Candle Mould - Little Owl (Sofia)

01 · 54 GRAMS, NOT 240

The sum, with the geometry in front of you

The candle comes out 7 cm tall by 4 across. The full cylinder of those dimensions is about 88 cm³, that is under 85 g of wax — and an owl, with the shape it has, does not fill that cylinder.

LYSON's catalogue gives around 54 g a piece: a kilo of wax gives you on the order of eighteen owls. The 240 g that had been published do not fit in that figure.

02 · SEVENTY TO SEVENTY-FIVE

The pouring point

The wax is poured at 70-75 °C, above its melting point, which sits at 62-65 °C. Hotter darkens the wax and traps bubbles; nearly set, it will not fill the relief, and on a figure with feathers that shows straight away.

Then let it cool without moving the mould and without a fridge. And since wax shrinks as it sets, if the base sinks — which when pouring is the top face — you top it up with a second dribble once the surface has set. The mould has a slit: before pouring, close it with rubber bands so the wax does not escape through the join.

03 · THE 3×6 WICK IS A STARTING POINT

And the first candle tells you the rest

The maker recommends a 3×6 wick for this piece. A wick is chosen by the diameter of the candle, and on a figure that diameter is not constant: which is why the recommendation is a starting point and not a guarantee.

Burn the first one and watch. If it burns down the middle leaving the wall standing, the wick is too thin — that is tunnelling, the classic beeswax failure, since it melts higher than paraffin and asks for more wick. If it drips and smokes, you have gone too far.

04 · WHAT WE WON'T PUT HERE

About beeswax candles

You often read that beeswax candles purify the air or give off negative ions. There is no support for that and we do not publish it.

What you actually notice in use is plenty on its own: they make little soot compared with paraffin, and the wax keeps its own colour and smell. For a beekeeper it is the way to turn cappings wax into something that sells itself on a market stall.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

This is the mould: