Anyone who was a hippie or who grew up knowing a hippie or two probably saw these intricate carved candles here and there. They eventually went mainstream in the 1970s, like macramé. Read the rest

There's something very delightful about pressing a nice metal stamp into perfectly cooled wax. The YouTubers at Calligraphy Masters gathered up some of their favorites. Read the rest

This nifty crying unicorn candle comes with three colorful wax rainbow horns. Light the horn, and tears of joy start to flow from the unicorn's eyes: Read the rest

André Roubo's series on carpentry called L'Art du Menuisier mentions a polissior, a small device made of broom straw for polishing wood. In the two centuries since Roubo's book, the device had faded from memory until a couple of years ago, when Don Williams recreated one from an illustration in Roubo's book. It turned out to work amazingly well. Read the rest

I have spent a lot of time running a bar of wax over my Belstaff jacket. No longer, now I use spray on Nikwax.

Every now and then my waxed cotton jacket needs a touch up. Nikwax is about 1000x easier to use than a solid or cream wax. You liberally spray this on, rub it in and let it dry. I find it has a pleasant, not noxious scent.

There are two colors: green and neutral. Make sure you check the label, although green will work fine on black. It is a very light tint and won't show through, at least on my ancient jacket.

California's recent rains show this stuff not only goes on easy, but works well.

Nikwax Wax Cotton Proof via Amazon Read the rest