Each ring holds eight pairs of candles. The rings are then hung from an Amish wagon wheel to cure. Each wheel holds 10 rings. “It takes about 30 dips to make a standard taper,” Hurst says.

All candles were made by dipping until the 1400's, when a French inventor introduced molds for taper candles. Other materials which have been used for candles more recently include spermaceti, a waxy ...