Step by Step Guides

How to Make Wooden Wick Candles

A wooden wick turns a jar candle into a small fireplace: a flat flame, a soft crackle, and a modern look. The process is nearly identical to a standard container candle; the differences are all in how you size, set, and trim the wick.

Four flat wooden wicks in metal tabs lined up on rustic wood beside lit jar candles

Written & tested by

Lone Star Candle Supply

Last edited

Read time

6 min read

A wood wick, also called a wooden wick, replaces the traditional cotton wick of a standard jar candle with a flat strip of wood that burns with a low, wide flame and a quiet crackle. If you can make a container candle, you can make this. The wax preparation and pouring steps are identical. The differences live in the wick: how it's sized, how it's anchored, and how short it's kept. Those three details are where most wood wick flame issues begin, and they're the focus of this guide.

What You'll Need

What You'll Need

Check items off as you gather them

Supplies

Tools & Equipment

  • Pouring Pot, Thermometer, Scale the prep trio from How to Prepare Wax for Pouring
  • Nail Clippers or End Nippers handle the quarter-inch trim better than scissors
  • Cookie Sheet + Oven for warming the jars

Skip ahead to the step-by-step guide

Sizing a Wood Wick

Wood wicks are sized by width, and the jar's inside diameter determines that width. Unlike the cotton options across our candle wicks, which size by both diameter and wax type, a wood wick is matched mainly to the jar. A wick that is too small won't generate enough heat to reach the glass, causing the wax to tunnel. A wick that is too large can overheat the jar and produce soot. As a starting point when using paraffin, small jars (under about 3 inches across) typically use Small, standard 3 to 3.5 inch jars take Medium or Large, and wide-mouth vessels take X-Large or two wicks. Treat this as a starting grid, then confirm with a test burn. Wax, fragrance load, and jar shape all affect performance, and a single test candle will tell you more than any chart. Our guide to wicking covers the sizing logic in depth, and Wick Testing shows how to run the test burn.

A note on making wood wicks yourself: we don't recommend cutting your own from craft-store wood. Commercial wicks are cut at a controlled thickness and grain so the flame draws wax consistently; improvised strips burn hot one candle and drown the next. Buy the wick, and spend your testing time on the wax and fragrance instead.

The Step-by-Step Process

How to Make a Wood Wick Candle

  1. 1

    Warm the jars

    Place jars on a cookie sheet in a 150°F to 170°F oven (or the lowest setting) while you prep. Warm glass prevents jump lines and protects against cracking.

    Three empty clear glass jars arranged in a navy ceramic baking dish
  2. 2

    Prepare the wax

    Weigh, melt in a double boiler, add fragrance at 180°F with a two-minute stir, and color if you like; the full sequence is in How to Prepare Wax for Pouring. Never leave melting wax unattended[1], and remember it is safe to add fragrance above its flash point as long as oils stay clear of open flame[2].

    Stainless pouring pot nested in a saucepan double boiler on a black two-burner hot plate
  3. 3

    Assemble and set the wick

    Slide the wood wick into its metal tab. Add a glue dot or a wick sticker under the tab and press it firmly to the center of the jar bottom; press the tab body, not the prongs, which bend easily. Tabbed wood wicks stand on their own, but unanchored ones drift when the wax pours in.

    Hand setting a wooden wick in a metal tab into the center of an empty glass jar
  4. 4

    Pour slowly, around the wick

    Fill no higher than the jar's widest point, pouring beside the wick rather than onto it. You can nudge a leaning wick back to center while the wax is liquid; just avoid working it back and forth, which bends the tab prongs and leaves it tilted.

    Dark red melted wax pouring from a steel pitcher into glass jars with wooden wicks
  5. 5

    Cool undisturbed

    No fans, no vents, no relocating jars mid-set. Wood wicks have no wick bar to hold them, so the less the jar moves, the straighter the wick sets.

    Three glass jars filled with bright red wax and centered wooden wicks cooling in a row
  6. 6

    Trim to a quarter inch

    Once the candle has fully set, trim the wick to about 1/4" with nail clippers or end nippers. Trimming early disturbs the wax around the wick; trimming long is the usual source of lighting problems.

    Hand dipping a red wax-coated tool into a bright red wax-filled glass jar
  7. 7

    Cure, then label

    Rest the candle about a week so the wax binds the fragrance, then add a caution label before it ships, sells, or sits on your own shelf[1].

    Bottom of a red jar candle showing a round Natural Clean Burning Wax caution label

Lighting and Relighting a Wood Wick

Light a wood wick by holding the flame to one corner and letting it travel across the width; it takes a moment longer than cotton. The first burn should run until the melt pool touches the glass, because this initial path guides how cleanly the wax melts on every future burn.

If a burn dies early or won't relight, the fix is almost always mechanical. Trim off the charred edge so the flame meets fresh wood, check the trim height (a quarter inch, shorter if it still sputters), and make sure the melt pool isn't flooding the wick after a long burn; pour off or dip out a little liquid wax if it is. A wick that consistently starves in a wide jar is undersized; move up one width and test again. And skip the oil-soak advice that circulates online; manufactured wicks draw melted wax on their own, and presoaking changes nothing about how they burn.

Sources

  1. Candle Safety National Fire Protection Association, 2024 ↩
  2. 29 CFR 1910.106 — Flammable liquids (definition of flashpoint) U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration ↩

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you make a wood wick candle?

The same way you make any container candle, with three changes: size the wood wick to your jar diameter, press its metal tab to the jar bottom with a glue dot or wick sticker rather than threading it through a wick setter, and trim the finished wick to about a quarter inch. Wax prep, fragrance at 180°F, and the pour are unchanged.

Why won't my wood wick stay lit?

Almost always trim height or wick size. A wood wick drowns if it's too long (trim to about a quarter inch, shorter if it still struggles) and starves if it's undersized for the jar or the wax is overloaded with fragrance. Relight after trimming off any charred edge; the flame draws through fresh wood.

Do you need to soak wood wicks in oil before using them?

No. Soaking wicks in oil is a persistent piece of internet advice that adds nothing; manufactured wood wicks are engineered to draw melted wax on their own. Use the wick dry, sized to the jar, and trimmed to about a quarter inch.

Can I make my own wood wicks?

We don't recommend it. Commercial wood wicks are cut from select wood at a precise thickness and grain orientation so capillary draw and burn rate are consistent; craft-store wood strips burn unevenly, sooting on one candle and drowning on the next. Pre-cut wicks with tabs cost little and remove the biggest variable.

What wax works best for wooden wick candles?

Any container wax can work with wood wicks. They tend to be most forgiving in paraffin and paraffin blends, while soy and soy blends may require more testing to dial in performance. Regardless of wax type, always confirm the pairing with a test candle before committing to a full batch.

How long should a wood wick be trimmed?

About a quarter inch above the wax. A long wick is the usual cause of lighting problems: the flame sits too far from the wax, can't draw fuel, and dies. Trim with nail clippers, end nippers, or by snapping the charred edge off with your fingers once cool.

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