Incense of the Day

[Himanshu Sharma]

Thanks Curt. Lucky to have you here to pick your brain.

I used my burr grinder at a medium setting. When I made my sticks, I feel like the material was loosely packed because of the particle size. Perhaps, that was the reason I was getting burnt smell. I'll play with the grind size.
I'll get some Guar Gum and see how I like it. I think your suggestion of using makko and guar gum in combination is excellent. I would try that.
I've some very frail Assam chips, smell very good on heater. These could be a good candidate to be turned into incense sticks.

Thanks again. Will report back. With pictures, this time. Happy Friday!

 

[Oudamberlove]

Thanks Curt. Lucky to have you here to pick your brain.

I used my burr grinder at a medium setting. When I made my sticks, I feel like the material was loosely packed because of the particle size. Perhaps, that was the reason I was getting burnt smell. I'll play with the grind size.
I'll get some Guar Gum and see how I like it. I think your suggestion of using makko and guar gum in combination is excellent. I would try that.
I've some very frail Assam chips, smell very good on heater. These could be a good candidate to be turned into incense sticks.

Thanks again. Will report back. With pictures, this time. Happy Friday!

Make sure to wait for the sticks to dry completely before lighting them, any moisture will inhibit the wicking capability, and will cook the resin for a burnt smell.

 

[Grega]

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 ?

If I remember correctly adding more makko powder does indeed make the stick burn faster. When I used a smaller ratio say one third makko two thirds resins and woods, the sticks burned slower. Just try to make one stick with different ratios each and you'll see the difference. I tend to use less and less makko powder lately.

 

[Himanshu Sharma]

If I remember correctly adding more makko powder does indeed make the stick burn faster. When I used a smaller ratio say one third makko two thirds resins and woods, the sticks burned slower. Just try to make one stick with different ratios each and you'll see the difference. I tend to use less and less makko powder lately.

Thanks. That's what the plan is. Trying different permutations and combinations.

 

[PersonelHigh]

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.

Have you considered cutting out the Makko completely and using an incense warmer? I don't know why anyone would necessarily be married to a stick. In fact I don't understand why this forum doesn't have a powder or loose or strange pellet section delineated for that matter. .

 

[PersonelHigh]

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

I do crush my sticks sometimes but only for warmer.

 

[Oudamberlove]

Have you considered cutting out the Makko completely and using an incense warmer? I don't know why anyone would necessarily be married to a stick. In fact I don't understand why this forum doesn't have a powder or loose or strange pellet section delineated for that matter. .

I made two batches without makko, one using charcoal and a touch of guar gum, one with just enough guar gum to bind. Both turned out fine.
If your recipe contains a lot of resins, the stick won’t stay lit without something to help it along.

If you search Wikipedia, you’ll find that incense has many forms, sticks, powders, cones, pellets, ropes, etc. So basically this section covers all of them.

Personally, I love agarwood, it is my true passion. I often heat them on my Shoyeido electric wood chip heater, and on my Subitism.
But I have noticed that sticks composed in a certain way, can deliver another way to enjoy agarwood in a way that the heaters can’t.
And lastly, I dibble dabble with powders as well.

 

[Himanshu Sharma]

Have you considered cutting out the Makko completely and using an incense warmer? I don't know why anyone would necessarily be married to a stick. In fact I don't understand why this forum doesn't have a powder or loose or strange pellet section delineated for that matter. .

Thanks for your suggestion. I have had tried heating powder too.
I just intend to learn something new. Stick making appeals to me a lot and that's why I wanted to try it.
One good thing about stick is that you can carry them around while travelling, without worrying about the whole heating contraption thing. You just need a match and voila!
Anyways, for the sake of simplicity and ease, we can just heat the chips why even bother to powder them and heat ?

 

[ChristianProgrammer]

You guys are getting too crazy I just want some Oud to sizzle 🙂

 

[Oudamberlove]

Dr. Incense Malinau stick

Malinau is so good,
it’s no wonder that good
Malinau agarwood chips
are so difficult to get.

 

[Taesik Yun]

Yamadamatsu - Suifu
Very sweet, too candy-like sweet for my liking, and very potent. it's pungent as much as Indian incense.
there's some refreshing greenness but it's overshadowed by sweetness.

I'm not liking it today. quite off putting.

 

[Oudamberlove]

Dr. Incense Sri Lanka

Smells just like heating
some nice Walla Patta.

 

[Oudamberlove]

Ken’s Papua New Guinea

This stick does put out some lovely notes.
I am eager to compare it with the PNG from ASO.
Dhl Dhl don’t be slow
take that pkg. and go man go!

 

[Oudamberlove]

Minorien Fu-in Aloeswood just arrived.

Not even close to my old batch,
disappointing, and I only have one stick left from the old batch.
No longer cedar-centric,
and far less resinous power.

So how am I going to enjoy something like the older batch?....this is were making sticks comes in handy. I still have 15 grams of the Minorien Fu-in Granulated incense Kyara Blend, it has a lot of the old batch cedar smell, quite strong too, I’ll add some of that blend to some Indonesian and Thai agarwood to simulate the original, but amped-up with much much more agarwood 🙂

 

[Castingshadows]

Minorien Fu-in Aloeswood just arrived.

Not even close to my old batch,
disappointing, and I only have one stick left from the old batch.
No longer cedar-centric,
and far less resinous power.

So how am I going to enjoy something like the older batch?....this is were making sticks comes in handy. I still have 15 grams of the Minorien Fu-in Granulated incense Kyara Blend, it has a lot of the old batch cedar smell, quite strong too, I’ll add some of that blend to some Indonesian and Thai agarwood to simulate the original, but amped-up with much much more agarwood 🙂

This is really sad news because I JUST ordered some!!

Now would you say this composition is still worth owning even if you haven’t smelled the original? Or is it kind of a dud?

 

[Oudamberlove]

This is really sad news because I JUST ordered some!!

Now would you say this composition is still worth owning even if you haven’t smelled the original? Or is it kind of a dud?

My disappointment is with the difference between the two batches.
The new batch on it’s own, is still a nice stick, one that will be in my rotation, even my wife likes it.
So I guess my post is misleading😬
(I should be more mindful of this in future posts).

I just checked the Minorien site, and it still asserts that only the natural wood itself was used,
and I inspected the sticks under magnification to confirm that they are still suffused with resin.

The old batch definitely has more cedar, which is why it seems more resinous.

 

[Himanshu Sharma]

@Castingshadows I have been using the new batch. It is beautiful, still. Matter of fact, I just lit one right now.

 

[Oudamberlove]

Ken’s Kalimantan stick

For a brief moment,
it made me think of AH Lindaraja oud.

 

[Himanshu Sharma]

Fumigation Day: Fred Soll's Frank-Myrrh by the window to ward off evil spirits in the neighborhood and my home.

 

[Oudamberlove]

Kunmeido Kyara Tenpyo

Full of wonder.
I wonder this?
I wonder that?
It’s a complicated stick🤪