Dear Mr. Rawles,
I also have a suggestion for DIY fire starters. I have been making these for several years and they work great for fire pits etc. I would caution about using them to start a cooking fire though, due to fragrances and color dyes.
We use a lot of 4” and 6” pillar candles in our house. We don’t have small children, so an accidental fire is not a very big concern. I used to throw out the candle butts and decided I’d like to somehow recycle them. So now every couple of months I make fire starters. I keep an paper shredder right by the kitchen table so I can deal with junk immediately. I also shred anything that has our address on the envelope or the addressed back covers of catalogs. I save all of the cardboard tubes from our toilet paper rolls and from paper towels. The toilet paper rolls are the perfect size. I cut the paper towels rolls in half. If you want a smaller size just cut toilet paper roll in half and the paper towel rolls in quarters.
To assemble the fire starters, I melt the candles in a double boiler. You conceivably could also melt it in pot right on the burner, however, you absolutely cannot walk away from the stove if you use this method. The wax can burn and catch fire quickly. When the wax is melted I pour it into a large mixing bowl that has some shred paper in it. Mix the wax and shred with a spoon or if you let it cool sufficiently you can use your hand. When the wax and shred gets cool and thick, fill the tubes with the mixture. Let cool for several hours and store in aluminum foil and plastic storage bags. They will keep indefinitely. And the only “extra” cost to me is the foil and storage bags. Thank you for this excellent site that jam packed with information. – Okie Ranch Wife