DIY Chrox & Ferrox Crayons

Attachment 169959

So I finally got hold of some bees wax on Sunday morning so I thought I would give the Oxide crayons a try
after some googgling of how to make crayons & some additional info from the lads here on SRP I went with the following Recipe:

Wax: 1 part Paraffin to 2 parts Bee’s wax ( I call PB2 )
Crayon: 1 part PB2 wax to 2 parts Oxide Powder

my materials:
small non-stick sauce pan - $2.00
100g each of 0.3 Chrox & 0.1 Ferrox - $30 ( used about ½ of each max)
a pack of 48 paraffin tea light candles - $2.50
natural Bee’s wax - $3.50 from local markets for about 300g (a lot more than I needed)
large foil tray as a spill catcher - $0.50
I did buy a $3 silicon ice cube tray for a mould then my brain started working & I used the Ali pots the tea lights came in instead.


Process for Wax (PB2):
removed about 12 tea light candles from the Aluminium moulds
cut of a chunk of bees wax & melted on low in the small pot
poured the wax into the moulds slowly leaving the impurities in the pot to be disposed of separately – left to cool
I now have even measures of wax
then I combine 3 lots of paraffin & 6 lots of Bees wax as per mould size in the pot & melted on low heat
poured combined wax into candle moulds left to cool
now I have about 9 of the 1 paraffin & 2 bees (PB2) wax moulds

Attachment 169960

Process for crayons (PB2 – C2/F2)
take 2 of the PB2 wax moulds melt in the pot on low
add 4 moulds worth of Chrox or Ferrox powder mix well to combine & pour into the moulds
allow to cool

job done

Attachment 169961

as the powder to wax mix if fairly powder heavy there was still some powder mix in the pan, so I added an extra wax pod to make a weaker mix of powder to wax to try use as a polish
all up this made 4 full moulds of 1 wax : 2 powder (PB2 C2/F2 ) moulds then & made 2 weaker mixes of both Chrox & Ferrox crayons.
and i have a couple of PB2 wax pods left also.

Yes it was messy & would be easier in larger batches I think but I now have enough crayon to last a few years for 3 of us and some left over to experiment with.
I have rubbed some onto some scrap smooth wood and it seems to adhere well
but I have not applied to any leather yet as don’t want to apply it to my current strop as I intend to pass it on to the son in-law for his first strop when I make him up a Str8 & starter kit for his Birthday soon
& have no Balsa left

hope you all can gain from this little experiment
Regards
D

Nice crayons.
You can rub it into denim and use it as well. Or a piece of pine 2x4.

Awesome! Hmm, maybe when I try my next batch of shaving soap I van try this as well :) Thanks for the great tutorial! May I ask where you obtained your Oxides?

they are Kremer pigments I got mine in Australia but I believe you may be able to get them cheaper direct from Kremer in Germany & possibly the US suppliers
Iron Oxide # 48100 is 0.1 micron
Chrome Oxide #44200 is 0.3 micron