Choosing a Candle Making Wick
Choosing the correct wick is one of the first problems a new candle maker will have, with this guide I hope to steer you towards some good starting points for testing your wick. A lot of people give up candle making before they have even really got started and this is due to incorrect wick choice. The most basic mistake is to choose an incorrect size candle making wick for the diameter of the candle you are making.
A wick that worked in a particular wax with scent and dye added does not now work with a change of scent or dye - this is very common and is why testing of wick needs to be done with every change in materials.
Natural wax used to be hard to wick due to it being a new product and there being few wicks that were made specially for natural wax. Now there are a lot of wicks that suit natural candle wax. The main problem is that the wax is a natural product which can change from season to season causing you to have to alter your wick choice
Which Wick For Which Wax
Natural Wax
WickWell P2 - Wedo VRL - WickWell NT - Wedo RRD
These are the four wicks that I use when making candles with natural wax. The WickWell P2 and the Wedo VRL are the first that I will try, if for some reason I am not getting the desired results I would try the TCR wick. The WickWell NT is a good last resort and it is the wick to choose if using rapeseed or beeswax.
Paraffin Wax
Wedo LX - WickWell P2 - WickWell Cotton Core
Paraffin wax is generally easier to wick than natural wax. For the Chandler Grey Blended wax and the PRO Container I use the Wedo LX wick, and for the Chandler Grey PRO Pillar I use the WickWell P2 wick. Sometimes I use the WickWell Cotton Core wick if the LX is not giving the desired results.
The WickWell P2 wick has been made for use in the PRO Pillar wax which is a mixture of paraffin and natural wax. It works extremely well in the PRO Pillar and will give good results in Soya wax but it can be a bit too strong for use in a normal paraffin wax.
Choosing the correct sized wick
Now the most important part of choosing a wick is to have the correct size. If the candle making wick is too small it will not melt all the surface wax and usually drown in the well it has created. If the candle making wick is too large it will create a large flame and will usually smoke. To get the size that nearest matches the diameter of the candle you intend to make, just go the the Raw Wick page and under each wick name is a guide to the diameter that the wick should create a melt pool.
Some wicks are self trimming, some are not. It is always recommended that you trim the wick to around 5mm showing before each lighting of the candle
Votive Wick
Natural Wax
Wedo VRL - WickWell NT - Wedo RRD
The Wedo VRL wick works well in the smaller candles made with Soya wax; if I am candle making with rapeseed or beeswax I would use the NT wick.
Paraffin Wax
V45/SPC-60 - V45/S3-80 - V45/S5-80
The WickWell V45 range of wick has been made specifically for use in votive candles made with paraffin wax. The Wedo LX8 wick will also work.
Tealight Wick
Natural Wax
WickWell NT-TL
These are three sizes of the NT-TL wick and I find these are all I need in natural wax. Use the NT tealight wick in beeswax.
Paraffin Wax
Wedo TL
The Wedo TL series of wick should be all you need for paraffin tealights.
The tealights are the most dangerous of candles as people will put them on unsuitable surfaces not thinking of how hot they can become; always warn people of the danger.
