The scent, the feel of the wax and vessel of a candle tend to draw the eye (and nose) first.
But the unsung hero is the wick.
Wicks come in many shapes and sizes and they even come in different materials like cotton, wood or nylon. At Chiswick Candle Company, we know which we like best, but we’ll get onto that in a moment.
First, let’s get into what a wick does how to pick one that’s perfect for the candle.
How a wick works
Wicks are clever things. They draw wax up towards the flame like a kind of fuel pump.
The size of your wick allows different amounts of wax to be drawn up - a bigger wick means bigger flame and vice versa.
If your flame is too big, then it'll create soot because it burns the wick material rather than the cleaner-burning wax.
If it’s too small, then you’ll find your wax pool doesn’t reach the edges and your flame will tunnel. We have handy tips on how to manage a tunneling candle here.
Choosing the right wick
The type of wax used in a candle, as well as the candle’s size, shape, colour and scent should all be considered when deciding on the right wick to use.
Generally, wicks fall into these categories:
Flat Wicks. Made from three fibres and very consistent in their burning. These are very commonly used wicks found mostly in taper and pillar candles.
Square Wicks. These wicks are braided or knitted and more robust than flat wicks. They’re a popular choice for thicker waxes and fragrances like soy or beeswax because they draw up wax and scent easily.
Wooden Wicks. These have become more fashionable recently because of the eco credentials and their pleasing crackling sound. Wooden wicks are often made from 100% ply wood, semi-wood, fibrous material or cotton and wood combinations.
Specialty Wicks. These wicks are specially designed to meet the characteristics of specific candle applications, such as oil lamps.
Considering the quality
As a general rule, higher quality wicks tend to be braided. They’re also made out of superior material that forgoes the need for paraffin soaking to improve the burning.
Twisted wicks, often used in lower end scented candles and birthday candles are of lower quality than braided or knitted wicks. Their loose construction means they burn faster than tighter wound wicks.
Which wicks does Chiswick Candle Company use?
There were a few factors that led us to decide on our braided cotton wicks.
The ingredients we use: we needed a wick that would be able to do justice to the high-quality Eco Soy wax and essential oils we use. It needs to be thick enough to draw up the wax and natural oils, but also thin enough to burn at a slow and steady rate.
Renewable: We choose cotton because it’s natural and renewable.
Structural integrity: When you use a well constructed, braided wick you don’t need to add paraffin to increase the burn rate.
Supporting local: We get our wicks locally to Chiswick to support local candle businesses and to reduce the carbon footprint of our materials.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the materials and ingredients we use in our scented candles, here are a couple of suggested articles:
Comentários