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Candle Making Candle making is an age-old art, and remains to be a popular home craft activity. Candles are great for perking-up a romantic dinner date, as well as for spicing-up religious and social events or ceremonies. Making candles is as easy as baking cake, and hosts of do-it-yourself candle making sites are available on the Worldwide Web. Candle making is a lucrative industry today, and scented candles are a hit among students, lovers, and these make for wonderful gift items as well. Simple Candle Making Steps Among the materials used for creating simple candles include wax, a wax melter, mold, thermometer, fragrance, oil, dyes and putty. In creating the right candle, here are some simple steps. First, you need to choose the right type of wax to use. If you prefer to use beeswax, then you need to ensure that you don't melt it. If you prefer to use soy wax or paraffin, these materials have to be melted and boiled as well. Next, place the wax melter in a pot filled with water, and placed in a burner that has low to moderate heat. When the wax starts to melt, you can add dyes to enhance the color, as well as add some fragrances to make it a scented one. The amount of oil that you need to mix should be appropriate as well, since 1 tablespoon or 1.4 ounce of oil are enough for a pound of wax melted. History of Candle Making The art of candle making was developed in a number of countries, and was a major part in the culture and traditions of many civilizations. The Chinese were known to manufacture candles derived from whale fat, in as early as 206 BC. In ancient Japan, candles were made using was from a varied array of insects and seeds, and were commonly wrapped in paper. In India, candle makers used wax that was derived from boiling cinnamon, and these were used to light up Hindu temples during religious festivities. The indigenous tribesmen of the Pacific Northwest in the United States were also recorded to have used candles that were made from candlefish, and these were use primarily for illumination. The commercial production of candles in the United States began when am individual named Joseph Sampson was given a patent for a new technique or method for producing candles, and this was considered to be the second time that a patent for candle making was granted. A wealthy industrialist named Joseph Morgan was recorded to begin the large-scale industrial production of candles. Morgan developed machines that enable the continuous production of molded candles, and he used a cylinder which had a movable piston to remove, or automatically eject the candles as they became hard. This mechanized method for making candles allowed for the production of as much as 1,500 candles per hour, a commercial feat at that time. The mass production of candles made it a readily-available and affordable commodity for most consumers. While the invention of kerosene made candles lose its luster, as well as its widespread appeal, these became prized decorative items. Suddenly, the market for candles exploded, and they became an instant hit among gift givers, married couples and lovers, as well as students and interior designers. In the 1990's new candle wax variants were specially created to meet the unexpectedly high demand for scented candles. Soy bean and palm oil wax were then developed, and these became prized because these were softer and slower-burning ingredients. |
