Hi. My digital camera is a cheapo junker and does not do close-up pictures. I will try to get a pic, but can't promise anything.
The wick just lays right down in the bowl and runs up to just above the end. Then you put your "cooking grease" (or olive or veg oil) into the bowl. The oil/grease then soaks into the wick. When you light the end, the "heat" from the burning end helps melt and liquify the grease/oil so that it will flow up the wick to the burning flame on the end.
In the converted spoons, I used about 1 inch cut off of a strand of a cotton mop. I laid it down into the spoon bowl, and poured Crisco corn/veg oil in. It did take a bit to get the end of the wick burning - a whole stick match (or two). Once it was burning, I used a metal pick to move the wick up/down a bit in the end of the spoon bowl until it was burning well. It will only burn where the wick is above the level of the oil/grease. So you also have to check the wick kind of often, and adjust it as necessary. One "bowl full" of oil/grease lasted around 20 to 25 minutes.
The main advantage of using a grease lamp is to use up leftover grease from cooking to get light. Otherwise you had to process that leftover cooking grease and turn it into tallow candles. That's a lot more work - straining out the gunk, clarifying the grease, and then dipping the candles. And tallow (grease/fat) candles take a lot more "dipping" to build up to using size than when using wax. Plus those tallow candles are susceptible to melting if they get too hot - as in a hot summer day or being left out in the sun. You can easily end up with a puddle of grease/tallow instead of a candle.
So the wick just lies down in the bowl from the deepest part, and runs up to just past the end of the "point" of the bowl. Simple technology from a much earlier time period.
Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
The wick just lays right down in the bowl and runs up to just above the end. Then you put your "cooking grease" (or olive or veg oil) into the bowl. The oil/grease then soaks into the wick. When you light the end, the "heat" from the burning end helps melt and liquify the grease/oil so that it will flow up the wick to the burning flame on the end.
In the converted spoons, I used about 1 inch cut off of a strand of a cotton mop. I laid it down into the spoon bowl, and poured Crisco corn/veg oil in. It did take a bit to get the end of the wick burning - a whole stick match (or two). Once it was burning, I used a metal pick to move the wick up/down a bit in the end of the spoon bowl until it was burning well. It will only burn where the wick is above the level of the oil/grease. So you also have to check the wick kind of often, and adjust it as necessary. One "bowl full" of oil/grease lasted around 20 to 25 minutes.
The main advantage of using a grease lamp is to use up leftover grease from cooking to get light. Otherwise you had to process that leftover cooking grease and turn it into tallow candles. That's a lot more work - straining out the gunk, clarifying the grease, and then dipping the candles. And tallow (grease/fat) candles take a lot more "dipping" to build up to using size than when using wax. Plus those tallow candles are susceptible to melting if they get too hot - as in a hot summer day or being left out in the sun. You can easily end up with a puddle of grease/tallow instead of a candle.
So the wick just lies down in the bowl from the deepest part, and runs up to just past the end of the "point" of the bowl. Simple technology from a much earlier time period.
Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands