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We’ve tried lots of different ways to start fires, from soaking dried pine cones in hot wax to using a blow torch…but the best way we found to get our wood stove fire going is to make simple fire starters out of old candles and paper towels. We burn a lot of candles, especially during the holidays, and we always save the left-over wax. Come winter time, we melt the wax in a pot on our stove, using a low setting for the burner. When all the wax is melted, we use single sheets of paper towels, which we twist to form sort of a rope, and quickly dip these into the melted wax. We then lay them out to dry on freezer paper (or aluminum foil). Once they are dried, we store them in a bucket or bag until we need them. We still use a blow torch to get a fire going, but the wax soaked paper keeps the flames going for a long time, enough to get the kindling pieces burning.