Candle Wick-Test & Fragrance Log

A candle that passed a burn test is a candle you can sell

Everything on the selling side of candles hangs off one habit: testing before you sell. A candle you sell will be lit, unattended, near children, pets, and curtains, in a room you'll never see — so a candle that looks perfect cold isn't a candle you can sell. The only thing that makes a wax × wick × vessel × fragrance combination sellable is a burn test: you light the real combination and watch how it behaves, in 3–4 hour sessions, all the way down to the last inch. The wick-testing log is where that proof lives, one row per test.

The verdict points one way. If the candle tunnels and leaves wax on the wall, the wick is too small — size up. If it overheats, flares, soots, or mushrooms, the wick is too large or the load too high — size down. Only when it burns clean and full all the way down does the combination pass, and only a combination that passed gets sold. A change to any one variable — a new scent, a bigger jar, a different wax — is a new test.

Sell nothing before it's cured

A candle is finished when it has cured and passed its burn test, not when it sets. Curing lets the fragrance bind to the wax: a soy or coconut candle typically needs one to two weeks to reach full scent throw, and the same candle smells far stronger cured than fresh. Paraffin needs far less, and parasoy cure time depends on the blend, but a few days still helps. The batch & cure log keeps that honest: write the pour date and the cure days, work out the cure-ready date, and don't judge the scent or sell until then.

Fragrance is figured by weight, as a percentage of the wax — not the total pour or the vessel's fluid-ounce size. Each wax has a maximum it can safely hold (commonly around six to ten percent for soy and paraffin, more for some coconut blends and wax melts — but the range varies by wax, and your supplier's spec sheet is the only authoritative number), and more is not more throw: past the limit, fragrance sweats out, clogs the wick, soots, and burns worse. Dose to the supplier's stated maximum, follow the flashpoint, and let a correctly sized wick do the throwing.

A testing and record book, not a safety certification

This is a record-keeping and testing tool, not a substitute for your own burn testing or the fire-safety standards. It helps you record your tests and batches; it does not certify that any candle is safe. A candle is an open flame in someone's home, so your own burn testing — not this printable — proves a particular candle is safe to sell. Burn-test every combination, follow each fragrance's stated maximum load and flashpoint for your wax, use heat-safe vessels, and confirm the labeling and fire-safety rules for your country with the current standard (in the US, ASTM F2058 for candle fire-safety labeling), the relevant safety body (such as the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, the CPSC), and your insurer. Cure times, loads, and burn rates are typical starting points; confirm with your own testing and your scale.

Is this really free?

Yes — the starter is a free PDF download with no email required. It is the lite cut of the paid Candle Maker's Fragrance Load & Wick-Testing Workbook, which adds a full wick-testing log with every reading and a verdict, a wax/fragrance/supplies inventory by supplier lot, a vessels/packaging inventory, a fragrance-load calculator that checks your load against the wax's stated maximum usage rate, a cost-per-candle calculator, and PDF references on the candle types and fire-safety labeling.

What does the paid Candle Maker's Fragrance Load & Wick-Testing Workbook add?

The free starter is two printable pages — a wick-testing log and a batch & cure log — plus a fragrance-load quick reference. The paid workbook is a working Excel workbook (8 tabs) with the things a flat PDF can't do: a batch record that computes the cure-ready date, a full wick-testing log with a verdict, a wax/fragrance/supplies inventory by supplier lot and a vessels/packaging inventory with low-stock flags, a fragrance-load calculator that checks your load against the wax's stated maximum, and a cost-per-candle calculator — plus five PDF guides (the candle types & cure, wick-testing/burn-safety/labeling, costing & pricing, the Start Here guide, and printable records).

What exactly is in the free starter?

A print-and-use wick-testing log, a batch & cure log, a fragrance-load quick reference (soy jar to wax melt, with typical cure times and loads), and the wax-to-candle math for planning your jars and labels.

Is this a recipe book, or does it certify my candles are safe?

Neither. It is a record-keeping and testing tool. It does not formulate recipes or certify safety — only your own burn test proves a candle is safe to sell. Burn-test every wax × wick × vessel × fragrance combination, follow each fragrance's maximum load and flashpoint, use heat-safe vessels, and confirm your labeling and fire-safety rules with the current standard, the relevant safety body, and your insurer.

Does it expire or is it tied to a year?

It never expires. It is evergreen — candle types, cure times, the fragrance math, and the wick-testing method don't change, and the logs use a date column you fill in yourself.