Black Brass Cone Incense Burner, 2 1/4 Inches

Raised on three feet. The body stands clear of the surface beneath it, which is the single most useful thing a cone burner can do. Heat still transfers, so a heat-safe surface is still needed, but the gap makes a real difference.

Star cut-outs through the sides. These are not only decorative. They let air reach the cone so it burns evenly rather than smoldering out, and they give the smoke somewhere to go besides straight up.

Small enough to disappear. Two and a quarter inches means it fits in the gaps between everything else on an altar, tucks into a travel kit, and sits on a windowsill without dominating it.

• Size: approximately 2 1/4 inches
• Material: brass with a black finish
• Design: three-footed base, star-shaped cut-outs through the sides, single opening at the top
• Intended for incense cones
• Brass conducts heat readily. Always place on a heat-safe surface, and allow it to cool fully before handling or moving it.
• Care: wipe out cooled ash with a dry cloth or soft brush. The finish will mellow with use and heat, which is normal.

Burning aromatic material as an offering, a marker of sacred time, or a way of changing the feel of a room is about as widespread a practice as exists. It appears independently across a great many traditions, which is worth saying plainly: no single lineage owns it, and this burner is not tied to any one of them.

What a burner contributes is structure. Lighting something and waiting for it to finish gives a working a beginning, a middle, and an end, and that shape does a lot of quiet work. Many practitioners find the pause while the cone burns down is the part that actually matters.

Choose your incense for the working rather than choosing it for this burner. The tool is deliberately neutral. What you put in it is where the intention lives.

1. Set the burner on a heat-safe surface with clear space around it and nothing hanging above it. A tile, a stone slab, or a dedicated altar plate all work.
2. Place a single incense cone in the opening at the top, point upward, and light the tip. Let the flame catch, then blow it out so the cone glows rather than burns.
3. Let it work. Resist the urge to move the burner while it is lit; the brass will already be hot.
4. When the cone has burned out, leave the burner to cool completely before you touch it.
5. Tip out the cooled ash and wipe the interior dry. Some practitioners keep the ash for their own purposes rather than discarding it.

• Brass Cone Incense Burner, 2 1/4 in: the same form in unfinished brass, if you would rather have the bright metal than the dark.
• Brass Cone and Resin Incense Burner, 3 in: a slightly larger vessel that takes loose resin as well as cones.
• Peruvian Incense Burner for Stick and Cone: worth having alongside this one if you switch between formats.
• Pentacle Altar Tile, 2 3/4 in: a metal surface to stand the burner on, which solves the heat-safe question neatly.
• Blessed Holy Water, 4 oz: for practitioners who work smoke and water together in the same cleansing.

Does the burner get hot underneath?

Yes. The three feet raise it and help considerably, but brass conducts heat and the base will still warm the surface below. Use a tile, trivet, or altar plate underneath rather than setting it directly on wood, cloth, or anything painted.

Will it take incense sticks as well as cones?

Not really. The single top opening is sized and shaped for cones, and there is no channel or hole to seat a stick securely. If you burn both formats, a combination burner is the better buy and we stock several.

Can I burn loose resin or herbs in it?

We would not recommend it. Resin needs a charcoal disc and a bed of sand or ash, and this burner is too small to hold either safely. Use a wider bowl-style burner for resin work.

Will the black finish come off?

It may soften and mellow around the opening where heat is most concentrated, especially with regular use. That is expected on a finished brass burner rather than a fault, and most people find it looks better with a bit of age on it.

How do I clean out the ash?

Wait until it is fully cool, tip out what will come loose, then wipe the inside with a dry cloth or a soft dry brush. Avoid soaking it, as water sitting in the seams does the finish no favors.