Square braided wicks are great for beeswax, paraffin, palm wax, and will likely work with other wax as well, they allow for especially good wax flow, which make them good for various waxes.
However with beeswax, it's not easy to settle on one specific size if you are buying the wax from different sources. Beeswax is unique, beeswax is special, each time when you try a new supplier, you need to test your candle to make sure you got the right size of wick.
You probably see different shades of beeswax, the color of beeswax varies from pale yellow to dark orange or even brown, the fresh capping beeswax is the highest quality beeswax which is also the best for candles, skin care product. Candles made with fresh capping wax smell much better, burn much nicer and longer, while some darker wax, old capping wax, brood comb wax, or a mix of capping & brood comb won't smell or burn as well, so knowing your source, knowing the quality of your wax is very important.
The wick size guide i am providing here is based on my own wax - fresh capping beeswax, if your wax is darker, or if your wax is brood comb wax, you certainly will need larger size. So you need to do your own test.
(Note: I do find some white beeswax from many sources need much larger wicks which may have something to do with their chemical process and the origin;
wicks from difference sources may perform differently as well, which means square braided X from supplier A can be different from square braided X from supplier B, complicated? so find your own stable source is important !)
From small size to big size:
6/0 & 5/0 --- tiny mini tapers
5/0 --- mini pillar 1 1/4'' - 1.5'' wide ; mini tapers - chime candles, birthday candles
4/0 --- 1.5''- 1.75'' pillar; small tapers
3/0 --- 1.75'' - 2'' pillar, small tapers ( 0.5'' - 0.75'' wide tapers)
2/0 --- 2'' - 2 1/4'' pillar (3'' ball candle); most standard sized tapers 7/8''
1/0 --- 2 1/4'' - 2.5'' pillar (3'' ball candle); bigger tapers.
#1 --- 2.5'' - 2.7'' pillar
#2 --- 2.7'' pillar
#3 --- 2.8'' pillar
#4 --- 2.8'' - 3'' pillar
#5 --- 3'' - 3 1/4'' pillar
#6, #8, #10 for larger outdoor candles
I recommend to use multi wicks for 3.5'' or bigger candles if you burn the candles indoor.
This is a rough guide from our experience and tests, you can use as a starting point to find the right size for your candles.
While square braided wick is the most common wick for beeswax, some other type of wicks like flat braided wick, Eco wick, HTP wick , hemp wick can also work well with beeswax. If you have a hard time to find the right square braided wick size, it would be wise to try some other type.
Thanks for reading.
Jun Draper