The Complete Handbook of Wicks

Chapter 1: Understanding Wicks

This chapter explains the mechanics and behavior of wicks. We are going to look at how a wick actually works, what physical principles govern its performance, and why understanding those principles is critical for anyone who makes or services candles and oil lamps. If you have come to this book because you have a specific problem - a candle that smokes, a lamp that flickers, a wick that drowns in the wax pool - the answer will come easier when you understand the underlying physics, not just the troubleshooting step.

What a Wick Actually Is and Does

A wick is a structure that delivers fuel to a flame. That simple sentence hides a surprisingly complex engineering problem. The wick is not the fuel; it is the delivery mechanism. It must draw a liquid fuel - melted wax, lamp oil, kerosene - from a reservoir up to the combustion zone, and it must do so at a rate that matches the fuel consumption of the flame. The flame burns the fuel vapor, not the wick itself. If the wick works correctly, the wick material is a scaffold that creates the combustion zone but is consumed very slowly, only as part of the carbonizing and oxidizing process that maintains the flame.

Consider the most common application: a paraffin candle in a glass container. The candle has a pool of molten wax. The solid wax around the pool is the reservoir, and the wick, sitting in the center of