Sorry about that title! Honeybees produce tiny scales of wax from small glands under their abdomens and they use this to form the structure of their home. They also use a capping of wax to seal away the honey they produce, to help keep it clean and fresh. When it comes time to harvest the honey we need to pierce or remove this cap of wax and so inevitably over time we build up a stock of this great smelling and fantastically useful substance.
Perhaps you’ve ended up with some blocks of this natural gold and are looking for some inspiration for what to do with it, so, in no particular order1, here’s a long but by no means exhaustive list of possible uses for beeswax!
- Candle making
- Wax wraps (for food preservation)
- Furniture, shoe, bronze and brass polish
- Lip balms, lotions, salves and creams etc
- Arts & crafts – wax resist painting (Batik), encuastic painting
- Lubricating jewelry saw blades
- Surfboard, snowbaord & ski waxing
- Rejuvinating old leather
- Lubricating musical instrument strings and reeds
- Instrument mouth pieces (my didgeridoo for example!)
- Metal casting
- Lubricating drawer runners, zips, hinges
- Conditioning chopping boards
- Seasoning cast iron cookware
- Preventing rust (e.g. on gardening tools)
- Sealing jars (jams and pickles)
- Although I have started with a few more obvious and potentially relevant examples! ↩︎