What's your favorite brand of sealing wax?

What's your favorite brand of sealing wax? and where are you buying it?

There's only one: THE ONE AND ONLY (just kidding) but I've had marvellous results with Abraxas, Basel, Switzerland.
http://www.abraxasswitzerland.com/
A phenomenal store in Basel's medieval centre, right by the Rhine, a 10 min. walk from Basel's Paper Museum (where you can make your own hand-layed paper) and ten steps from a real calligrapher's workshop; they make their own ink (about a hundred or so varieties) and sealing wax, carry fountain pens from Lindauer pen company as well as a huge selection of modern and vintage dip pen nibs, and are generally marvellous: my personal ink and sealing wax mecca (also great if you are into late medieval alchemy). And yes, they ship! (though not through a web shop) I know this sounds crazy, but if you get to continental Europe as a pen person, that's the one store I'd tell you to go (not to mention it's located in one of the world's most amazing cities)
If you can't do that: J.Herbin will do from web retailers... their sealing wax is pretty nice.

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Originally Posted by inklord

There's only one: THE ONE AND ONLY (just kidding) but I've had marvellous results with Abraxas, Basel, Switzerland.
http://www.abraxasswitzerland.com/
A phenomenal store in Basel's medieval centre, right by the Rhine, a 10 min. walk from Basel's Paper Museum (where you can make your own hand-layed paper) and ten steps from a real calligrapher's workshop; they make their own ink (about a hundred or so varieties) and sealing wax, carry fountain pens from Lindauer pen company as well as a huge selection of modern and vintage dip pen nibs, and are generally marvellous: my personal ink and sealing wax mecca (also great if you are into late medieval alchemy). And yes, they ship! (though not through a web shop) I know this sounds crazy, but if you get to continental Europe as a pen person, that's the one store I'd tell you to go (not to mention it's located in one of the world's most amazing cities)
If you can't do that: J.Herbin will do from web retailers... their sealing wax is pretty nice.

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I agree!!! as much as I'm familiar with Abraxas, which is only a little. Their amber sealing wax is THE most gorgeous sealing wax I've ever used. Do you know if they have flexible, postal machine-friendly waxes as well? Herbin's red supple wax is currently my go-to user friendly wax because it melts so darn fast.

LOVE that amber Abraxas wax, but it shatters like spring ice. Wish they could make a flexy version.

I have to agree that Abraxas sealing wax is brittle - but that's the traditional way. I does conflict with modern postal processing, even more so in colder climates. J.Herbin therefore makes for a good compromise. But there's in my view no substitute for the traditional formulations - from the exquisite sheen to the smell... I usually fold a letter to be sealed in an epistolary folding pattern, then send it in a reusable padded envelope...
jbb - have you tried Abraxas ink? I am currently enthralled by their Royal Blue (which is not exactly a royal blue, much to tealy for that, but a great shade) and their Sunflower ink (a tan color with real sunflower petal extract), but have used about a dozen or so of their dip-pen and FP inks in the past, and all of them are unique.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by inklord

I have to agree that Abraxas sealing wax is brittle - but that's the traditional way. I does conflict with modern postal processing, even more so in colder climates. J.Herbin therefore makes for a good compromise. But there's in my view no substitute for the traditional formulations - from the exquisite sheen to the smell... I usually fold a letter to be sealed in an epistolary folding pattern, then send it in a reusable padded envelope...
jbb - have you tried Abraxas ink? I am currently enthralled by their Royal Blue (which is not exactly a royal blue, much to tealy for that, but a great shade) and their Sunflower ink (a tan color with real sunflower petal extract), but have used about a dozen or so of their dip-pen and FP inks in the past, and all of them are unique.

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OH yes! the smell is divine. I love that too. What is an epistolary folding pattern? I like your idea of sending the letters inside a padded envelope. Do you get to their store often? When I ordered on-line I used a distributor in Germany. I have never tried their inks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by inklord

I have to agree that Abraxas sealing wax is brittle - but that's the traditional way. I does conflict with modern postal processing, even more so in colder climates. J.Herbin therefore makes for a good compromise. But there's in my view no substitute for the traditional formulations - from the exquisite sheen to the smell... I usually fold a letter to be sealed in an epistolary folding pattern, then send it in a reusable padded envelope...

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I lucked into a couple of insanely cheap boxes of Herbin bank wax in the full knowledge it's intended to be brittle and, I assumed, therefore unpostable - never occurred to me that a padded envelope might be sufficient protection. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks!

J. Herbin "supple" is the only one they sell locally.