Dipping Carvings

I originally wanted to test a wood stain on my carvings so that the carved grooves looked deeper when covered with the beeswax.  I have recently learned that staining the carvings with wood stain gives the carving a poor texture for the beeswax to adhere to.  The result is a sloppy looking mush block.  Stain also replaces the smell of the wood and beeswax with the chemical smell of wood stain.



However, if the blocks are simply dipped the result is that the carving appear darker, resulting in the viewer being able to see the tree rings of the wood better.  The smell in combination with the amber color is exciting to me!