Learn about shaved candlesticks, the one-sided wick patterns. This lesson helps you identify hammers and shooting stars and trade them with a safe process.
Mark · Trader & Founder, Social Forex
What Is a Shaved Candle?
A shaved candlestick is a candle whose body sits at one end of the trading range, so the visible wick appears mainly on the other side. This is why these candles are also called one-sided wick patterns.
Bullish shaved candle: long lower wick, small body near the high, and little or no upper wick. It shows that sellers pushed price down but buyers quickly pushed it back up.
Bearish shaved candle: long upper wick, small body near the low, and little or no lower wick. It shows that buyers tried to push price higher but sellers took control again.
How to Identify
To identify a shaved candle, check these three conditions:
The wick appears on only one side; the other side has no wick or a very tiny one.
The body is small and sits at the top or bottom of the session range.
The visible wick should be at least 2 times the size of the body to be considered meaningful.
The first classic pattern is the hammer. A hammer has a small body near the high, a long lower wick, and usually no upper wick. It appears after a downtrend and signals that buyers are stepping back in.
The second classic pattern is the shooting star. A shooting star has a small body near the low, a long upper wick, and usually no lower wick. It appears after an uptrend and signals that sellers are taking over.
How to Trade
Do not enter immediately just because you see a shaved candle. Use a simple and safe process:
Step 1: Identify an important price zone. Look for a hammer at support after a downtrend, or a shooting star at resistance after an uptrend.
Step 2: Wait for confirmation. After a hammer, wait for a bullish candle to close above the hammer's body. After a shooting star, wait for a bearish candle to close below the shooting star's body.
Step 3: Enter in the direction of the signal. Buy after a hammer and place your stop loss below the lower wick. Sell after a shooting star and place your stop loss above the upper wick.
Step 4: Plan your target. Take profit at the nearest support or resistance, or look for a reward/risk ratio of at least 1:2.
Real Example
Imagine gold XAU/USD is falling into a support zone at 1.895. A hammer appears: the lower wick reaches 1.890 and the small body closes around 1.897. The next candle closes above 1.897, so you buy with a stop loss below the wick at 1.890. Price then rises to 1.925, allowing you to take profit of 28 USD while risking only 7 USD. That is a reward/risk ratio of about 4:1.
Common Mistakes
Entering right after seeing a shaved candle without waiting for confirmation, which often leads to getting stopped out by noise.
Ignoring the context. A hammer in the middle of a sideways range is less reliable than a hammer at support after a downtrend.
Placing the stop loss too close to the body instead of below/above the wick.
Assuming every one-sided wick is a reversal signal. In reality, you need to combine the pattern with the price zone, the trend, and a confirmation candle to improve your odds.
Content is for reference only, not investment advice. Forex trading carries high risk.
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