A wick trimmer is a scissors-like tool with two flat blades and an attached box, used to trim a candle wick to a short, even length without extinguishing the flame, keeping the candle burning cleanly. Before the mid nineteenth century this tool was itself commonly called a snuffer, a name the family's live Candle Snuffer entity now carries instead for the small cone used to put a flame out.
Facts
Introduced When (Circa)Candle wick trimmers, the scissor-type snuffers with an attached snuff box, date from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. 1 OriginIn use from the 17th century, technically distinct from the cone-shaped candle extinguisher though both are sometimes called snuffers; rendered obsolete in the mid-19th century by self-snuffing wicks that curl out of the flame when charred. 1 Sources
1. Candle Snuffer (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationDescription section, first sentence
Candle snuffers date from the 17th-mid 19th centuries.
Historical usage section
They were rendered obsolete by the invention of self-snuffing wicks, which curl out of the flame when charred.
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.