Candle mould - Candle with hexagons

01 · HOW MUCH WAX PER CANDLE

And which wick it takes

Each candle asks for about 40 g of wax. A kilo makes twenty-five, and one of those two-kilo blocks, fifty.

The recommended wick is size 3×10. In a narrow candle the wick decides whether it burns straight or drowns in its own wax: one too thin leaves a tunnel down the middle and the candle puts itself out.

02 · THE WELL AROUND THE WICK

What nobody tells you the first time

Wax shrinks as it cools, so as it sets a small funnel forms around the wick. It is not a fault in the mould: it is physics, and it happens to everyone.

The fix is a second pour: once the candle has set but the mould is still warm, top that well up with a splash of wax. Without that step the candle comes out with a crater in the base.

03 · POURING AND COOLING

70-75 °C and slowly

Clean the mould first, set the wick in the centre and hold it taut and vertical — easiest tied to a stick laid across the rim. Pour the wax at 70-75 °C, unhurried, so no bubbles are trapped against the wall. The mould has a slit: before pouring, close it with rubber bands so the wax does not escape through the join.

And let it cool at room temperature. Putting it in the fridge to hurry is what cracks the candle: the surface contracts before the inside does.

04 · THE SILICONE

Why it releases on its own

Flexible silicone opens and gives the piece back without forcing, which is why it reproduces the hexagons without losing an edge. A rigid mould would have to be knocked.

It takes the heat of the pour and lasts season after season. Beeswax burns with little soot and with its own honey scent — there is no need to perfume it.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

This is the mould: