Candle

A candle is a tool for producing light consisting of a fibrous wick encased in beeswax, tallow, or paraffin wax.

Materials needed

• A wick preferably of cotton, but other materials such as hemp or linen may be used. Self trimming wicks were invented in the nineteenth century and are most common today.
• Wax or Tallow, for the body and fuel of the candle. A variety of waxes can be used, most usually paraffin for industrially made candles. Beeswax has long been used in higher end candles, burning cleanly and brightly, while soybean wax has become a common modern fuel that is renewable and available in large supplies. Tallow candles were very common and most affordable historically. These candles tended to produce more smoke or burn less intensely, as well as producing sometimes unpleasant odors, and being very soft to handle, especially in warm environments. In a pinch, most fats and oils will work for a crude candle or lamp, even crayons. Spermacetti candles were the highest end candles historically available, made from sperm whales and no longer produced.
• A mould, to shape the candle, or a bar, from which to hang the candles

Crafting instructions

There are two main ways to make a candle: by pouring, or by dipping

Pouring the candles

1. Coat the inside of your mold with a thin layer of oil
2. Cut your wicks just over twice as long as your mold
3. Your candle mold should consist of several pairs of tubes with small holes in the bottom. Use a wire to thread each end of your wick through adjacent holes and seal it with some clay.
4. Tie the ends of the wick to sticks at the opening of the mold to keep them centered,
5. Pour your wax in the mold. Once cool, remove candles.

Dipping the candles

1. Tie your wicks to a stick
2. Dip your wicks in wax just barely above its melting point
3. Remove the wicks, allow this layer of wax to cool.
4. Repeat the process until desired thickness

A candle may also be cast into a mold or vessel that will contain it still after solidifying, as with tea lights. This is especially useful when candles are made from left over fats from cooking (such as bacon grease) which remain very soft and messy to the touch when cool and solidified, and quickly melt down completely when lit.

Uses

Candles were the main source of light after dark for much of human history, allowing for work to be done when previously it would be impossible to see.

A spermaceti candle built to specific dimensions was the original standard reference for the Candlepower unit.