An Old (And Maybe New?) Shop Staple

As a general rule, in olden days paste wax was made from one of two recipes — Beeswax melted into Spirits of Turpentine (what we call simply turpentine), or beeswax melted into tallow.  I’ve made much of Version 1 in the paste but not so much of Version 2.  So, to best talk to visitors about the finishing processes of the past at the recent 18th Century Trades Fair I made a good batch of tallow/beeswax paste, and I gotta tell you it was magnificent!  I think it actually has some advantages over the turpentine/beeswax solvent paste, namely that it does not have a volatile component to evaporate, is basically odorless (may not be an “advantage” for those who like the fragrance of turpentine), and it is harder in the jar than the turpentine beeswax paste.  This means that the doling out can be more easily controlled and that less is used to accomplish the same goals as with the solvent paste.  I especially like the feel of the tallow paste wax and have been using it on my tools to great success.

I like it so much I just might make a batch of it to share with others who might like to try some.  If this is you, let me know.