So I know most people who make homemade incense sticks prefer drying them on a wire rack. I have done this as well but my sticks tend to curve at varying degreesโwhich I donโt terribly mind or anything. But I did want to see if I could find a way to prevent this if I could help it.
I saw in โIncense: Crafting & Use of Magickal Scentsโ by Carl Neal that one option would be a wooden board with rows of carved out parallel lines. The only problem is that it wasnโt very specificโjust an illustrationโand when I try browsing the Internet, I canโt really find anything similar to it.
I went ahead and got a scrap piece of wood and carved into it using relief printing tools and a carving bit on my Dremel. (I donโt have access to a CNC router, unfortunately.) Iโm going to leave the board untreated for the sake of allowing the moisture to have some movement. Iโll continue rotating the incense sticks to ensure all sides are drying evenly.
Iโm not sure if the sticks will curve upwards, so Iโm making sure the carved rows are fairly deepโbut not too deep. I may wrap string around the board perpendicular to the rows to ensure that none of the sticks pop out. Does this sound like itโd work? Am I overthinking this? Or is there anything Iโm overlooking??
Iโd love any feedback. Thanks!
I plan on making a scentless base using joss/Makko powder/ gum arabic.
I wonder if half joss, half Makko could work.
Or if I should do 5 parts Makko, 1 part joss.
Then Iโm gonna add gum arabic to stiffen my material and give it a longer burn time, not sure on how much to add though.
Hi all!
long time lurker first time poster, i've been making both kodoh and agarbatti style sticks for a while now with mainly tabu and mallow root powders as binding agents. And have been wanting to experiment with other options, especially joss/litsea glutinosa powder. But in trying to skirt middlemen by ordering directly from suppliers in vietnam, the smallest orders i can make are in the 20-50 kilo bag range. i was wondering if anyone here had experience with the various viscosities of joss powder, general pros and cons, scent profile(if any), storage needs and all the various nuances of using joss powder.
Any advice on drying joss sticks? My sticks curl or mold... TIA
