Editing Incense (section)

==Production==
{{Refimprove section|date=December 2010}}
[[File:Incense in Vietnam.jpg|thumb|Incense production in [[Hanoi]], Vietnam]]
[[File:IncenseTraVinh.jpg|thumb|upright|Drying cored stick incense, [[Vietnam]]]]

The raw materials are powdered and then mixed together with a binder to form a paste, which, for direct burning incense, is then cut and dried into pellets.

[[File:Raw Charcoal Incense Sticks.jpg|thumb|Raw charcoal incense sticks]]
Certain proportions are necessary for direct-burning incense:
*Oil content: an excess of oils may prevent incense from smoldering effectively.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}} Resinous materials such as [[myrrh]] and [[frankincense]] are typically balanced with "dry" materials such as wood, bark and leaf powders.
*Oxidizer quantity: Too little oxidizer in gum-bound incense may prevent the incense from igniting, while too much will cause the incense to burn too quickly, without producing fragrant smoke.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}}
*Binder: Water-soluble binders such as "makko" ensure that the incense mixture does not crumble when dry, dilute the mixture.<ref name="DO" />
*Mixture density: Incense mixtures made with natural binders must not be combined with too much water in mixing, or over-compressed while being formed, which would result in either uneven air distribution or undesirable density in the mixture, causing the incense to burn unevenly, too slowly, or too quickly.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}}
*Particulate size: The incense mixture has to be well pulverized with similarly sized particulates. Uneven and large particulates result in uneven burning and inconsistent aroma production when burned.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}}

[[File:Smouldering incense sticks.jpg|thumb|upright|Some incense sticks are uneven in thickness.|alt=]]

"Dipped" or "hand-dipped" direct-burning incense is created by dipping "incense blanks" made of unscented combustible dust into any suitable kind of essential or fragrance oil. These are often sold in the United States by [[flea markets|flea-market]] and sidewalk vendors who have developed their own styles. This form of incense requires the least skill and equipment to manufacture, since the blanks are pre-formed in China or South East Asia.

Incense mixtures can be extruded or pressed into shapes. Small quantities of water are combined with the fragrance and incense base mixture and kneaded into a hard [[dough]]. The incense dough is then pressed into shaped forms to create ''cone'' and smaller ''coiled'' incense, or forced through a [[hydraulic]] press for ''solid stick'' incense. The formed incense is then trimmed and slowly dried. Incense produced in this fashion has a tendency to warp or become misshapen when improperly dried, and as such must be placed in climate-controlled rooms and rotated several times through the drying process.

Traditionally, the bamboo core of cored stick incense is prepared by hand from ''Phyllostachys heterocycla cv. pubescens'' since this species produces thick wood and easily burns to ashes in the incense stick.<ref name="cky">{{citation |first=Ka-Yan(家恩) |last=Chen(陳) |title=Joss Stick Manufacturing: A Study of a Traditional Industry in Hong Kong |publisher=sunzi1.lib.hku.hk |url=http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/44/4401661.pdf |access-date=2022-12-31 |archive-date=2011-06-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612124204/http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/44/4401661.pdf |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> In a process known as "splitting the foot of the incense stick", the bamboo is trimmed to length, soaked, peeled, and split in halves until the thin sticks of bamboo have square cross sections of less than 3mm.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0yGfRLQVp0 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/N0yGfRLQVp0| archive-date=2021-11-07 | url-status=live|title=雲霄古道／溫蕉厝的剖香腳 |publisher=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2016-07-20}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="cyj">{{citation |last=陳 |first=永順 |title=失落百年 「剖香腳」技藝重現 |journal=聯合報 |date=2010-03-07}}</ref> This process has been largely replaced by machines in modern incense production.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAyuOSgB0AM | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729113550/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAyuOSgB0AM| archive-date=2013-07-29 | url-status=dead|title=YouTube |publisher=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2016-07-20}}</ref>

In the case of cored incensed sticks, several methods are employed to coat the sticks cores with incense mixture:
*''Paste rolling'': A wet, malleable paste of incense mixture is first rolled into a long, thin coil, using a paddle. Then, a thin stick is put next to the coil and the stick and paste are rolled together until the stick is centered in the mixture and the desired thickness is achieved. The stick is then cut to the desired length and dried.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqI-i1E6Sxc | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/QqI-i1E6Sxc| archive-date=2021-11-07 | url-status=live|title=Making Incense |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=2006-12-18 |access-date=2016-07-20}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
*''Powder-coating'': Powder-coating is used mainly to produce cored incense of either larger ''coil'' (up to {{convert|1|m}} in diameter) or ''cored stick'' forms. A bundle of the supporting material (typically thin bamboo or sandalwood slivers) is soaked in water or a thin water/glue mixture for a short time. The thin sticks are evenly separated, then dipped into a tray of incense powder consisting of fragrance materials and occasionally a plant-based binder. The dry incense powder is then tossed and piled over the sticks while they are spread apart. The sticks are then gently rolled and packed to maintain roundness while more incense powder is repeatedly tossed onto the sticks. Three to four layers of powder are coated onto the sticks, forming a {{convert|2|mm}} thick layer of incense material on the stick. The coated incense is then allowed to dry in open air. Additional coatings of incense mixture can be applied after each period of successive drying. [[Incense stick]]s produced in this fashion and burned in [[temple]]s of [[Chinese folk religion]] can have a thickness between 2 and 4 millimeters.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-hlV3A-08U |title=台灣宏觀電視TMACTV 代代相傳 新港香 |publisher=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2016-07-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peSYFWMl7s8 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/peSYFWMl7s8| archive-date=2021-11-07 | url-status=live|title=製香過程 |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=2009-07-20 |access-date=2016-07-20}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
*''Compression'': A damp powder is mechanically formed around a cored stick by compression, similar to the way uncored sticks are formed. This form is becoming more common due to the higher labor cost of producing powder-coated or paste-rolled sticks.

===Orthodox Christian===
Incense of the [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox Christian]] monastic tradition on [[Mount Athos]] is made by powdering frankincense or [[fir]] resin, mixing it with essential oils. Floral fragrances are the most common, but citrus such as lemon is not uncommon. The incense mixture is then rolled out into a slab approximately {{convert|1|cm}} thick and left until the slab has firmed. It is then cut into small cubes, coated with clay powder to prevent adhesion, and allowed to fully harden and dry.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://orthodoxincense.com/domesticincense.html |title=Incense - United States |publisher=Orthodox Incense |date=2013-08-12 |access-date=2016-07-20}}</ref> In Greece this rolled incense resin is called 'Moskolibano', and generally comes in either a pink or green colour denoting the fragrance, with pink being rose and green being jasmine.