Wickthorn Hand Made Steel Viking Candle Holder with Hand Twisted Stem | 12 Inch Tall Tripod Base | Valknut Engraved Foot and Brushed Finish | Norse Table Gift | RK-1719

The Wickthorn is a standing candle holder made from solid steel bar, with a stem twisted while hot into a slow even spiral, a shallow drip dish carrying a central pricket spike, and a three legged foot with a Valknut engraved into the top of the plate. It stands about twelve inches tall and it is heavy enough that a knock does not tip it. The finish is a brushed satin left bright rather than blackened, so the twist catches light along its whole length.

Twisting is one of the oldest decorative operations in blacksmithing and it survives because it is honest work. You cannot fake it. A square bar is brought to an even orange heat down the section you want to move, clamped at one end and wrung with a wrench at the other, and the four corners of the bar chase each other into a helix. Get the heat uneven and the twist bunches. Norse and medieval smiths used the same trick on candle stands, on hinge straps, on hearth furniture and on the twisted rods that went into pattern welded sword cores.

Forged, twisted, engraved and finished in Memphis, Tennessee. It ships wrapped, ready to use, with a care card. Candles are not included.

Specifications

Why the stem is twisted and why it is a tripod

Two decisions define this piece. The first is the twist. Beyond the look of it, wringing a square bar into a helix stiffens the stem against bending, in the same way that a twisted rope resists stretch better than the loose fibres it is made from. It also disguises the small irregularities that hand forging leaves in a long bar, which is one reason smiths reached for it so often. The spiral is cut into the metal, not rolled onto the surface, so it cannot wear off.

The second is the three legged foot. A tripod is the only arrangement that is always stable, because three points define a plane and three points cannot rock. Four legs on an uneven surface will wobble, and every table in the world proves it. A candle stand of this height is top heavy by nature, so a splayed tripod with the weight concentrated in the plate is the correct answer, and it is why medieval and later hearth stands are almost always three footed. The Valknut sits in that plate where you see it from above.

The steel and the finish

Solid steel bar, forged and worked hot rather than bent cold, which is what allows the twist to run evenly and the legs to be drawn and spread without cracking. The dish is raised from flat plate and the pricket spike is set into the centre so a pillar candle can be pushed down onto it and held without wax or a fixing. Everything is joined by forge work rather than by glue.

The surface is brushed to a satin and then waxed. That leaves the steel its natural grey with the tool marks showing, which is the honest look for a piece like this. Wax is a light protective layer, not a permanent barrier, so this is an indoor piece. It is not stainless, it is not powder coated and it is not blackened. If you prefer a darker finish it will patinate on its own over the years with handling and heat.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel, the leather or the wood. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us where it goes. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it.

On this piece there are two obvious places. A short rune line runs well around the rim of the drip dish, where it is read from above. A name and a date sit well on the tripod plate, though if you want them there they take the place of the Valknut rather than sharing the plate with it. Pairs of these are a common wedding order with two names cut, one on each. See the engraving page.

Setting it up and using it

Stand it on a flat surface and press a pillar candle down onto the pricket until the spike is buried and the base of the candle sits in the dish. That is all the fixing it needs. The dish catches run off, and with a two to three inch pillar you will get very little of it. Tapers are not what this holder is for, since the pricket is sized for a pillar and a thin taper will lean.

Common sense applies to any open flame. Keep it away from curtains, shelves above it and anything that can catch. Do not leave a burning candle unattended and do not move the holder while the candle is lit, because the dish will be hot and the wax will be liquid. The steel conducts heat, so the top of the stem warms after a long burn. Let it cool before you handle it.

Care

Let spilled wax set hard, then lift it off with a fingernail or a wooden stick rather than a metal blade, which will scratch the brushed finish. If a film remains, warm the dish gently with hot water, wipe it and dry it straight away. Do not put the holder in a dishwasher, which will strip the wax layer and start rust in a single cycle.

Wipe it down with a dry cloth from time to time and refresh the protective wax once or twice a year with a paste furniture wax or a light machine oil on a rag. If a spot of surface rust appears, take it off with a grey scouring pad and re wax. Keep it indoors and off damp stone. The engraving needs nothing beyond a soft brush to clear wax dust out of the cut lines.

Made in Memphis

The bar is heated, twisted, drawn and spread in our Memphis, Tennessee shop. The dish is raised, the pricket is set, the legs are forged and the Valknut is cut here. Nothing on this piece is drop shipped from an importer catalogue and nothing arrives at our door needing only a label.

Each one is made to order, so current lead time is one to two weeks before it ships, with free US shipping. Our lifetime warranty against defects in the making applies with no end date and no receipt needed.

A note on handmade variation

This is hand made, not machine made and not bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. A hot twist is never identical twice. The pitch of the spiral tightens and opens slightly along the stem depending on how the heat sat in the bar, and that is the signature of the process rather than a fault. Hammer marks fall where the hammer fell.

The brushed finish also varies, with the grain of the brushing running its own way on each piece, and the exact colour of the steel shifts a little with how it came out of the fire. Height, base spread, dish size, pricket and the engraving are the same on every one. The character is what changes.

Frequently asked questions

Is a candle included

No. The holder ships on its own. It takes pillar candles from roughly two to three inches in diameter, pressed down onto the central pricket spike.

Will it tip over

It is not easy to tip. The weight is concentrated low in the tripod plate and the legs splay to about five inches, which is a wide base for a twelve inch stand. Three legs also cannot rock on an uneven surface.

Will it rust

It can, because it is plain steel with a wax finish rather than stainless. Kept indoors and dry it will not. Refresh the wax once or twice a year and any surface haze comes off with a scouring pad.

Can I use a taper candle instead

Not well. The pricket is sized for a pillar and a slim taper will sit loose and lean. If you want a taper, use a wax collar or choose a socket holder instead.

Can I have runes cut into it

Yes. The rim of the drip dish takes a short rune line read from above, and the tripod plate takes a name and a date, though that replaces the Valknut rather than sitting next to it.

How long does shipping take

One to two weeks, because the stem is forged and twisted and the plate engraved after you order. US shipping is free.

What is in the box

• One hand made steel candle holder with a hot twisted stem and tripod foot
• Shallow drip dish with a central pricket spike, ready to use
• Care card covering wax removal and re waxing the steel
• Lifetime warranty against defects in the making
• Made and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See the rest of the viking home decor, the runestones and rune sets, the engraved and personalised pieces, and the guides.