Wick for beeswax candles (20m on a roll)

01 · WHY ANY WICK WON'T DO

Beeswax melts at 63-65 °C, and that changes everything

Paraffin melts at around 50 °C and soy even lower; beeswax needs 63 to 65 °C and, once molten, is denser and more viscous. A wick meant for paraffin neither generates enough heat nor draws enough wax: the flame stays small, a melt pool builds up that swamps it, and the candle puts itself out in its own puddle. The square braid — thicker filaments, more capillary section — draws wax steadily and holds a tall, stable flame. That is the difference between a wick with headroom and one working at its limit.

02 · WHICH SIZE TO CHOOSE

Pick by the candle's diameter, not its height

Two practical rules. If the candle is tapered or irregular, go by its average diameter. And if you are between two sizes, go thicker: an oversized melt pool can be corrected by trimming the wick, a drowned flame cannot. Above 7-8 cm you do not fit a fatter wick: you fit two or three spaced out, which is how wide-container candles are solved.

03 · WITH OTHER WAXES

It works, but then it has headroom to spare

It is cotton, so it burns with any wax: paraffin, soy, coconut or blends. What changes is the working point. Because it is sized for a dense, high-melting wax, in a softer and more fluid wax the same wick draws more fuel than needed: tall flame, an overflowing pool and fast burn. The fix is simple — drop one size from what you would use in beeswax and burn a test candle before the batch. The cotton is pure, with no metal core, and carries a low-smoke treatment.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The 20 m roll makes about 15-20 medium candles, depending on height. It comes unwaxed: use it as it is, or run it through molten wax at around 70 °C, which stiffens it and makes threading a mould easier. Cut it with ordinary scissors. For rolled candles lay it along the edge of the sheet and roll with even tension; for moulds, thread it through the centre hole and knot it at the base.