Dipped tapers

Dipped tapers are made the opposite way from rolled ones: instead of one sheet wrapped once, they build up from many thin layers of liquid wax, one dip at a time. A length of wick, doubled over a dipping bar, hangs a pair of tapers from its two ends so both grow together and stay balanced against each other as they thicken.

Each dip into the vat at around sixty-eight degrees adds a thin coat, and the pair needs a short rest to cool and set before the next dip, or the new layer will not hold and the taper stays thin. A finished pair takes dozens of dips built up over a couple of hours, most of it waiting rather than working.