Wick Type

Choosing a Wick Type

Wooden Wicks vs Cotton Wicks

Wooden wicks are thin slabs of wood crafted precisely for candle making. They create a nice crackling sound, but need a bit more attention and maintenance. Cotton wicks are braided cotton strands, dipped in wax and compressed to hold their shape. Cotton wicks are often easier to maintain, however, to ensure a clean burn the wicks must be trimmed consistently!

 

Burning Wooden Wick and Cotton Wick Candles

There definitely are right and wrong ways to burn each type of candle, but most importantly for both, is to always burn your candles until the wax has completely melted to each side of the candle jar.

 

Lighting and Relighting

Cotton wicks will ignite easily upon the first lighting and wood wicks can take up to 30 seconds to catch. However, upon the second and subsequent burnings, the wooden variety will need a bit more care and time. Cotton wicks are more of a grab and go type of candle, trim the wick and they'll light in a few seconds, while wooden wicks may take a few seconds longer. They may take 2 or 3 tries to relight as it will take more time for the fire to penetrate to the outer, more charred layers of wood.

Sometimes the wooden wicks won't light if there is too much charred wood. In these cases, simply pinch off the top bits of the charred wood so the wick is about 1/4 inch in height. It is also not recommended to use wooden wick candles outdoors because they are more likely to extinguish under light wind pressure and are more difficult to relight.

 

Which Wick Burns Longer?

Wooden wick candles typically produce a lower, smouldering flame, which will consume your candle at a slower rate, thus burning longer! Candles with more than one wick (wooden or cotton), will also burn at a faster pace per volume than those with a single wick.

 

Wooden Wick Maintenance

Wooden wick candles require more maintenance simply because they run a risk of the flame extinguishing before the candle has the chance to settle in. It is important to allow the wax to melt to the edge of the jar to avoid tunnelling through the centre of your wax. The only way to combat the tunnelling effect is to scrape away the excess ridges of unmelted and wasted wax to bring your candle back to a level surface. Keep in mind, tunnelling can also happen to cotton wick candles.

Another issue with wooden wick candles is if you pinch off too much of the wick and it becomes too short, it will be too difficult to light or you run the risk of the melted wax suffocating and therefore, extinguishing the flame. In this case, take a piece of paper towel and soak up some of the melted wax.