Candle Mould - Gnome with Honey Jar

01 · HOW MUCH WAX IT REALLY TAKES

The LYSON figure, checked against the geometry

The figure is 8.8 cm tall by 4 wide. The full cylinder of those dimensions comes to about 110 cm³, that is a little over 100 g of wax — and a gnome, with its hat and its jar, does not fill that cylinder.

LYSON's catalogue gives around 40 g a piece: a kilo of wax gives you on the order of twenty-five gnomes. And have spare wax hot before you start, because topping up cold shows in the finish.

02 · THE 3×9 WICK AND TUNNELLING

Why the thickness matters

The maker recommends a 3×9 wick for this piece, and it is not arbitrary: a wick is chosen by the diameter of the candle, not by the design.

Beeswax melts higher than paraffin, so it asks for more wick at the same diameter. Go too thin and the candle tunnels: it burns down the middle and leaves the whole wall standing. Go too thick and it drips and smokes.

03 · COOL SLOWLY, THEN TOP UP

The two moves that give you the finish

It cools at room temperature, no fridge. Forced cooling cracks the wax and leaves the surface dull and blotchy. The mould has a slit: before pouring, close it with rubber bands so the wax does not escape through the join.

And because wax shrinks as it sets, a tall figure usually sinks at the base — which, when you pour, is the top face. You top it up with a second dribble once the surface has set and the inside is still hot. Then demould gently and trim the wick to 5-10 mm.

04 · WHAT YOU CAN CLAIM ABOUT WAX

Without overreaching

It gets said a lot that beeswax candles purify the air or give off negative ions. There is no support for that and we are not putting it on a page of ours.

What you do notice in use is real and enough: they make little soot compared with paraffin, and beeswax keeps its own colour and smell. For a beekeeper it is the way to turn cappings wax into a product that sells itself.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

This is the mould: