Waxed Cotton Wick with Tab for Container Candles

From the Servus workshop

The SHW wick is a container wick: braided cotton, waxed, with a metal tab (base) ready assembled; you stick it to the bottom of the glass and pour. It is made by Schreiber GmbH (Neuhof, Germany), SHW series, BF-32 treatment, borax-free, and is designed, per the technical data sheet, for container candles and tealights, in 100% paraffin, “100% natural waxes” or blends of them. The coating is fully refined paraffin with a high melting point; its role is mechanical: it keeps the wick straight when pouring and gives a stable prime at the first lighting. Servus chose the SHW series because, with two dimensions to choose from (the burn diameter and the height), it covers the whole span of containers in our own production, from votives to deep jars.

Sînziana says: “In a container, the wrong wick doesn't show in the flame: it shows in the glass. The flame can look just right while the wax boils underneath and burns off the fragrance before you can smell it. We use SHW in our candles in glasses and jars: at the burn diameter that suits the container, the melt pool reaches the walls without going deeper than half a centimetre. But the diameter on the label is a starting point, not a promise: your recipe decides. What we haven't tested, we tell you needs testing.”

Behaviour in production

• An oversized wick doesn't show in the flame: it shows in the glass. The container holds the heat: with a burn diameter too large for the container, the flame stays nice, but the melt pool goes deeper than 0.5 cm, the oils are burned off by the heat and the glass gets hot. Check in the glass, not in the flame: the 2-hour test below.
• The manufacturer is known; the filter can't be bought. The SHW series is a Schreiber catalogue product, available on the market: the source is no secret. What you won't find in the catalogue is the filter: the options in the selector are the ones that have been through our glasses and that we use ourselves in our container candle production.
• The wax changes the real burn diameter. The diameters are measured as a guide, on reference recipes. Soft plant waxes (soy, coconut) “tighten” the melt pool compared with paraffin: with a high plant content, allow for one diameter size up and confirm by testing.
• The tab keeps the wick straight, not centred. The metal tab anchors the wick upright, but its position in the glass is up to you: stick it in the geometric centre before pouring, otherwise the burn drifts towards the wall.
• A new batch, even when it is made to order. Batches are identified by the SHW series and code, but the behaviour belongs to the recipe, not to the wick alone. With each new batch, burn a test piece on the final recipe; don't change several variables at once. Note the batch, container, wax, fragrance and dye.

Compatibility and sizing

The recommendations below come from the Servus range for containers. The diameters are a guide: final behaviour depends on the recipe, fragrance, container and pour temperature. Plant waxes and beeswax need larger wicks than paraffin in the same container. A burn test is still required for each recipe.

The choice is made in two steps: burn diameter ≈ inside diameter of the container, then the height (H) by the depth of the container.

A complete system tested in the workshop (the right mix from the start cuts down the tests you have to do):

• Container waxes
• Fragrance oils for a controlled burn
• French Color & Fragrance liquid dyes

If you pour large volumes and need continuity of stock and preferential case prices, we'd like to see you in Servus Club.

Stated limits

• It is NOT a pillar wick: it is calibrated for the enclosed space of a container; for candles poured in a mould, use the braided cotton wick for pillar candles.
• It is NOT the choice for “100% natural wax” claims or “natural product” certifications: the coating is paraffin and goes into the formulation of the finished product, however small the amount. The honest alternative: Special wick no. 5 and Special wick no. 7, unwaxed, approved by the manufacturer for 100% beeswax, primed in your own wax.
• It is NOT for rapeseed wax: the Schreiber catalogue says of the SHW series “not for rapeseed waxes”. For rapeseed, Schreiber has another series, STW, which we don't stock, so the wick for rapeseed wax is chosen by a burn test, on your own recipe.
• It is NOT a wick for every candle: the same burn diameter comes out differently in different recipes; the value on the label is a starting point, not a promise.
• It is NOT corrected with fragrance: if the pool goes deeper than 0.5 cm, the problem is the wick, not the fragrance dose; more fragrance in an overheated recipe makes the result worse.

Full diagnosis: How to choose the right wick for container candles: Servus guide 2026.

Even when the specs are clear, the result depends on the container, wax, fragrance, dye and burning conditions. Before large-scale production, the 2-hour test on the final recipe.

Technical properties

The burn diameter per recipe isn't in the TDS: it is set by testing.

Step by step

1. Measure the inside diameter of the container → choose a burn diameter roughly equal to it.
2. Choose the height (H) by the depth of the container.
3. Adjust for the wax: with a high plant content, one diameter size up.
4. Stick the tab in the geometric centre of the container, pour the final recipe and leave it to cure for 48–72 hours.
5. The 2-hour test: burn without a break and look from the side: the melt pool shouldn't go deeper than 0.5 cm vertically and should reach the walls evenly.
6. Read the result: a pool deeper than 0.5 cm or a hot glass → go down one diameter size; a small flame and a shallow pool that doesn't reach the walls (tunnelling) → go up one diameter size.
7. Change one variable at a time; any change of wax, fragrance or container means a new test. Supplied as: a standard pack of 20.

Servus Collection

Since 2010, from craft to real distribution.

We sell selected materials, tested and explained from real workshop experience. From Maramureș, for workshops in Romania and abroad.

Servus. See you at the pouring table.