Old Beeswax

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Last Post 05 August 2009

Standard Member

billyboy posted this 11 June 2009

A retired beekeeper has some old beeswax that he wants to sell. I believe the beeswax has not been sealed up, and is just in a large block. How long is beeswax good, and how much a pound should I pay for it? billyboy

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Standard Member

amb1935 posted this 11 June 2009

I think when I bought beeswax commercially from an arts and crafts store, I bought it for like $13 for one pound. I have no idea how expensive and/or cheap that price is, but that's what I paid for it. Although, it was sealed and very high quality. I'd probably slip him a fiver for half a pound and so how it works first, then go from there if it's good stuff.

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CBA Member

JimmyDee posted this 11 June 2009

< Prices like that amaze me -- next, you'll be telling me folks are paying $50 for a box of 1,000 primers! >

Dad kept bees years ago. The big difference is how clean the beeswax is. I'd guess: Clean enough to eat? $15/lb. Church candle clean? $10/lb. Darker than that? $5/lb. Crunchy with bee parts? Less.

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amb1935 posted this 18 June 2009

JimmyDee wrote: < Prices like that amaze me -- next, you'll be telling me folks are paying $50 for a box of 1,000 primers!>

Dad kept bees years ago. The big difference is how clean the beeswax is. I'd guess: Clean enough to eat? $15/lb. Church candle clean? $10/lb. Darker than that? $5/lb. Crunchy with bee parts? Less. Ha, I guess that's the price they charge “artists." Are there any other good places to buy beeswax? I don't know of any beekeepers in the local area.

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CB posted this 27 June 2009

I bought about 5 lbs from a local beekeeper, check the yellow pages or ask at the local health food store, you'll find them. The wax I bought was pretty low grade, dark brown & crunchy. I skimmed & filtered it until it was at least smooth & clean. I haven't used it yet, but it's safely tucked away for the right opportunity. The trick is to buy stuff like this before you need it, so it's waiting for you.

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CBA Member

Duane Mellenbruch posted this 27 June 2009

About 5 pounds, for how much?? Duane

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KenK posted this 28 June 2009

There is a whole bunch of folks selling bees wax on ebay. The prices vary widely depending on quantity and how it is molded.

Me and my grand father kept a few hives when I was a kid. You don't see it much around here any more.

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CB posted this 28 June 2009

Here is one place that sells it for $5 a lb.

http://www.beeswaxfrombeekeepers.com/bulkbeeswax.html

Here is another place that sells white filtered beeswax for $5.85 a lb

They have a complete line of waxs, I have used their white wax before and have around 30lbs in the shop to make lube. I bought it for like 75 bucks when it was on sale or something like that. Easy to weigh, melts well, makes good lube.

http://www.oilsbynature.com/product-category/waxes.htm

I recall when I talked to them about their waxes they filter it with ssome kind of dichotomous earth and use no chemicals.

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Trap4570 posted this 26 July 2009

They have recovered beeswax from sunken ships that is over 150 years old and the wax is still good. Mother nature makes excellent products.

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Joshua M. Smith posted this 26 July 2009

Well dang, I get mine for $5/lb from a local guy.

Stuff stays good forever.

I didn't know good quality beeswax from poor quality, so I skimmed the first batch. I found no dirt or bee parts in it. Good stuff, yellowish, smells of honey.

It's nice to to business with cash, shake the hand of the old gent outside his home, and have a nice talk about boolits. That'll get me there every time over any internet store.

He has excellent honey for sale, too!

Josh

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Ervin posted this 04 August 2009

Precipitation Cleaning of Beeswax

This process will produce from Hive Beeswax, a Yellow Beeswax suitable for use in formulas for Bullet Lube Grease, Case Sizing Lubricant and Bullet Swaging Lubricant.

Melt beeswax in a double boiler with a mixture of 2 oz. vinegar to each quart of water. When melted, stir, cover, and let cool. Some impurities will settle to the bottom of the water. Some will hang from the bottom of the wax cake where they can be scraped off. Repeat the process until satisfied with the end product.

I use this & it works.

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CBA Member

Dale53 posted this 05 August 2009

I live in Ohio. We have the Ohio State University Extension service in each of our 88 counties. They offer help to farmers, 4H, and other agriculture services. Your area will most certainly have something similar. Ohio State has an extensive Agriculture Program - one of your state universities should offer similar services.

They will have a record of the local beekeepers. Then contact the beekeepers in person and buy from the least expensive...

I find most beekeepers to be interesting people and nice to deal with.

Dale53