When choosing a stick incense burner the most important things to consider is if the burner will catch all the ash so as to avoid a mess and potential fire hazard, if it will hold the stick safely to avoid burns or fire, and if it is properly ventilated to keep the incense stick burning and producing a nice steady stream of smoke. Most stick incense burners are open air but some, such as glass bottles and incense towers, may completely enclose the incense stick. When choosing one of these enclosed types of incense burner, make sure there are enough holes to let air in and let the smoke out.
Stick incense burners can hold the stick completely horizontally, completely vertically, or anything in between. It does not really matter what angle the stick burns at as long as the burner can hold the stick safely, catch all the ash, and provide enough air flow for complete burning. Because stick incense is the most popular form of incense, there is a huge variety of styles and designs for stick incense burners.
The most common stick holder is known as a “boat”. Though some do actually have sides that curve up to resemble a boat, most incense “boats” are long, flat pieces that curve up at one end with a hole in the raised end for inserting the uncoated end of the bamboo stick. These incense boats, or “ash catchers”, usually hold the incense stick horizontally but may also hold it at nearly a 45 degree angle. They are typically made of wood but may also be made of bone, ceramic, glass, and stone. Many of the wooden incense boats also have a box underneath that can be used to store incense sticks. The higher quality wooden incense boats will have a brass inlay where the ash falls, and the boats made of other materials can be very ornate and are usually hand painted. You can also buy unpainted incense boats that you can paint yourself if you want to add your own artistic flare to your stick incense burner. There is a seemingly infinite variety of designs for non-wooden incense boats with dragons, crosses, and skulls being some of the more popular design elements.
If you prefer to burn your incense sticks vertically or near vertically, you can use an incense dish or bowl or even the ground. An incense dish will hold the incense stick straight up or at some angle and is usually made of ceramic or stone. Incense dishes and trays typically only have one or two holes and, therefore, can only be used to burn one or two incense sticks at a time. Some incense dishes and trays may have up to five or even more holes though. If you want to burn a whole bunch of sticks at once, however, an incense pot or bowl can burn as many sticks as you can safely fit. The pot or bowl is filled with sand or ash into which the uncoated bamboo end of the sticks are inserted.
Another category of incense stick burner is called “trees”. These holders are usually wooden or stone with a series of holes drilled into the top to which the incense sticks are inserted nearly vertically. They hold several sticks at once and take up less space than incense boats, while allowing for burning multiple sticks at once. This style of burner can be hard to find, however, so if you want to burn several sticks at once without investing in a large pot or bowl and all the sand or ash, your best bet is an incense dish or tray with multiple holes.
Incense bottles and towers take up even less space than trees and can be very decorative and fancy. Incense bottles are made of glass and have just a few small holes drilled into them. The usually just look like a regular drinking bottle that is decorative but can also come in all sorts of shapes and designs, such as a large glass heart. Incence towers are usually made of soapstone and usually have lots of openings for ventilation. These can be very ornate and stylish such as the ones below:
Note: Spaghetti sticks and cylinders burn completely so they cannot be used in wooden incense boats.
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