This is a primitive candle made with Caribou Tallow in a wet sand mold using Willow bark cordage for a wick. This candle is totally primitive and could easily be made in a wilderness setting from materials gathered there.
Pretty cool...I am always out to teach my self skills and self-reliance. You never know when you will need it. People at work think that all the things I do is totally cool. I try and tell them they can learn the same skills
Don't throw the burned down sand away. Save several, line a metal sieve with a thin cloth, turn your oven on as low as it goes and the melt will drip through into a pan.
Very nice. I love the look of the black sand on the outside. It's almost as if it is a container. Took it a while to take off but take off it did. Nice job....thanks for your work.
Excellent candle, I must be honest I was crossing my fingers when you 1st lit it. Great idea with the sand. I'll try that out as I make alot of my own stuff too.
That looks awesome! I thought the candle was either going to come out clean or you were going to scrape off the sand, but it looks mighty fancy with the black sand.
Neat project! Take a pair of pliers and bend a triangular spout into your can, and stuff will pour with a lot less drippage. (I make candles using tin cans for melting pots.)
Thank you...I have been holding onto some whitetail deer tallow for a minute now trying to figure out what kind of natural wick substance to use...I have about 12 river willows I cut down out of my lagoon that i have another use for....I love the sand idea for the mold too..very nice video..Blessings to you
If you are using tallow you have collected from some meat you've cooked its best to pour it through cloth to collect any fragements and to decrease the odour of the meat, I would imagine you would add the scent just before you pour as well I guess although seems a bit fancy for your survival needs unless you have some lemon grass and you could make insect repelling candles by boiling the leaves and stem of lemon grass and mixing the extracted oil with the tallow.
Being a squeamish vegetarian myself, I cannot but truly appreciate what you're doing here. Because - if killing animals, this is the way to go, to use everything of the sacred animal's parts. In that way we can honor the animal in every way and see good use and precious gifts and just not stare at an animal and see food. Thank you for this it was so interesting! ♥
I like the sand mold. It makes the candle look rustic. I'm sure, though, you'll have to be careful not to get melted wax and sand mixture on any surfaces. I'd put a saucer under it, or better yet, to keep the rustic look, a 6" diameter tree sliced 1/2 inch thick with the bark still attached would be gorgeous.
+River Valley Survival and Bushcraft. Thank you. I also subbed your channel as you have some good info over there. Thank you very much for the sub I appreciate it.
At about 6:33 or 6:34, I laughed. Never though I'd find a vid about watching a candle burn to be interesting. Great video though, think I'll take a look-see at whether there's vids regarding how willow bark cordage is made. For now, I hear you can prepare wool yarn into wicks, but making ones out of things scavenged in the woods is far more interesting and useful. Just after watching another vid in which the process of making tallow is shown. Fascinatingly simple.
+NormanMatchem Glad you enjoyed the video. You expressed some interest in learning about making willow bark cordage. Here is a video I did on that subject. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DEWATlqa6Ek.html To get really primitive, I have made a "wick" from a piece of fungus stuck in a bowl that I carved out of another fungus and used oil that I had extracted from birch bark. That video is here if interested. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fbtMmDQBmTQ.html
any animal, take fats from the meat, cut into small peices ( lighter size) and cook it in either a pan on stovetop or oven until theyre completely cooked & dark brown in colour, take the cutlets and place in strainer and press the liquid out. This is Tallow.
nice! very good to know..usefull knowledge. thank you for sharing this. did you experiment with other barch types? any update about that? what if you use fat instead of water to braid the barch..like bow string making? or maybe the fibers wont get soft enough without water?
@phreshayr yes i can explain, test with some candles if you have access, first light up a large candle like this one and see the flame and the light, them pick up a thinner candle and repeat the process. ive already make lots of candles trust me its easier to make thinner candles and they have bigger flame, sorry if my english is bad im living in Brazil since my childhood
Frances here just wanted to say thanck you so much for your help. also what stores can I bye wicks.I tryed walmart but they dont have any. Thancks fran.
you could try hemp as well.. did u see the how to make hemp whick videos ? they show u how to make hemp whick candles with hemp rope..u can wrap it around lighters, it burns slow...
I have some beef tallow from a 1/2 a bull I bought last season. I boiled 10 lbs. of burger and the tallow formed on top. Think I`ll try your method. Thanks
Thank you for posting this. It's hard to find homemade projects that are truly homemade. Ya know, how you look up "homemade candles" or "homemade soap" that are not made from other candles and soap? What's with that?
Did you soak the willow in oil?I seen videos of people making candles with garden twine,its green at my walmart,its bio degradable , they soak the twine in oil then dip in wax then pour wax or oil around the wick, I like the willow idea, Do you tare the bark into shreds or skin the tree? Do they need to be green or dry cords? Can you try it in oil with rocks around? I hear ships use to use olive oil in lamps,because if it turns over the fire goes out, but animal oil etc can be used if use safety
Hi ya Lonnie, that’s a cool candle, love the color of ur sand, it’s awesome that one can make a candle from animal and natural resources. What kind of bird do u have? Could a candle be made from any animal fat??? Thank u Lonnie
The bird that you here in the background is a Cockatiel. A candle could be made out of the fat from most large big game animals. The colder the temperature, the stiffer the candle fat will be.
Engineer/Surveyor Scales to brace the tallow! Lonnie, are you an engineer or surveyor? What regular person would have TWO scales ? Thanks, LOVE your shows!!!!!!
Hello Lonnie and Connie, Just reviewing and commenting on older content. How long did that candle last? Well, Merry Christmas 2021 and a Happy New year if I do not catch y'all on a more recent Vid. May you and yours have a good holiday.
Thank you. May you and your loved ones also have a blessed Christmas. That candle has lasted from the time that I made this video until the present time because I have saved it and did not burn it up. :O)
Caribou tallow has an attractive cream color, in the video at least. We usually just throw away the deer tallow but this looks like a great method for using more of the animal. How bad is the odor of that burning fat? All you did was shave off the chunks of tallow from animal then throw it into the double boiler? No intermediate processing/purifyin of the tallow? Remember making sand candles when I was a kid from a bunch of stubs from old candles!
Do you have or know of any other videos on what natural materials can be used as a wick? id like to make my own betty lamp and idk what i have that would make a good wick.
I am sorry I am not very versed in candle making. I did do another video on a primitive lamp that burns oil that I made from birch bark. In that application I used a part of a porous tree fungi called amadou from the horse hoof fungus. I would guess that other tree fungi such as birch polypore would probably work as well. Primitive Birch Bark Oil Lamp ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fbtMmDQBmTQ.html
@@Far-North-Bushcraft-Survival Thats ok im not either. just trying to find sustainable lighting. and ive seen that video but i cant find any of that fungus. ill just have to keep trying stuff. thanks for replying.
+maria burrello I have not burned this candle any more since shortly after this video was made. During the time I did burn it, the middle of course did melt just like some candles but the outer part stayed firm. I no longer remember how long of a stretch I burned it at one time. You *may* find that info in the comments and reply to comments section of this video.
hi, what temperature did you heat the tallow at in order to get the fully formed sand mould, vs just a light surface of sand? did you have to burn it at a super high temp and if so, did you just put the soup can directly over the pot (without immersing it in boiling water)? hope you see this, thanks in advance
This is an old video and so I know longer remember how hot it was but I do know it was not hot. The temperature was probably just hot enough to get the tallow all melted.
Good video. I watched a video from ''wilderness outfitters school'' or something like that. This expert said port was tallow? Pork lard goes liquid at about 85 degrees. Can you imagine trying to make candles with that. :-) when you went to get your candle in warm weather you would find a string and a puddle. Good job. Later
Lucien Macrose Thank you. Tallow can also be combined with a lower percentage of pine or spruce pitch which helps not only to make the candle a bit more durable but smells great as well.
You find the pitch on the outside of spruce or pine trees. Here in Alaska at least some can be found on perhaps 20% of the trees in the woods. You can see me collect it on my video for making "spruce gum." Make Your Own Chewing Gum From Spruce Pitch ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qz1nPF0vDJ4.html
Now all you need is a road side stand and you can be the candle man. Selling goods and wears from the forest see. For all those hippy dippy dears who travel near. lol.
Hi I was wondering what it smelled like as it burned. Americans have several names for something you can drink out of Mug, Cup, Tumbler, Glass, Tankard, any of those items could be made of plastic
@phreshayr Yes sir,I like your video entries....I live in New Brunswick,Canada.I will try this candle with deer or bear fat maybe...or moose. Peace to you Mr.phreshayer.
03Blackbeard I'll bet that that would make a good solid candle. I however was demo-ing a primitive candle making procedure. We have no naturally occurring beeswax here in South Central Alaska. I have also heard though that Spruce pitch can be added to the tallow to improve the candles characteristics though I have not personally tried it myself yet.
Mrhycannon I don't know whether you are referring to using the fungi as a candle bowl or as the wick or??????? I did a video on using a shelf fungus as the bowl with a different fungus in the bowl as the wick. I used oil made from birch bark as the fuel. I am also aware of quite a few tree fungi that will light and burn on their own but rarely in a flame. Mostly they just burn as a glowing ember that slowly consumes the fungus without ever flaming. The video that I am referring to is located here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fbtMmDQBmTQ.html
***** ..... I've never tried the mushroom thing myself, not even sure where I heard it.. It was used as a wick, don't know what kind of mushroom.. ..... I didn't know you could make oil from birch bark.. I found your video on and i'll watch it later.. ..... Thanks for the link and for answering me..
Yes I am very familiar with using fungi for fire. I have many videos on that subject. I have a playlist of primitive fire videos that I recorded. Many of those videos use fungi of some sort. Learn Primtive Fire Lighting Methods ru-vid.com/group/PL_fotv96EsweIAj1K0a86buJjGxFsQMWR
+Groovin' Chick I believe that bacon fat might be too soft. It has too many years since I have collected any bacon fat since we eat mostly caribou and moose meat. I don't recall how firm bacon fat is. If cools to a hard substance almost like parrafin wax then it should work. If it cools to a soft texture than it probably would not work for this type of candle. It may be useable in a different way though to burn for light. Maybe more like a simple lamp with a short wick material in it.
+Groovin' Chick I used just leftover grease from cooking and poured it into half an orange rind with the center white core sticking out. It worked great on my table just for fun to see if we could do it. for a candle. It probably wouldnt get firm though. we poured it out after we were done with experiment.
lets see if it works,??? its animal fat guy, of course its going to burn. other then that, good vid, thanks for the imfo, will remember that trick, strange how some one who's lived his life in the wood's dident know that?? and yet, i used patoleum jelly to make my candles, and a peace of cloth. but all in all, wood is my light at night. keep it simple i always say.
that was good but way toooo long soooo dull. compile x10 more facts to throw in per video. if ur gonna post on utube make ur shit as good and efficient as possible
Jack Hernandez well its kinda like saying why call a Dog a Canis Domesticus when you can just call it a Dog? Tallow is just another name for animal fat. It has to do with the use of it that gives tallow its name. Just like Canis Domesticus is used in Biology science for a domestic dog. In science, they used Canis Domesticus to refer to a Dog so it is directed to a certain species of dogs instead of a Wolf which is also a species of the dog but just slightly different. Instead of Canis Domesticus for a Wolf, its Canis Lupus for a Wolf. You kinda get it? i hope i helped you understand a little bit more why they call tallow, tallow. if you didnt then im sorry. if you have any other questions do ask :)
No, i know that its Latin hah but im not saying that tallow is Latin also i know that it is american, i was using the Canis Domesticus as an analogy so i can put it in terms of comparison because some people learn by comparing things and depicting the difference to better understand it. But that is besides the point. Getting back on track, tallow is called tallow because its how tallow is used, kinda like lava is called magma before it hits the Earth's surface. Lava and magma are the same thing, same molecular structure, same color, same thing but the name of it legitimately changes in its state of location or its state of consistency. Technically you could still call magma, lava and lava, magma but it just wouldn't be labeled correctly. You kinda understand better? :)
