How to Make Jumbo Unscented Incense Sticks
Incense has been used for centuries in religious ceremonies, spells and rituals and simply to freshen the air. The earliest incenses were just powdered herbs, woods and resins tossed over hot embers. Later, potassium nitrate (saltpeter) was added so the incense could be molded into cones, blocks and sticks. Sticks are the most popular form of incense today because of their long burn time. They come in many sizes, from about two inches long to 18 inches long.
Some people, especially magic practitioners, like unscented incense as a representation of air. If the practitioner is allergic to certain scents or finds incense scents overpowering, the slight woodsy smell of unscented incense is perfect. Unscented incense also gives you the chance to experiment with original scents by dripping essential oils on the end product.
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Things You'll Need
- Mortar and pestle
- Benzoin resin
- Ground sandalwood
- Makko (tabu) powder
- Warm water
- Bowl
- Wax paper
- Long bamboo slivers
Instructions
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1
Pour ¼ cup of benzoin resin into your mortar and pestle (a stone cooking instrument consisting of a bowl and baseball-bat-shaped pounding tool). Benzoin is a resin that will help hold your incense together. Press the pestle into the resin pieces, pounding slowly and firmly until the resin resembles sand.
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2
Place ½ cup of ground sandalwood into a bowl. Sandalwood has a lighter smell when burned and burns more steadily than pine or cedar because it is not a "sappy" wood. Pour the ground benzoin into the ground sandalwood.
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3
Pour two tablespoons of makko into the wood and benzoin. Makko is a scentless, water soluble binding agent made from the bark of an Asian tree. Makko is available at most herbal and New Age shops. Read the ingredients to be sure your makko is pure.
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4
Add enough warm water to form a thin, paste-like dough, stirring and molding the mixture with your fingers as you pour. Work the incense paste with both hands into a large ball.
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5
Tear off a long sheet of wax paper and set the incense ball on it. Flatten out the ball into a rectangle with the palms of your hands. The rectangle should be about 1/8 inch thick. Its long sides should be about 32 inches long with the shorter ends about 18 inches.
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Press a bamboo sliver into the paste along one of the short ends. The sliver should be parallel to the edge of the paste, but stick out of the paste by about four inches. Bundle several slivers together if necessary to get a stick about 1/8 inch thick.
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7
Gently roll the bamboo slivers into the incense paste by turning up the end nearest the slivers and rolling it onto the rest of the dough. Continue rolling to the other end of the rectangle. Gently pinch the paste around the bamboo slivers at the bottom and round over the top with your fingers.
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8
Allow the incense to dry for about a month before use.
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