# Tallow ho!



## DirtyKnuckles (Jan 30, 2019)

My last batch of soap lasted ever so much longer since I became parsimonious about giving it away to anyone crossing my path (I strongly suspect much of what I gave away from batches one and two got set aside as curiosities and went unused).  Consequently, my memory was a little hazy on a few details.  I walked myself through the process a few times in my mind, then ran actual numbers through Brambleberry's soap calculator in preparation to doing the deed.

Here is the recipe in it's glorious simplicity:
1175 grams pure deer tallow
152 grams Rooto brand sodium hydroxide drain cleaner
540 grams water

I melted the rendered fat on the stove top slowly. I went outside and gently mixed the lye crystals into the water .....and that is where the first wheel fell off the wagon!  I forgot to use distilled water. I used good old Rapid City, SD tap water.  "Oh well, too late, moving on!" I said to myself.  When the lye solution clarified, I stopped stirring and carefully carried it back into the house.  Fortunately, I made it to the counter top without spilling before the safety glasses utterly fogged up. It was a balmy 11 degrees F outside.

I had run a sink full of cool water as a safety precaution, thinking any body part getting accidentally splashed with caustic can be immediately plunged into water.  I checked the temp of the lye solution and it was at 125F. The rendered tallow was 148F.  I moved the stainless steel bowl of tallow to the sink of water and stirred constantly as I watched the thermometer drop.  The cool water bath brought the tallow down to 120F and we were off to the races!

Slowly and easily, I gently introduced the lye solution to the fat, stirring gently, but insistently.  The stainless steel mixing bowl from the lye went into the sink and I ran cold water over it with one hand while stirring the mix with the other. Wheel number two then gently rolled past me when I spotted the new pair of bright yellow rubber gloves lying there on the counter.  You know, it really isn't safety equipment if it is unused! I paused with chagrin and put them on.

Twenty-one interminable minutes of stirring before I saw a hint of trace. I slid the mold over closer in anticipation. Soon I had a nice, thick trace that would take 20 seconds to disappear and I felt it was time to pour the very first batch in the brand new white plastic mold I had bought this morning.  It poured in and settled fine, but I had a fair bit left in the mixing bowl. So I reached for a cheap-o plastic leftovers tub to take the last....well, hello there Wheel Number Three, I see you have come off right on time. The batch in the mixing bowl was kinda ricing and there was clear fluid pooling!

Drat, I thought to myself, while my mouth spewed an actual string of foul non-family friendly epithets. I upended the mold's contents back into the stainless steel mixing bowl, and reached for a wire whisk.  I began laying the cat-o-nine-tails to that batch like I was putting down a shipboard mutiny.  But it was cooling and getting lumpy faster than I was beating.  I turned on the burner on the stove down low, slid the bowl over the heat source and kept flailing like a windmill in a tornado.  I cackled and cried "Auntie Em! Auntie Em!" for some unknown reason. I have no idea why The Wizard of Oz popped in my head during such a serious soaping incident, but there you are.

Moments later the batch began to liquefy again and I was back to a soft trace.  I breathed a sigh of relief and shifted to a slower stirring pace. Once I hit that firmer trace it was back into the mold again. As I was pouring the last of the batch into the plastic tub I saw a little separation again with the clear fluid. Less this time. By now, I had been stirring for a continuous 35 minutes and my right arm looked like I was Popeye at an all you can eat spinach buffet while the left had withered away to a stick. I was done. It will be what it will be.

Several hours later, I popped the mold apart to remove and slice up the soap.  The soap did not release from the mold very well and there were quite a few bits sticking to the slick white plastic.  Pretty doesn't matter to me and I will survive somehow with uneven edges. But should I have used a mold release compound? Or waited longer?

Comments? Observations? Random thoughts?


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## Steve85569 (Jan 31, 2019)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> The soap did not release from the mold very well and there were quite a few bits sticking to the slick white plastic


That's where using freezer paper to line the mold comes in. Mine still aren't real purdy but they release easier. 

Two words.
Stick.
Blender.
Saves lots of time and worry. I'd been making soap for nearly a year before someone here reminded me that they can also be used for - get this - food.


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## KiwiMoose (Jan 31, 2019)

Dunno about the soap but you have a great writing career ahead of you 
Thoroughly enjoyable!


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## CaraBou (Jan 31, 2019)

Great adventure!  That's one way to learn.

Lowering your water will help you more quickly achieve trace and release from the mold. You appear to have used about 3.5 parts water to 1 part NaOH.  Consider dropping that to 3:1 or even 2:1.

Stay warm, Coyote State!


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## Ladka (Jan 31, 2019)

You're a talented writer, I enjoyed your report! Only I don't know how you managed it to the end with only one wheel left 

And I also think you used too much water. So have I, and had to whisk and stick-blend for very long when I used only oils, not tallow.


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## Dawni (Jan 31, 2019)

Are you gonna show us your one-wheeled wagon soap?

I have no advice but I'm here to say I loved reading that haha

Oh but also, maybe you unmolded too soon?


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## KiwiMoose (Jan 31, 2019)




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## DirtyKnuckles (Jan 31, 2019)

CaraBou said:


> Great adventure!  That's one way to learn.
> 
> Lowering your water will help you more quickly achieve trace and release from the mold. You appear to have used about 3.5 parts water to 1 part NaOH.  Consider dropping that to 3:1 or even 2:1.
> 
> Stay warm, Coyote State!



Until I have an excellent grasp of "the rules" and why they are "the rules", I try not to break them. In this case, that is what the soap calculator said to use. Several others have also suggested less water, so I am gonna take this advice to heart, though considering the sieve-like state of my memory, perhaps I should take it to pen and paper in a notebook labeled "Soap Making Adventures; or My Vain Attempt to Keep the Wheels From Coming Off". 



Ladka said:


> You're a talented writer, I enjoyed your report! Only I don't know how you managed it to the end with only one wheel left



Well, you will just have to imagine me rolling about the kitchen on a unicycle, knocking things over, pots and pans crashing, two dogs huddled under the kitchen table vacillating between hope for scraps and dreading the taste based on what they are smelling.


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## Donee' (Jan 31, 2019)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> Until I have an excellent grasp of "the rules" and why they are "the rules", I try not to break them. In this case, that is what the soap calculator said to use. Several others have also suggested less water, so I am gonna take this advice to heart, though considering the sieve-like state of my memory, perhaps I should take it to pen and paper in a notebook labeled "Soap Making Adventures; or My Vain Attempt to Keep the Wheels From Coming Off".
> 
> 
> 
> Well, you will just have to imagine me rolling about the kitchen on a unicycle, knocking things over, pots and pans crashing, two dogs huddled under the kitchen table vacillating between hope for scraps and dreading the taste based on what they are smelling.


love love LOVE your writing

Go dump your stuff into soapcalc.net - will tell you exactly what to use


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## Dawni (Jan 31, 2019)

There's good explanations regarding water in the forum... If you do a search you'll find lots, including how much water used is dependent on recipe, how "% of liquid" isn't the right choice, etc..


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## Donee' (Jan 31, 2019)

But I must say that since I started use medicinal and lard soap I (and the twenty something people I have handed out samples to) have had no need to use moisturiser.
I am a carnivore and I believe that it is most respectful to use the animal from head to tail.


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## DirtyKnuckles (Jan 31, 2019)

Here it curing in the basement. Again, I am pleased with how paper white it has turned out. 

Donee,  same here. I make every possible use of the game I hunt and practice the most ethical means to do so. Recently, I switched to Non-Lead ammunition so that the offal left in the field contains NO traces of lead. Raptors have virtually no resistance to lead poisoning and I will not contribute to unnecessary deaths.


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## Donee' (Jan 31, 2019)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> View attachment 35714


oh yes yes yes
that is beautiful 
Looks firm enough and you will loooove it.


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## DirtyKnuckles (Jan 31, 2019)

Careful how you say that! My mind is dirtier than my knuckles!


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## Susie (Jan 31, 2019)

I think you got false trace the first time.  That is when your fat cools off and starts re-hardening before it interacts with the lye because it is taking too long to get trace.  You never said if you used a fragrance.  Ricing typically occurs with the reaction of fragrance to the oil/lye mixture.  Not just oil + lye.  A stick blender will eliminate that.

LOVED your story!


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## cmzaha (Jan 31, 2019)

I totally agree with Susie that you experienced false trace. First mistake was trying to get to trace while cooling off your batter in cold water while whisking, especially when working with tallows, hard butters, lard etc. They will start to thicken up due to the cooling and you will think you have trace, but you do not. It is a learning curve. If you had continued stirring your batter would have heated up and thinned back out.

Using a stick blender will help tremendously, unless trying to make a floating soap, it is best not to use a wire whisk, which incorporates air into your soap batter. A lot of the trick is know how your batter behaves and you now know with your deer tallow. My go to recipes contain around 40% hard oils such as my tallow/lard soap or high palm. They will always go into false trace when I dump in my room temp lye solution, and take a few minutes of off and on stick blending before the batter warms back up and thins out. I will mention here I do not pour my fragrances into the oils before adding in my lye. If I tweak my recipe at all, which I am certainly known to do, I want to know how the batter is going to behave.


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## KiwiMoose (Jan 31, 2019)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> View attachment 35714
> 
> 
> Here it curing in the basement. Again, I am pleased with how paper white it has turned out.
> ...


Wow!  So very white!


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## Meena (Jan 31, 2019)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> My last batch of soap lasted ever so much longer since I became parsimonious about giving it away to anyone crossing my path (I strongly suspect much of what I gave away from batches one and two got set aside as curiosities and went unused).  Consequently, my memory was a little hazy on a few details.  I walked myself through the process a few times in my mind, then ran actual numbers through Brambleberry's soap calculator in preparation to doing the deed.
> 
> Here is the recipe in it's glorious simplicity:
> 1175 grams pure deer tallow
> ...



Don't want to sound unsympathetic, but this was a great piece of writing!!  I snickered and chuckled my way through it, all the while admiring your "fresh turns of phrase," as writers all strive for!

Did I understand correctly that this was your first-ever soap batch?


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## DirtyKnuckles (Jan 31, 2019)

It was my third or possibly fourth. 

I will probably stick with tallow based soaps because this is about an ethical use of every part of the animal that I can.


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## Dawni (Jan 31, 2019)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> Careful how you say that! My mind is dirtier than my knuckles!



Lol found another one for the team @Chris_S and @Zing!

Don't worry @DirtyKnuckles ours aren't as clean as those soaps of yours either  They seem to be OK now, are you happy with the results?

If I could find any form of tallow ill probably use it. I've heard it makes lovely soap but I think the people here take ethical up a notch and eat up the whole animal including the fat lol so I'm unable to purchase by tallow, and don't have the time (yet) nor the patience to render myself. 

Plus we don't eat that much red meat...

Excited to see your future soaps!


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## Chris_S (Jan 31, 2019)

cmzaha said:


> I totally agree with Susie that you experienced false trace. First mistake was trying to get to trace while cooling off your batter in cold water while whisking, especially when working with tallows, hard butters, lard etc. They will start to thicken up due to the cooling and you will think you have trace, but you do not. It is a learning curve. If you had continued stirring your batter would have heated up and thinned back out.
> 
> Using a stick blender will help tremendously, unless trying to make a floating soap, it is best not to use a wire whisk, which incorporates air into your soap batter. A lot of the trick is know how your batter behaves and you now know with your deer tallow. My go to recipes contain around 40% hard oils such as my tallow/lard soap or high palm. They will always go into false trace when I dump in my room temp lye solution, and take a few minutes of off and on stick blending before the batter warms back up and thins out. I will mention here I do not pour my fragrances into the oils before adding in my lye. If I tweak my recipe at all, which I am certainly known to do, I want to know how the batter is going to behave.



Am i understanding correctly that if im working with cold batter iv hit false trace? and all i need to do is stir and sb occasionally until its got warm and thin again? what happens if its not false trace but i think it is it will just continue to get thicker and thicker?


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## DirtyKnuckles (Jan 31, 2019)

I will let these bars age for a month and get back to you on what I think of them at that point.  They look just fine to me, at this point. They smell completely normal. And they feel "soapy" (wow, really?) on the surface. 

So. I got that going for me.


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## Meena (Feb 1, 2019)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> It was my third or possibly fourth.
> 
> I will probably stick with tallow based soaps because this is about an ethical use of every part of the animal that I can.



I really applaud that.  Life is sacred, and taking a life should be done with reverence, respect, and appreciation for the animal's sacrifice on our behalf.  Nose-to-tail is a great ethic to follow.


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## Steve85569 (Feb 1, 2019)

Another Lardinator!
Welcome to the forum!

Your soap turned out very nice looking.
Less water and a stick blender will help the tallow and alkali become soap faster. Makes soaping much easier.


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## DirtyKnuckles (Feb 1, 2019)

Meena said:


> I really applaud that.  Life is sacred, and taking a life should be done with reverence, respect, and appreciation for the animal's sacrifice on our behalf.  Nose-to-tail is a great ethic to follow.



Oh, Meena. You don't know the half of it.  My work carries a particular burden regarding death that I can only hope to lay down some day.  There is a struggle to remember that reverence, respect, appreciation, and maintain my humanity. 

On a brighter note, the soap passed the zap test this morning.  If anything, it is even WHITER today. 

One question, though....what differences can I expect to find in the final product since I used hard tap water instead of distilled?  Or is it just something I would see in the processing?


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## Steve85569 (Feb 1, 2019)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> One question, though....what differences can I expect to find in the final product since I used hard tap water instead of distilled? Or is it just something I would see in the processing?



As long as you don't have metals dissolved in your water it should be okay.
( Watch for DOS)
Minerals can reduce lather and also create soap scum. Using a chelator  like EDTA or Sodium citrate helps with that.


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## DirtyKnuckles (Feb 1, 2019)

Steve85569 said:


> Minerals can reduce lather and also create soap scum. Using a chelator  like EDTA or Sodium citrate helps with that.



Ok, minerals reduce lather, create scum. Gotcha.  Simplicity is my watchword, so I will just work on remembering to use the distilled water so I can not have to worry about adding other compounds to the ingredients list.  Gotcha. Thanks Steve.


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## Donee' (Feb 2, 2019)

you should sell your soaps.  tidy them up a bit with a peeler on the corners. Chuck some carboard around them and a ribbon and away you go - perhaps approach some delis or butchers (that is my thinking).



DirtyKnuckles said:


> Until I have an excellent grasp of "the rules" and why they are "the rules", I try not to break them. In this case, that is what the soap calculator said to use. Several others have also suggested less water, so I am gonna take this advice to heart, though considering the sieve-like state of my memory, perhaps I should take it to pen and paper in a notebook labeled "Soap Making Adventures; or My Vain Attempt to Keep the Wheels From Coming Off".
> 
> 
> 
> Well, you will just have to imagine me rolling about the kitchen on a unicycle, knocking things over, pots and pans crashing, two dogs huddled under the kitchen table vacillating between hope for scraps and dreading the taste based on what they are smelling.



Just keep it simple KISS works well (there goes your gutter mind again i know)
To many people get all to involved in oil combinations and scents and swirling - the more simple your soap the better.
I make medicinal soap and am going to be in pharmacies (yes - even educated pharmacists understand that soap is not just for cleaning) hopefully by end of Feb this year so I am working like a banshee on LSD trying to get enough stock.
The great thing about a simple soap is that you will be able to add anything you like - just keep the "adds" to about 2% of weight of soap.

I have just had a bath with my lard soap and I feel soft and silky - I always add in poppy seeds for home soap - for exfoliation and conditioning.
Sell. Sell. Sell i say
The sooner the better


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## Susie (Feb 2, 2019)

Donee' said:


> Just keep it simple KISS works well (there goes your gutter mind again i know)
> To many people get all to involved in oil combinations and scents and swirling - the more simple your soap the better.
> I make medicinal soap and am going to be in pharmacies (yes - even educated pharmacists understand that soap is not just for cleaning) hopefully by end of Feb this year so I am working like a banshee on LSD trying to get enough stock.
> The great thing about a simple soap is that you will be able to add anything you like - just keep the "adds" to about 2% of weight of soap.
> ...



I really can't tell if you are acting like a troll or if you are serious. 

People selling when they have very little experience is bad for everyone.  Once someone has bad handmade soap, they are reluctant to use it again, much less buy it.  And I am really glad you live in a different country than me.


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## Jill B Blasius (Feb 2, 2019)

Loved your story... very pretty soap and great practice of using _all_ of a harvested animal.

A suggestion - take the plastic wrap off the bottom of the box and just use the box.


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## Misschief (Feb 2, 2019)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> One question, though....what differences can I expect to find in the final product since I used hard tap water instead of distilled?  Or is it just something I would see in the processing?



Until earlier this year, all I used was tap water. I now use distilled water. I ca.n't say that I've noticed any difference whatsoever. We have soft water here. Whether that makes a difference or not, I couldn't say.


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## Chris_S (Feb 2, 2019)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> Oh, Meena. You don't know the half of it.  My work carries a particular burden regarding death that I can only hope to lay down some day.  There is a struggle to remember that reverence, respect, appreciation, and maintain my humanity.
> 
> On a brighter note, the soap passed the zap test this morning.  If anything, it is even WHITER today.
> 
> One question, though....what differences can I expect to find in the final product since I used hard tap water instead of distilled?  Or is it just something I would see in the processing?



You arnt a cannabal are you?


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## LionLady (Feb 2, 2019)

I work in a grocery that has a butcher counter. I just brought home 12+ pounds of ground grass fed beef fat trimmings, that would have otherwise been thrown out. I rendered it out to about 4 lbs of meat (would be great for dogs, I suppose, my cats thought it was okay), and a bit over 8 lbs of creamy white tallow. I'm about to make some laundry bars with a bunch of it.


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## Meena (Feb 2, 2019)

LionLady said:


> I work in a grocery that has a butcher counter. I just brought home 12+ pounds of ground grass fed beef fat trimmings, that would have otherwise been thrown out. I rendered it out to about 4 lbs of meat (would be great for dogs, I suppose, my cats thought it was okay), and a bit over 8 lbs of creamy white tallow. I'm about to make some laundry bars with a bunch of it.



What a fantastic score!!  I don't want to tell you what one miserable 11 oz jar of grass-fed beef tallow costs in Denver!  I need to get a job at Whole Foods and make friends with the butchers.


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## cmzaha (Feb 2, 2019)

Susie said:


> I really can't tell if you are acting like a troll or if you are serious.
> 
> People selling when they have very little experience is bad for everyone.  Once someone has bad handmade soap, they are reluctant to use it again, much less buy it.  And I am really glad you live in a different country than me.


Susie said it very well and I totally agree with her. 

If your country allows you to claim medicinal properties good for you. You cannot do that in our country and I would not test my insurance by even thinking about making such claims. I have had many potential customers tell me they would never use handmade soap because their experience with it was so bad. Some I was able to convince to try mine some not


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## DirtyKnuckles (Feb 2, 2019)

I am not interested in starting a soap making business. There are already half a dozen in town trying to make their way and struggling.  I am happy to make a little for myself when I need it, hand out a few bars to certain friends that have an affinity for self-reliance and esoteric crafts. It just fits in well with my lifestyle of hunting, gardening, bees, brewing, pickling, canning, cooking from real ingredients. 



Chris_S said:


> You arnt a cannabal are you?


Oh, a little playful nibbling here and there, but that is about the extent of it. I work with wildlife. 



Jill B Blasius said:


> A suggestion - take the plastic wrap off the bottom of the box and just use the box.



I have had my soap become discolored from sitting on cardboard, so I avoid that now. I turn the soap every few days to make sure all sides are getting air flow.  I have never noticed that the plastic is reactive, is there a problem?


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## penelopejane (Feb 2, 2019)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> I have had my soap become discolored from sitting on cardboard, so I avoid that now. I turn the soap every few days to make sure all sides are getting air flow.  I have never noticed that the plastic is reactive, is there a problem?



Sitting your soap on cotton between the cardboard is a good idea because it lets the soap breath. Don't sit your soap on metal shelves or trays.  Timber can also discolour soap so a cotton cloth (old t-towel) is a great idea for most situations.


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## SaltedFig (Feb 3, 2019)

I'm liking the white.

Water (soft or hard) from the tap can be a problem if you have copper pipes or brass taps.
For the same reason - don't handle your non-leads before handling your fresh soap.
The residual copper (on your fingers or in the water from the pipes) can be enough to set off oxidation/cause DOS spots in soap.

(I second @penelopejane's cotton cloth/tea towel suggestion - cotton is resistant to lye and ... washable )


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## DirtyKnuckles (Feb 13, 2019)

Ok, washed up using this batch today.  Virtually NO suds, but it did clean my hands nicely.  I seem to remember the last batch several years ago also included some OO.  I think someone here had told me to try adding OO to increase the sudsing action.  Wondering about rebatching this into a small batch of a castile soap recipe in order to increase the sudsing character or if I should just let it ride.


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## cmzaha (Feb 13, 2019)

Beef Tallow at 100% will not lather either. But adding 25% lard to 40-45% tallow makes a very nice soap, with whatever other oils you prefer


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## penelopejane (Feb 14, 2019)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> Ok, washed up using this batch today.  Virtually NO suds, but it did clean my hands nicely.  I seem to remember the last batch several years ago also included some OO.  I think someone here had told me to try adding OO to increase the sudsing action.  Wondering about rebatching this into a small batch of a castile soap recipe in order to increase the sudsing character or if I should just let it ride.


Rebatching is a nightmare.  I'd avoid it at all costs. 

You could use it as confetti in another batch.  Just great the soap and add it to another batch 1 confetti: 2 parts new batch (roughly).


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## reeeen4 (Feb 14, 2019)

@DirtyKnuckles wow what an adventure! how do you collect and prepare the fat from the game you hunt? my husband has been asking me to make him some soap from Tallow.


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## LionLady (Feb 14, 2019)

For those who do not hunt or have easy access to fat/trimmings, try visiting whatever grocery store in your area has a butcher counter and ask if you can have fat trimmings.

Everything MUST be cleaned up/disposed of in the meat department, on a daily basis, so you'd need to have a plan: Bring a lidded container for the butcher to put what you want into, and agree to pick it up that day or next day, at the latest. My meat guy grinds my trimmings as the last thing through the grinder before he cleans/sanitizes everything for the day. The 12 lb bucketful I took home yielded just over 8 lbs of  tallow and about 4lbs of cooked meat - If I had a dog, it would be heaven!

My tallow-coconut laundry bars: They're a bit crumbly around the edges,  I haven't tried scrubbing with one yet. But they sure are pretty!


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## cmzaha (Feb 14, 2019)

LionLady said:


> For those who do not hunt or have easy access to fat/trimmings, try visiting whatever grocery store in your area has a butcher counter and ask if you can have fat trimmings.
> 
> Everything MUST be cleaned up/disposed of in the meat department, on a daily basis, so you'd need to have a plan: Bring a lidded container for the butcher to put what you want into, and agree to pick it up that day or next day, at the latest.


Sadly that does not work here in So California, all trimmings are send out to rendering houses and they are paid for the trimming. With a lot of begging you might luck out and get 5 or so lbs and will sometimes be charged what they get paid from the rendering house


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## DirtyKnuckles (Feb 14, 2019)

reeeen4 said:


> @DirtyKnuckles wow what an adventure! how do you collect and prepare the fat from the game you hunt? my husband has been asking me to make him some soap from Tallow.



Yes, the tallow I use comes from the deer I have hunted.  I feel a strong ethical call to utilize as much of the animal as is humanly possible. The hide goes to a friend that makes brain-tan leather, the longer sinews are used in making cordage or backings on handmade wood bows, shorter sinew and other connective tissue is mixed with some meat scraps and made into gelatinized dog treats (meat Jello!), liver for a friend that loves it, bones for bone broth, and so on, and so on. Even the "waste" really isn't wasted because it is left to decompose tucked away in the forest where it rejoins the carbon cycle.


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## cmzaha (Feb 14, 2019)

Nice, I hate waste...


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## Rhoda Ann Banta (Feb 15, 2019)

reeeen4 said:


> @DirtyKnuckles wow what an adventure! how do you collect and prepare the fat from the game you hunt? my husband has been asking me to make him some soap from Tallow.


I believe the website is soap mama there is instructions there on how to collect and make tallow I did it with bacon fat and I absolutely love it is a process and it does take a lot of time or Soap Queen also has a post on how to render tallow. I'm pretty hooked on it as of now I don't think I'll use anything else to harden my soap.


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## Jackie Tobey (Feb 20, 2019)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> Ok, minerals reduce lather, create scum. Gotcha.  Simplicity is my watchword, so I will just work on remembering to use the distilled water so I can not have to worry about adding other compounds to the ingredients list.  Gotcha. Thanks Steve.


Rainwater should work well too.


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## Susie (Jan 30, 2020)

Rhoda Ann Banta said:


> I believe the website is soap mama there is instructions there on how to collect and make tallow I did it with bacon fat and I absolutely love it is a process and it does take a lot of time or Soap Queen also has a post on how to render tallow. I'm pretty hooked on it as of now I don't think I'll use anything else to harden my soap.



Bacon fat=lard.


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## Relle (Jan 30, 2020)

Susie said:


> Bacon fat=lard.


Susie, this person hasn't been here for 9 months.


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## Doris Ann (Feb 2, 2020)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> My last batch of soap lasted ever so much longer since I became parsimonious about giving it away to anyone crossing my path (I strongly suspect much of what I gave away from batches one and two got set aside as curiosities and went unused).  Consequently, my memory was a little hazy on a few details.  I walked myself through the process a few times in my mind, then ran actual numbers through Brambleberry's soap calculator in preparation to doing the deed.
> 
> Here is the recipe in it's glorious simplicity:
> 1175 grams pure deer tallow
> ...



I just wanted to say I’m excited to see someone fr9m Rapid City onthis forum. I am from Custer.


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## tammy sue starks (Apr 16, 2020)

DirtyKnuckles said:


> My last batch of soap lasted ever so much longer since I became parsimonious about giving it away to anyone crossing my path (I strongly suspect much of what I gave away from batches one and two got set aside as curiosities and went unused).  Consequently, my memory was a little hazy on a few details.  I walked myself through the process a few times in my mind, then ran actual numbers through Brambleberry's soap calculator in preparation to doing the deed.
> 
> Here is the recipe in it's glorious simplicity:
> 1175 grams pure deer tallow
> ...


I have to say I can't help you with the soap, but your storytelling is awesome!


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