Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Keepongoing]

I have been considering this as a hobby as I like candles. Been reading up on it and found, like many things, it is not as basic as I thought. There seems to be an array of safety percautions, temperature control etc to follow. Also, is there a store in Seoul that sales candle making supplies?

[Muffin]

I used to make candles years ago. Can't remember it being too hazardous. You can melt the wax, stearin and dye in a saucepan placed in another saucepan of water or you can get a special kettle for the purpose.

Sorry I don't know about getting supplies in Korea.

[oneofthesarahs]

I used to teach a candle making class. Making your own candles is way more of a pain in the ass than it seems like it should be. You have to melt down your wax at fairly precise temperatures if you want a smooth candle that doesn't look like crap. If you want floaty bits in your candles, that has to be done at precisely the right stage as well.

It's not hard to make basic candles, but if you're talking about frilly nice looking candles that have an even burn and don't crumble, you do have to put a bit of work into it. You'd also have to find a place to buy wick.

Or you can just make ice candles, which are hella fun, but melt all crappy.
Step 1: Fill paper cup full of ice, place wick in middle
Step 2: Melt Crayolas
Step 3: Pour wax in cup.
Step 4: Stick in freezer to harden wax.
Step 5: Remove from freezer and allow ice to melt.
Step 6: Peel off paper cup.
Step 7: SUCCESS

[Keepongoing]

Maybe Korea is not the place to start this hobby. If I get into this I want to do it right and get good at it and perhaps sell them to supplement my income when I am too hold to be hired anywhere.

[merlot]

Go to the beach and make sand candles. Just dig a hole put in a wick and pour in the wax. You'll have very uniquely shaped candles with sand on the outside. You can also do a layering effect and all kinds of creative things with sand candels. You'll need to take a butane bbq pit or something to melt the wax.

[SuperHero]

almost burned my house down when I was 12 years old.

[kimchi story]

Yeah I grew up around hippies and this was a common seasonal event. You can take electric frying pans and big tins (they always used recycled olive oil tins). You put water in the pans and get them hot, then set the tins in the water. This'll keep the wax at a consistent temperature that makes for smooth candles. You know when the frying pans are at the right temperature because the wax is melting but the water is not boiling off at a ridiculous rate. It's like, medium. Then there're candle wicks which are 2ft lengths of cotton 1/8th inch rope, and you dip each end about 8". For each 2ft length you get a pair of candles. You can hang the pairs over any rod while they dry. The wax was jarring wax, with food coloring. You can bust out like 50 pairs in a night.

I'd go with OOTS's ice cube candles, tho, in stead of the prep that's required for the dipped ones. That sounds like fun.