Cheesy survival light - Babybel cheese wax candle

I've been curious about this for some time, and with it just cool enough in mid August to make it comfortable in the shade, I decided to give it a try.

The source material is the sealing wax from little Babybel cheese snacks. They're yummy.


The pull tab was interesting, but doesn't work as a wick. I did note quickly that the wax is very runny when heated with a flame. Second attempt at a candle was with the wax wrapped around a wooden match. Not enough absorption to keep the wood alight.

Clearly what was needed was a proper wick. I could've used a rush, or probably some other dry absorbent grasses that would work as cordage.
But I always have hemp wick at hand. The "candle" burned well, but was a molten pool within five minutes. During this time I scraped the wax up and put it in a beer bottle cap. This kept the wax contained, but without any support the wick fell over and and was at risk of being snuffed. A quick adjustment to a grease lamp style of wick location kept it burning for a total of forty minutes, leaving about half a bottle cap of wax unburned.





With a little shield from the wind, this is a decent light or fire starter.

Next experiment, still using ditch trash, was a wind shield and wax catcher with four pieces of wick twisted tightly.
This was a mistake, since the wicks unwound and all wanted to rise up out of the wax and burn fast. I finally got it settled to one wick, added two more balls of wax and got it burning like a candle, or more precisely, a grease lamp. (Cruisie.)


It's good to know that this red wax is good for something besides protecting cheese and it's an exercise that I've wanted to try for some time.

Since I had the melted wax I wondered how it would work as a waterproofing for matches.
There are many more durable waxes than this soft stuff, but it worked just fine.
I always strike matches downward with the box on a hard surface. It saves lots of good area on the striker strip, and keeps you from flicking the occasional piece of flaming match head across the room where it could start a fire.

With an occasional adjustment to the wick, this looks like it has potential. I intentionally tipped it over into a flammable environment, a paper towel, and it self extinguished.

Only trouble now is the Babybel red blood stains on my table.



Burns with no noticeable odor, and if you keep the flame small, it's smokeless.

 

I never would have thought of that. Scrounging and reusing scrap material to make something like a candle is a great skill to have. I think it's something many of us lost in this 'throw-away' world we live in. I bought a bunch of tea lights for emergency candles, and other types.

I like your Cat knife, too. I always wanted one of those.

 

I like the K55K because it's so narrow it disappears in my cargo pocket. It's always dummy corded to my trousers so it can't get lost. Handy, but the minimalist grip isn't very comfortable for lots of heavy cutting.

 

LOLO
Thanks!

My wife just got me a bag of this cheese for snax. I'm saving the wax for candle work

 

why in God's green earth would anyone fuck around like that - just for some peelable wax - you want wax around for other sharp edge protection - just buy a block and be done with it .....

 

Curiosity, imagination, and practice overcoming problems, utilizing what you can scrounge or forage, are important life skills. Like reading and the ability to communicate effectively, they require practice to master, and continued exercise to keep them efficient.

Life is easy now. I need it, I buy it. It's when you can't buy things that it gets interesting. It won't require just thinking outside the box. The box won't exist. All that crazy stuff you always wanted to try, and now you can't be sure if it'll work because you never got around to the hands-on practical exam, the dirty part.

Actual-reality. It's good to spend time there.

 

I have made a nice, 3 wick beeswax candle in an empty shoe polish can - just the right size and the tight fitting lid is just the same to keep the wax inside on warm to hot days.