Sealing Wax?

[waterman1924]

New to the whole wax sealing thing. I understand that you have to watch what kind of wax you use because post office machines don't like to be gentle with wax seals, thus cracking them... One thing I do know is that bees wax is a supple wax. I also know that Sealing wax is "very expensive" compared to candles. So why not use "bees wax" candles for wax seals? :hmm1:

[wednesday_mac]

Because bee's wax breaks and crumbles far too easily. It's good to use on linen thread before you sew signatures for hand-made bookbinding. For sealing paper, not so much.

[waterman1924]

There has to be a far cheaper alternative.

 

recipe here

Edited March 25, 2011 by waterman1924

[USMCMom]

I have to agree with you about sealing wax being rather expensive. I thinks so too. I have some of the supple sealing wax by J. Herbin, that I purchased from gouletpens.com. One thing I noticed about sealing wax last summer ... it gets soft ... very soft and sometimes other letters or pieces of mail get stuck to them. I'm in west Tennessee and our summers get hot and humid, so my using sealing wax will probably stop during our dead summer months.

 

There's also a feaux (sp) sealing wax in stick form, that you can use in a mini glue gun. I've not tried it, so I can't say whether it's any good or easier to use. Sealing wax takes a little practice and the recipient of a recent letter would probably agree. LOL

 

Brian Goulet of gouletpens.com has a very helpful video on sealing wax.

[Shangas]

Spelt "Faux", pronounced "Foe", USMCMom. B. Goulet sells supple sealing-wax that's suitable for modern postal systems. Old sealing wax is specifically designed to be hard and brittle so that it would shatter and crumble from any unauthorised fiddling.

[USMCMom]

Spelt "Faux", pronounced "Foe", USMCMom. B. Goulet sells supple sealing-wax that's suitable for modern postal systems. Old sealing wax is specifically designed to be hard and brittle so that it would shatter and crumble from any unauthorised fiddling.

 

Thank you.

[waterman1924]

Another simple recipe. Think I'm going to try this next week when I'm off....

 

How to Make Simple, Flexible Sealing Wax

By Kittie McCoy, eHow Contributor

 

 

Sealing wax was used to seal correspondence and important documents in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries--before envelopes were invented. While sealing wax is no longer a necessity, some people enjoy adding a wax seal to letters or invitations. You can purchase ready-to-use sealing wax or mix up your own at home. Making your own sealing wax gives you more control over the color of your wax seals and allows you to add fragrance to the wax, if desired.

 

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

 

Instructions

things you'll need:

 

Beeswax

Microwave-safe bowl

Microwave

Pot holder

Wooden spoon

Dry shellac flakes

Coconut oil

Dry artists' pigments

Essential oils

Candle or crayon mold

 

1 Pour approximately 1/2 oz. beeswax pellets or solid beeswax, coarsely chopped, into a microwave-safe bowl.

 

2 Microwave the beeswax on high for 30 seconds. Remove the bowl from the microwave with a pot holder and stir the beeswax with a wooden spoon. Return the bowl to the microwave and continue to melt at 30-second intervals until the beeswax is smooth and melted.

 

3 Stir 3 oz. of dry shellac flakes into the melted beeswax. Shellac flakes are available in several colors, so you can choose the appropriate color for your sealing wax. If you would like to add your own pigments, select blond shellac flakes, which are very pale.

 

4 Return the bowl to the microwave and continue to cook at 30-second intervals until the shellac flakes have melted.

 

5 Stir 1 tsp. coconut oil into the melted beeswax and shellac flakes. The coconut oil will melt in the hot wax but become solid again when the wax cools. This will add flexibility to your wax without preventing it from hardening in your molds.

 

6 Stir in small amounts of dry artists' pigments until the wax is the desired color. Dry pigments are available at art supply stores. Add a few drops of essential oil at this time if you would like to add fragrance to your sealing wax.

 

7 Pour the wax into a votive candle mold or several crayon molds.

 

8 Let the wax cool completely and then remove it from the mold.

 

Tips & Warnings

 

Melt one end of the wax with the open flame of a lighter and allow it to drip onto your envelope. Press a stamp into the wax before it cools to leave an imprint and personalize your wax seal.

 

You can replace the shellac flakes with powdered resin, but the finished sealing wax will be less flexible and may result in brittle envelope seals.

Edited March 25, 2011 by waterman1924

[USMCMom]

I've only made candles and that was a long time ago. I don't know what the shellac in that sealing wax recipe does.

[waterman1924]

well, shellac is "gooey" and sticky I believe it adds a viscosity to it.

Edited March 25, 2011 by waterman1924

[USMCMom]

well, shellac is "gooey" and sticky I believe it adds a viscosity to it.

 

That makes sense!!

[waterman1924]

[texaspenman]

I just got my first sealing wax from LetterSeals.com. I bought the plastic polymer "Faux Wax" and have tested it's flexibility and removability. Excellent! The "Faux Wax" can be bent in half with no ill-effect. It also adheres very well to paper. I'm sealing everything now!

[MWDaley]

I use sealing wax regularly. I wear a signet ring that I use as a personal seal.

 

I have developed my own system. It works well for me. Maybe it will be of some help to one or more of you.

 

I use a very simple mixture of broken crayons from my kids and hot glue sticks. I use approximately 3 parts crayon to 2 parts hot glue. It makes a very useable wax that forms a nice seal and is plenty supple for use in the US Mail. I have added cologne in the past, which adds a nice scent to it.

 

I tried more exotic mixtures, with shellac and mineral oil and so on and so forth, and I find that nothing works as nicely as plain old crayons and hot glue.

 

I used to use molds and form sticks and all that, but it was a drag and a headache.

 

I have found that the best solution is one of those wax warmers that people use for air fresheners. It uses a light bulb to create heat rather than a flame, and the heat is more than enough to melt the crayon/glue stick mixture. The sealing wax, once mixed, also cools into a easily removable disk -- so changing colors is no sweat.

 

I use a 1/2 teaspoon kitchen measuring spoon to scoop a glob of hot wax out of the warmer, pour it into a nice little puddle on the letter that I need to seal and then press my ring into it.

 

With the wax that I added cologne to, the wax warmer serves its intended purpose and works nicely as a masculine air freshener.

 

I can either leave the wax warmer on all day, having wax available whenever I want, or I can turn it on as needed -- it takes about 10 minutes for the wax disk to fully melt.

 

I messed with a lot of trial and error before I found this solution, and it has been a night-and-day difference for me.

 

I hope that this helps at least one of you.

[Lachryma]

I use sealing wax regularly. I wear a signet ring that I use as a personal seal.

 

I have developed my own system. It works well for me. Maybe it will be of some help to one or more of you.

 

I use a very simple mixture of broken crayons from my kids and hot glue sticks. I use approximately 3 parts crayon to 2 parts hot glue. It makes a very useable wax that forms a nice seal and is plenty supple for use in the US Mail. I have added cologne in the past, which adds a nice scent to it.

 

I tried more exotic mixtures, with shellac and mineral oil and so on and so forth, and I find that nothing works as nicely as plain old crayons and hot glue.

 

I used to use molds and form sticks and all that, but it was a drag and a headache.

 

I have found that the best solution is one of those wax warmers that people use for air fresheners. It uses a light bulb to create heat rather than a flame, and the heat is more than enough to melt the crayon/glue stick mixture. The sealing wax, once mixed, also cools into a easily removable disk -- so changing colors is no sweat.

 

I use a 1/2 teaspoon kitchen measuring spoon to scoop a glob of hot wax out of the warmer, pour it into a nice little puddle on the letter that I need to seal and then press my ring into it.

 

With the wax that I added cologne to, the wax warmer serves its intended purpose and works nicely as a masculine air freshener.

 

I can either leave the wax warmer on all day, having wax available whenever I want, or I can turn it on as needed -- it takes about 10 minutes for the wax disk to fully melt.

 

I messed with a lot of trial and error before I found this solution, and it has been a night-and-day difference for me.

 

I hope that this helps at least one of you.

AMDG

 

Very sorry to resurrect an old thread but . . . That's just awesome! Thanks for going to the trouble to post it.

Edited December 22, 2015 by Lachryma

[graystranger]

Thank you for resurrecting this, great information. I don't use sealing wax often enough to find the J. Herbin wax sticks expensive at all, considering the time it takes to write a letter with my fountain pens. I don't seal the envelope but place the seals at the end of the letter.

 

If you are afraid of the seal sticking to other envelopes in the mail (never heard of this), you could wipe a little silicone lube over the surface of the seal. That should stop it from sticking. I have several sticks of Atelier Gargoyle Flexible Sealing Wax coming to me from Goulet Pens.

 

I still have some used sticks from when my brother and I first experimented with wax seals in the late 60's. These were the brittle sticks and tend to ignite, smoke, and were so brittle that they would most likely be shattered by the mail handling equipment.

[LeonW]

Thanks from me also.

[Sasha Royale]

Use two envelopes. Enjoy calligraphy and sealing wax on the inner envelope. The outer envelope should be sealed with the envelope flap and carry a delivery address that is machine printed or hand-written in block letters. USPS has the business of delivering your mail. Aesthetics are irrelevant. The machines don't like your wax seals. Wax seals don't like the machines. They damage each other.

.

I love fountain pens, and cast iron cooking, and carbon steel knives, and revolvers, and very feminine women. However, this is 2015, NOT 1915.

Edited December 22, 2015 by Sasha Royale

[domnortheast]

Use two envelopes. Enjoy calligraphy and sealing wax on the inner envelope. The outer envelope should be sealed with the envelope flap and carry a delivery address that is machine printed or hand-written in block letters. USPS has the business of delivering your mail. Aesthetics are irrelevant. The machines don't like your wax seals. Wax seals don't like the machines. They damage each other.

.

I love fountain pens, and cast iron cooking, and carbon steel knives, and revolvers, and very feminine women. However, this is 2015, NOT 1915.

 

Fortunately the Royal Mail seem not to mind handling letters with wax seals. I've been sending letters for the last 6 months or so using letterlocking and sealing wax, no envelopes. All have arrived at their various recipients at the same speed and in the same condition as a letter sent in an envelope. The Royal Mail is awesome.

[MKB]

I've sent a letter just about every day since March through USPS with an Atelier Gargoyle wax seal, and have not heard of one having a problem. Other types, I've seen mixed results. Plenty of hand addressed envelopes, most in cursive, have been sent and received without incident. Machines can read a fair amount of cursive, and live warm blooded people can take care of the rest as long as it's legible.

Edited December 22, 2015 by MKB

[graystranger]

Using the 9-digit zip code, the letter should get to the mailbox even if the writing is illegible. The last digits pinpoint the exact location of the residence for the address.

 

I print my addresses legibly, but my wife never does and they are hard to read, but they get there. I think it is worst if the letters go through some of the large metropolitan cities.