Incense of the Day

[Grega]

Making sticks......not difficult at all.
Finding the time.... challenging with my hectic schedule.
I had a lot of concerns, but after taking the first dive all those concerns were put to rest now I can be creative and make any type of stick my heart desires.
I initially do test runs with sandalwood because it is less expensive, and if I use agarwood, I start with small batches.
For now I settle with Monoject oral syringes, which I place into a clay extruder for even pressure, and I use 5 to 10 % binder.

Yeah it's really all about taking the time and experimenting for me as well. I find that I don't know how to use sandalwood in stick form. I first make just a normal blend with say florals/resins/sandalwood/lichens and it can smell amazing but I have noticed that in stick form sandalwood gives a bad note in the background and this note stays in the room even after a lot of time, whereas on charcoal that note is simply not there. I remember, I think it was, Mr. P having a similar experience with sandalwood sticks. Was wondering what's your experience with that?

 

[Grega]

I agree with that combination almost seeming a bit unorthodox or potentially clashing but it works so beautifully. Do you find it difficult to make your own sticks or are you ever worried you might waste your Agarwood? I guess you can reuse the same batch though if you mess it up as many times as needed.

I should really sit down and try my hand at putting something together because even Ken’s Mysore and frank sticks are amazing.

Frankincense is really lovely with agarwood. I especially enjoy black frankincense as it seems to go really well with hindi wood. Plus it is such a joy grinding both and then blending them. But for me the best is grinding first class somalian myrrh and adding a touch of it to the whole. I prefer such a mix in loose incense form though, not in stick form, as makko powder seems to dull the diversity of notes.

 

[Oudamberlove]

Yeah it's really all about taking the time and experimenting for me as well. I find that I don't know how to use sandalwood in stick form. I first make just a normal blend with say florals/resins/sandalwood/lichens and it can smell amazing but I have noticed that in stick form sandalwood gives a bad note in the background and this note stays in the room even after a lot of time, whereas on charcoal that note is simply not there. I remember, I think it was, Mr. P having a similar experience with sandalwood sticks. Was wondering what's your experience with that?

I don’t have that experience with sandalwood, but I will burn a few and see if it does leave a bad note, maybe I never noticed it.

 

[Grega]

I don’t have that experience with sandalwood, but I will burn a few and see if it does leave a bad note, maybe I never noticed it.

Great, I am very curious if it is the same for you. It is the reason why I don't burn some sticks in the living room...my family always complains about the smell. Even some oud sticks which I still love have the same note. ASO's Floating Mountains for example, which is all in all my favorite profile, has that stale,burnt unpleasant aspect to it if I leave it burning for longer than say half a minute.

 

[Oudamberlove]

I sometimes smell some unpleasant notes after the burn, but because my routine is to light a medley of sticks, I can’t quite pinpoint exactly which ones, but I have a suspicion that it’s certain Shoyeidos, Seijudo Shiragiku, and maybe WSG Hainan.

 

[Grega]

I sometimes smell some unpleasant notes after the burn, but because my routine is to light a medley of sticks, I can’t quite pinpoint exactly which ones, but I have a suspicion that it’s certain Shoyeidos, Seijudo Shiragiku, and maybe WSG Hainan.

Yeah I always burn just the one stick so that would explain why I detect the scent so strongly.

 

[Oudamberlove]

Ken’s Brunei stick
Funny story here....
After purchasing some of the first batch of
Brunei sticks, I liked it a lot, and as I was
checking his website days later,
it popped up for sale again,
so I purchased 5 tubes, back when they were still 3 grams per tube and a few $ less.
Well, Ken emailed me saying that the website had a glitch and that the sticks were not actually
available, but instead of refunding my payment
he decided to fulfill the order by making some more, although he said it will take a couple of weeks for them to be ready.
I’m glad he whipped up another batch, because
that stock of Brunei agarwood from KZ was superb.

 

[Tilt]

Dr Incense - Bright Mirror

I’d always steered clear of incense as getting into oud oils and attars seemed like more than enough over the last couple of years. I also had a misguided assumption that I wasn’t really into incense (the same way someone who has never smelled quality perfume says they don’t like fragrances) due to some past associations with churches, “ethnic“ shops etc.

Six months ago I ordered some Shoyeido sticks out of curiosity. They’re nice. Just the ones you can get on Amazon easily enough. However, after reading lots of this thread and wanting to smell agarwood in the air rather than just on my skin, I found myself online while the new Dr Incense products were dropping on Etsy. I selected Bright Mirror pretty much at random.

Wow. This is just a whole other level of incense; like a totally different thing. Similar to going to from designer fragrances with “oud” to a genuine oud oil. Had a stick burning in my bedroom while I relaxed and that room smells incredible when I go back in there!

Another rabbit hole to fall into (warn my bank manager). Can’t wait to explore more

 

[ChristianProgrammer]

Shoyeido gifted to me by forum member here I attempted to low smoke on Sub box but nahh turned box up high bleaak not right just burning NOTE I'm carefully only working with portions broken from the small sample sticks. burning one direct resulted in wifie complaints that is why I tried the Subitism box.

I keep forgetting to set an alarm for Dr Incense drops

One I tried was very nice but direct stick burn nothing orgasmic

 

[Oudamberlove]

Rabbit hole indeed,
I have more than I’ll ever use,
and yet, I just purchased more boxes
minutes ago.
This time around,
Minorien Fu-in Aloeswood
sticks and granulated incense.

 

[ChristianProgrammer]

Hey Hey gentlemen My cryptic rant ( as usual ) was actually an attempt to see if anyone actually
crushes these sticks for use on a subitism burner ? yea I'm weird

 

[Oudamberlove]

Hey Hey gentlemen My cryptic rant ( as usual ) was actually an attempt to see if anyone actually
crushes these sticks for use on a subitism burner ? yea I'm weird

No not weird, I have tried it also.
In the world of incense
I am always trying to discover more about it, such as burning angles, observing the burning tip and ash formation, inspection under magnification, stick density, etc., and with agarwood, different temperatures, sliver sizes, heating cycles (heat....cool down....reheat....so on and so forth).
Wether by curiousity or by necessity,
it’s all good.

 

[Mustafa]

No not weird, I have tried it also.
In the world of incense
I am always trying to discover more about it, such as burning angles, observing the burning tip and ash formation, inspection under magnification, stick density, etc., and with agarwood, different temperatures, sliver sizes, heating cycles (heat....cool down....reheat....so on and so forth).
Wether by curiousity or by necessity,
it’s all good.

Ya I do it too. It releases new scents at low temp for me. then I increase the temp slowly. I love it.

 

[Taesik Yun]

I haven't posted much about incense lately because I'm going through my current stock before buying other stuff. there is quite a lot of incense I'd like to try but I'd like to try them slowly.

I'm still burning incense pretty much every day. today's burn is Tokusen Kobunboku from Baieido.

I like the meticulous balance of spices in this blend, especially borneol camphor. it makes this incense much cooler than other incense and creates a cleansing effect. Indonesian(guessing) agarwood in this one is mild and sweet, other traditional herbs add rooty, bitter, spicy aspects.

 

[Oudamberlove]

Shoyeido Five Clouds (Go-un)

After lighting this stick,
I sometimes get phantom whiffs
of kinam throughout the day.

 

[Himanshu Sharma]

Dr. Incense Processed Mysore Sandalwood

No frill just pure bliss. Sweet, creamy, fruity sandalwood whiffs from this one. Reminds me of sandalwood paste my granny used to put on my forehead after she came back from her temple routine.

 

[Himanshu Sharma]

A couple of questions for Incense Nerds here:
Do you think makko makes a stick burn faster ?
Is there a way to add makko to bring everything together and still be able to burn the sticks without smelling it too much. I am struggling with the ratios, I guess. I tried making sticks. They came out really nice. Uniform and shape was DECENT. But, they burnt so fast.

What about charcoal powder ? I guess it would help in combustion. Any tips on sourcing some good charcoal powder ? How does it smell in a stick ?

 

[ChristianProgrammer]

So I dont have much of a reference point sans the small samples of real Oud I got with my subitism box but
will report on how these do when they arrive https://tinyurl.com/s4mz9k3s
VIETNAMESE AGARWOOD INCENSE From lacausaclothing

 

[Taesik Yun]

Yamadamatsu - Kumoyi
Kumoyi gives off an intoxicatingly sweet fragrance like maple syrup-drenched brownie with a woody backbone.

vaporized caramel-like thick sweet fragrance makes a cloud-filled cozy atmosphere. Kumoyi’s condensed sweetness can be said gourmand and it makes your mouth drooling as if you ate delicious sweet dessert.

Kumoyi composes a romantic mood and drowns you in the ocean of sweet maple syrup.

 

[Oudamberlove]

A couple of questions for Incense Nerds here:
Do you think makko makes a stick burn faster ?
Is there a way to add makko to bring everything together and still be able to burn the sticks without smelling it too much. I am struggling with the ratios, I guess. I tried making sticks. They came out really nice. Uniform and shape was DECENT. But, they burnt so fast.

What about charcoal powder ? I guess it would help in combustion. Any tips on sourcing some good charcoal powder ? How does it smell in a stick ?

Makko burn faster?, yes and no.
The rate of burn depends of the materials and density. How much resins/oils are in the wood/ingredients, how fine is the grind, how dense is the dough. Makko has binding capabilities, if added in addition to another binder, it can slow the rate of burn considerably.

I used charcoal only one time, Baieido ceremonial charcoal, and I liked the outcome, I believe it helps balance the combustion rate, but is not a binder, and more like a filler for
ingredients that have a high resin/oil content. I also believe it will be useful to make Mon-Koh style sticks, which mimics gently heating slivers on a sub. I need to experiment more with charcoal. Other binders/glues include Guar Gum, Gum Tragacanth, Xantham Gum Bletilla Striata Tubers, Dried Sticky Fruits, etc. I’ve tried Gum Tragacanth, it seemed nice but I when I placed some in my palm and added water, I didn’t like the smell. I am currently working with guar gum, and I’m still experimenting with seeing how little I can use in a recipe, I’m at 7% right now, next time I’ll do 5%. I haven’t tried the XG, BST, and DSF.

The smell of the charcoal I used can be detected, but is no stronger than any other Japanese charcoal stick in my collection.

To reduce the smell of the Makko, use less by adding a little guar gum or other binder of your choice, or by using more fragrant ingredients.
But if the stick won’t stay lit, then you’ll have to troubleshoot the recipe by adjusting the proportion of your ingredients in the best way possible, that’s where it will get tricky, and some trial and error batches may be in order, because I don’t believe there is one general formula, it all depends on the particular ingredients you are using, some agarwoods like my Sinking Philippine, doesn’t like high heat, so the recipe should be designed to keep the heat down, some charcoal will help, but too much will cause it to burn hotter, geez, I can go on and on, but I feel like I’m ranting now
Good Luck.