- How pioneers made sealing wax.

Sealing wax is something we've all seen, but very few of us have made it or put it to use.

It was common till the turn of last century as a way to seal documents and bottles.  We still see it on certain bottles of wine, but increasingly it has been replaced by metal seals, not to mention plastic corks.

Sealing wax's number one purpose was security. It was the 128 bit key of the day.  Once the seal was broken open the information in a document would never be considered private and secure.

It served the same purpose on wines, which foiled attempts to pour out half the good stuff and water it down until the bottle was full again.

[Note the word "foiled".  Another historic solution to the same problem of bottle security.]

But wax seals also preserved a wine or beer's freshness, flavor and fragrance by protecting the cork from direct moisture but still letting it breathe.

Sealing wax is not the same as candle wax.  Candle wax easily breaks and crumbles, whereas sealing wax has some plasticity to it.  It will bend and tear before it breaks.

The Iowa Settlers Manual of 1881 explains how to make sealing wax in its chapter on making common household items, and it's very simple.

To make black bottle sealing wax:

Take "common resin, twenty pounds; tallow, five pounds; lamp-black, four pounds.  Mix with heat."

Simple as that.

Lamp-black is still in common use, but it would be better to get bone-char AKA ivory-black or bone-black from your local art supply shop.  It has fewer health and safety implications and will do the same job.

You can also buy it from aquarium shops, where it is used in the tank filters.

The volumes of the materials in this recipe can be reduced to suit your needs.  A pound of wax will be enough for sealing 65 bottles.

Other variations of sealing wax can be made.

Common Sealing Wax is the classic red wax used on important documents.  Its ingredients can also be sourced from an art shop.

The Soft Sealing Wax calls for Venice Turpentine.  You won't get that from an art store, but any place that has horse-care products should have it.  It comes from the Western Larch tree.

Big chapters of colonial how-to and DIY can be downloaded for free at Pioneer Handbooks.

Even if you never expect to make or use sealing wax, you can still hit the Facebook Like button below and save this how-to from disappearing into history

It's easy enough to do and a good way to keep this knowledge alive.