Welcome to Part 6 of this series on bushcraft candles.
On my ‘to do’ list was the Raappanan tuli candle. From my research on candles it seems that this is the original Finnish candle. I became aware of this type of candle from reading Perkele’s blog (link to the aticle at the end of the post).
It is a simple but effective system using only one log. The log provides the support limbs and the tinder/kindling.
This system works very well in dry cold environments where you have well seasoned dead standing timber. I, on the other hand, had a few pieces of damp birch collected from the woods a couple of weeks ago, but decided to try it out anyway.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 05 48](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-05-48.jpg)
The log I used was 45cms in length.
![Photo 19-12-2013 16 54 09](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-19-12-2013-16-54-09-577x1024.jpg)
Firstly split the log but not right in the centre – slightly off centre.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 03 04](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-03-04.jpg)
Then split off another piece about the same size from the other side so that you are left with a flat piece of wood in the centre.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 03 17](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-03-17.jpg)
The wood did not split straight down so I ended up with two centre pieces.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 03 28](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-03-28.jpg)
After splitting the centre pice into kindling I shaved off all the bark to use as tinder.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 03 37](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-03-37.jpg)
Then using your axe, chop into the split areas of the support limbs (the full length) to create a fuzz stick effect. This will give something for the flames from your initial fire to catch on to so that the limbs start to burn quickly.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 03 47](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-03-47.jpg)
Two large fuzz sticks. This technique multiplies the surface area the flames have to catch on to.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 08 45](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-08-45.jpg)
The set up is very simple. I banged one limb into the ground, laid some kindling flat on the ground (the ground was wet) and banged in the other limb. If you were using a wider but smaller log stability would not be such an issue.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 04 07](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-04-07.jpg)
The support stick was just a twig dug into the ground and jammed up against one of the limbs that I was concerned might fall over.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 04 31](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-04-31.jpg)
I stuffed loads of birch bark and small wood shavings into the gap and lit it.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 04 45](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-04-45.jpg)
The kindling went up well but due to the dampness of the log the limbs would not catch fire at first. I had to continually feed the kindling into the burn area and soon ran out without the limbs catching fire.
![Photo 22-12-2013 10 36 24](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-10-36-24-577x1024.jpg)
The bottom of the limbs had caught fire but would not self sustain.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 05 15](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-05-15.jpg)
Plan B was to get a dry log from inside my house (one that had been intended for our open fire), split it and place the dry kindling in a vertical position instead of a horizontal lay. This totally transformed the candle.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 05 31](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-05-31.jpg)
In no time the candle was lit the whole way up both limbs.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 05 48](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-05-48.jpg)
From the point when I added the vertical kindling the pot took less than ten minutes to boil.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 05 59](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-05-59.jpg)
Happy to get my brew.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 06 17](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-06-17.jpg)
I let the kindling burn down to see if the limbs would stay alight but they were still too damp.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 06 29](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-06-29.jpg)
Here you can see the area on the top where the moisture was being boiled out.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 06 39](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-06-39.jpg)
About 30 minutes after the start of the fire the logs finally started to burn on their own. Got quite a nice fire face out of it as well.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 06 50](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-06-50.jpg)
I added the last of my damp tinder and kindling and the limbs finally started burning freely.
![Photo 22-12-2013 13 07 03](http://www.bushcraftdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-22-12-2013-13-07-03.jpg)
I found this candle a real challenge to keep going but that is not because the concept is wrong, but because this type of candle needs to have really dry wood to work well.
I am sure that when I try this again with dry wood it will go like a rocket. It is such an simple and effective method and I wish I had been making this type of candle years ago.
I have written six articles on different candles so if anyone has ideas on other candle types please leave a comment on their idea below.
Cheers
George