper towel to blot off the excess oil.
- Instead of drying the stick completely, you can place it on a plate lined with paper towels and let it air dry for a few minutes.
- After drying, the stick should still feel oily and moist, but should not leave any oil streaks when you handle it.
Attach the wooden stick to the metal base. Widen the wick hole on the metal base and carefully insert one end of the treated wooden stick into it.
- Push the stick in as deep as possible. The metal base will hold the stick securely while it is submerged in melted wax throughout the candle-making process.
Use the wick when needed. Now, you can use the wooden wick to make your candle.
- The oil-soaked wooden stick is easy to handle and burns longer. Using a wooden wick instead of a cotton one will create a woodsy aroma and crackling sound when the candle is lit.
Loose wick
Melt the wax using a double boiler. Break about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of candle wax or paraffin and place it in the top part of a double boiler. Heat it until the wax melts.
- You can use either fresh wax or recycled old candles. Break the wax into smaller pieces for quicker melting.
- If you don't have a double boiler, you can place a metal can or bowl into a small pot with 2.5 to 5cm of water. Just be sure to pour water into the pot, not into the can or bowl.
- Allow the water to simmer gently, but do not let it boil vigorously. Once the wax has melted, proceed to the next step.
Bend one end of the wick. Wrap one end of a stiff cotton wick around a pencil or pen. Once the fibers of the wick touch each other and slightly overlap, bend the rest of the wick to be parallel to the edge of the pencil.
- After wrapping the wick, slide it off the pencil.
- Ensure that you are using a cotton wick. Synthetic fiber wicks may not catch fire properly or could be unsafe.
Trim the wick. Use pliers to shorten the wick. The completed wick should be about 1.25cm tall above the original circular loop.
- After trimming, carefully use needle-nose pliers to bend the top part of the wick into the center of the loop. The top part of the wick should remain upright but positioned in the middle.
- If the upright part of the wick is too heavy or not centered, the weight distribution will be off, causing the wick to lean rather than standing straight.
Dip the wick into the melted wax. Hold the trimmed wick with tongs and carefully lower it into the melted wax. Soak the wick in the wax for a few seconds.
- Be very careful during this step, as hot wax can cause severe burns if it splashes or drips onto your skin.
- Make sure the entire wick is submerged in the melted wax. However, do not release the tongs, as it will be hard to retrieve the wick afterward.
Let the wick dry. Remove the wick from the wax and place it on aluminum foil. Wait a few minutes for the wax to dry and harden.
- Keep the wick standing upright by resting it on the circular base while it dries.
- Once dry, the wax on the wick will solidify and cool enough for you to handle it.
Repeat if necessary. Continue dipping and drying the wick one to three times, allowing the wax to harden between each dip.
- You need to create an even, hard wax coating around the wick. The wax will help the wick catch fire faster and burn longer.
Use the wick when needed. Once the wick is completely dry after the final wax dip, the process is complete and you can place the wick on the surface of the candle mold without the wick holder in the center.
- When lighting the candle, the flame will spread down the entire wick to the surface of the candle. The wax will begin to melt underneath the wick, causing the wick to float on top of the melted wax.
Things You Need
Borax-coated Wick
- Water
- Kettle
- Table Salt
- Borax
- Tongs
- Cotton String
- Clothespin or Regular Clip
- Aluminum Foil
- Double Boiler
- Candle Wax
Wooden Wick
- A small wooden stick with a diameter of 1.25 to 4 cm
- Scissors
- A deep plate
- Olive oil
- Paper towels
- Metal wick base
Loose Wick
- Stiff cotton string
- Pencil or pen
- Tongs
- Cable cutters
- Needle nose pliers
- Candle wax or paraffin
- Double boiler
- Aluminum foil
