JohnBaked
Active Member
So I was sitting around with a bunch of stems and was thinking there's gotta be a way to use these. Looked around for a while and found a guide to turning plants into rope and a few others on how to turn hemp twine into hemp wick so I figured I'd combine it together and make it a little specific to canna.
So to start you need a couple of items
1. Stems and branches etc. These should be dry but not brittle.
2. A razor or knife, not entirely necessary but it's easier with one.
3. Clamp or something to weigh down your twine.
4. Candle warmer, also not entirely necessary.
5. A candle! Unscented is preferable but scented can work too.
6. Napkin(s)
First we split our stem down the middle. If you aren't using a cutting device then you can crush the stems with your fingers in order to split them. You can usually get longer fibers if you cut it down the middle tough, not to mention your fingers won't be killing you after a few feet of cord...
Once you've split it in half you can begin peeling the outer fibers from the wood core. It's easy to do if you have nails, or if you scrape it against scissors the way you would if you were trying to make a ribbon twist for a decorative twirl on a present or something...
You keep repeating these steps until you've gathered a few fibers. about 3-4 feet of stems will make about a foot of cord.
Now you lay out your fibers so that they overlap with eachother.
Now begin rolling the fibers between your fingers and as you move on to the next section twist it in the same direction before moving on. The twisting loosens and softens the fibers up and the twisting at the end tightens them together and strengthens the twine.
You want to get your twine nice and tight in this step to avoid issues later. Now you find the center of your segment and attach the clamp.
Now you begin to twist the two strands in opposite directions following the way that you did in the previous step. You leave the clamp hanging and it will spin around as you twist the two strands.
It will be slightly rough after you get to the end to avoid this you can wrap it a little tighter or work it longer as you twine it up. Tie the end off with a knot once ya get there.
Now cut off the excess( you can use it later) and roll the cord between your fingers to smooth it out. You could repeat these winding steps if you have a longer twine and want your wick to burn slower.
Roll your cord up into a circle for dipping in the candle!
Give it a quick dunk in the wax
Straighten it out and wipe off the excess.
While its warm you can roll it in your fingers to straighten out stray fibers.
If you've made it this far then you have yourself a hemp wick!
This is of course just one use for your stems, let me know what else you guys can come up with!
So to start you need a couple of items
1. Stems and branches etc. These should be dry but not brittle.
2. A razor or knife, not entirely necessary but it's easier with one.
3. Clamp or something to weigh down your twine.
4. Candle warmer, also not entirely necessary.
5. A candle! Unscented is preferable but scented can work too.
6. Napkin(s)
First we split our stem down the middle. If you aren't using a cutting device then you can crush the stems with your fingers in order to split them. You can usually get longer fibers if you cut it down the middle tough, not to mention your fingers won't be killing you after a few feet of cord...
Once you've split it in half you can begin peeling the outer fibers from the wood core. It's easy to do if you have nails, or if you scrape it against scissors the way you would if you were trying to make a ribbon twist for a decorative twirl on a present or something...
You keep repeating these steps until you've gathered a few fibers. about 3-4 feet of stems will make about a foot of cord.
Now you lay out your fibers so that they overlap with eachother.
Now begin rolling the fibers between your fingers and as you move on to the next section twist it in the same direction before moving on. The twisting loosens and softens the fibers up and the twisting at the end tightens them together and strengthens the twine.
You want to get your twine nice and tight in this step to avoid issues later. Now you find the center of your segment and attach the clamp.
Now you begin to twist the two strands in opposite directions following the way that you did in the previous step. You leave the clamp hanging and it will spin around as you twist the two strands.
It will be slightly rough after you get to the end to avoid this you can wrap it a little tighter or work it longer as you twine it up. Tie the end off with a knot once ya get there.
Now cut off the excess( you can use it later) and roll the cord between your fingers to smooth it out. You could repeat these winding steps if you have a longer twine and want your wick to burn slower.
Roll your cord up into a circle for dipping in the candle!
Give it a quick dunk in the wax
Straighten it out and wipe off the excess.
While its warm you can roll it in your fingers to straighten out stray fibers.
If you've made it this far then you have yourself a hemp wick!
This is of course just one use for your stems, let me know what else you guys can come up with!
if they're longer than an inch or two you can use em for this, not really worth it for short bits. And it smells kinda leafy, when burnt smell similar to whatever candle you got the wax from, when you blow it out smells like any other candle being blown out but there is quite a bit of smoke because it loves to hold a cherry
