# Acrylic planer/beveler



## dibbles (Sep 6, 2016)

I want to get a new planer/beveler. I've decided I would really like an acrylic one, and it looks like my choices are from Soap Making Resource

http://www.soap-making-resource.com/soap-beveler.html

or from CustomSoapStamps

https://www.etsy.com/listing/272556...rch_query=acrylic soap plane&ref=sr_gallery_2

Any advice would be appreciated, especially if you have either one of these and they work well (or not). Or if there is one out there I haven't found and should consider. Thanks guys!


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## dixiedragon (Sep 6, 2016)

Soapies Supplies also carries them. It's not multi-function - 1 is a beveler (2 grooves) and 1 is a planer. But at only $25 each, I think it's a good deal to get both! I've got the planer and I really like it.


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## penelopejane (Sep 6, 2016)

the etsy one cuts 1/16 on the bevel and planer. This seems deep to me. It is also more expensive. 

Iris pass and a few others have the soap resource one but it doesn't give a specific depth just - paper thin.


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## TeresaT (Sep 6, 2016)

I have the soap resource one and I love it.  I have no idea how thin the shavings are, but you can vary the thickness by the amount of pressure you put on the bar of soap and the stage of cure.  If the soap is not cured enough it smears all over the planer.  If it is fully cured, the soap crumbles as it is planed instead of coming off in sheets.  Personally, I like the fully cured crumbling than the smearing.  I tend to plane mine at about six weeks and they all seem to smear.  Some worse than others.  However, it is hot and humid in Tennessee right now and I don't have central air conditioning.  That has a huge impact on the curing process.  I haven't soaped much this summer because of it. 

The bevelers are nice, too, because they give you the option of how much of the edge you take off.  I usually use the smaller of the two, because if I mess them up, I can use the larger one to correct it without making a huge mess of the bar.

ETA:  One of the reasons I like it is because it can't cut you as badly as the razor ones can.  I had a wooden planer with a razor (can't figure out what I did with it, though).  I did't like that thing because I am a klutz and I can just see me slicing off a layer of my hand with it.  I only used it once or twice when I said, "Nope.  No way."  I haven't seen it since.  I have cut myself with the acrylic one, but not enough to remove flesh.  Just banged my finger up against the "blade" hard enough to cause colorful language and minor bleeding.


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## dibbles (Sep 6, 2016)

Thanks for the replies. I need to check out soapie supplies. Then agonize over a decision for way longer than is necessary.


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## Stacy (Sep 6, 2016)

I was asking about this exact thing not too long ago (http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=56369)

I ended up getting the soap making resource one and I'm very happy with it!


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## IrishLass (Sep 8, 2016)

I have the one from Soapmaking Resources and I love it. I only use the planer part of it, though, because I have a different tool for beveling that I like better. 


IrishLass


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## TeriDk (Sep 17, 2016)

IrishLass said:


> I have the one from Soapmaking Resources and I love it. I only use the planer part of it, though, because I have a different tool for beveling that I like better.
> 
> IrishLass



Do you mind sharing what tool you use for beveling?  I saw the photos of your Ion hanger swirl and really liked the edges.

Thank you.


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## IrishLass (Sep 17, 2016)

TeriDk said:


> Do you mind sharing what tool you use for beveling? I saw the photos of your Ion hanger swirl and really liked the edges.
> 
> Thank you.


 
I actually use a 1/8" / 1/4" Japanese radius plane for woodworking made by Kakuri: http://www.japanwoodworker.com/product/156637/18-14-radius-plane-kakuri.aspx. You can also buy it from Lee Valley Tools (they call it a round molding plane there: http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=41232&cat=1,230,41182,41200


HTH!
IrishLass


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## penelopejane (Sep 17, 2016)

IrishLass said:


> I have the one from Soapmaking Resources and I love it. I only use the planer part of it, though, because I have a different tool for beveling that I like better.
> 
> 
> IrishLass



Do you know how much the acrylic beveled takes off? 
I would really just like the burrs taken off but my vegetable peeler gouges and takes off too much. The Japanese one looks lovely but I think I need more control.


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## IrishLass (Sep 17, 2016)

penelopejane said:


> Do you know how much the acrylic beveled takes off?
> I would really just like the burrs taken off but my vegetable peeler gouges and takes off too much. The Japanese one looks lovely but I think I need more control.


 
I found that the Soapmaking Resources beveller took way too much off my edges for my liking- even on the side with the narrower notch. That's one of the reasons why I like my Kakuri better- its blade angle is adjustable on both sides, which gives me better control over how much soap gets beveled off. The Soapmaking Resource beveling notches are not adjustable. 

The other reason that I love the Kakuri better is the look of the rounded, sculpted contours it gives my bevels. In comparison, the Soapmaking Resorce one gives flat, angular bevels. 

Also the guiding grooves on the Kakuri provide wonderfully stable control so that my bevels are even all along my edges. 


IrishLass


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## TBandCW (Sep 18, 2016)

I got mine from soapmaking resources and I'm loving it!


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## cmzaha (Sep 18, 2016)

I love this little beveler, but I do not use planers


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## TeriDk (Sep 20, 2016)

IrishLass said:


> I found that the Soapmaking Resources beveller took way too much off my edges for my liking- even on the side with the narrower notch. That's one of the reasons why I like my Kakuri better- its blade angle is adjustable on both sides, which gives me better control over how much soap gets beveled off. The Soapmaking Resource beveling notches are not adjustable.
> ....
> IrishLass



Oh no, just bought one from them.  You say it takes too much off for your liking. Is it the amount of pressure you put on the bar while planning?  Dumb question but I'm new to this.


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## IrishLass (Sep 20, 2016)

TeriDk said:


> Oh no, just bought one from them. You say it takes too much off for your liking. Is it the amount of pressure you put on the bar while planning? Dumb question but I'm new to this.


 
Teri- my apologies. I should clarify that the planer part of the device works wonderful- no complaints there- the slices of soap that it removes from the flat sides of my soap are paper thin. But when using the built-in beveling grooves for beveling the corner edges of my soap, it takes off too much for my liking. 


HTH!
IrishLass


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## dibbles (Oct 12, 2016)

Just a quick update. Thanks to the recommendations, I decided on the planer from Soap Making Resource. It came yesterday and I tried it out on a couple of bars. It works beautifully, and I'm so glad I treated myself to something I didn't really 'need'. 

Thank you all for your input - much appreciated, as always.


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## penelopejane (Oct 12, 2016)

dibbles said:


> Just a quick update. Thanks to the recommendations, I decided on the planer from Soap Making Resource. It came yesterday and I tried it out on a couple of bars. It works beautifully, and I'm so glad I treated myself to something I didn't really 'need'.
> 
> Thank you all for your input - much appreciated, as always.



Hi Dibbles, 
Can you measure how much the beveler part takes off the soap? How wide the angle of the cut is or how much if you squint horizontally it takes off?


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## dibbles (Oct 13, 2016)

penelopejane said:


> Hi Dibbles,
> Can you measure how much the beveler part takes off the soap? How wide the angle of the cut is or how much if you squint horizontally it takes off?



Here are a couple of pictures of a soap with the shavings. At the top is the bigger bevel. The smaller side is very minimal.


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## penelopejane (Oct 14, 2016)

dibbles said:


> Here are a couple of pictures of a soap with the shavings. At the top is the bigger bevel. The smaller side is very minimal.



Exactly what I wanted thank you very much.


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## crispysoap (Nov 7, 2016)

Wondering if any of you can help - I'm trying to buy the soap making resource planer/beveler but none of our emails/FB messages to them have been answered (5 in the last 2 weeks). Any idea if they are still operating?


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## dibbles (Nov 7, 2016)

I just got my planer, and am receiving a weekly newsletter email, so I don't know why you are having problems. Have you gone to the website rather than facebook?


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## lenarenee (Nov 8, 2016)

IrishLass said:


> I actually use a 1/8" / 1/4" Japanese radius plane for woodworking made by Kakuri: http://www.japanwoodworker.com/product/156637/18-14-radius-plane-kakuri.aspx. You can also buy it from Lee Valley Tools (they call it a round molding plane there: http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=41232&cat=1,230,41182,41200
> 
> 
> HTH!
> IrishLass



Would this work well on cured bars?


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## Omneya (Nov 8, 2016)

I have the two in one planer/beveler. I got it as a set with the cutter. I am so in love with it! Easy to use and clean. I would be lost with out it


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## crispysoap (Nov 9, 2016)

dibbles said:


> I just got my planer, and am receiving a weekly newsletter email, so I don't know why you are having problems. Have you gone to the website rather than facebook?



Hmm odd. Yes, most messages I sent were through the website. As I'm in NZ the website won't let me buy direct.


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## Susie (Nov 9, 2016)

They are still sending me ads, so someone is over there.


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## IrishLass (Nov 10, 2016)

lenarenee said:


> Would this work well on cured bars?


 

Let me go check......................... Okay- I just tried it out on a 4-month cured bar of soap and also on a bar of soap that is over a year old (14-months), and yes, I was able to make excellent bevels on them, *but *it was super difficult to do so- i.e., it took _way_ more muscle power, and it was _very slow-going_. If I had to bevel more than one bar of older soap like those that I just beveled, I do believe that I would most definitely need to enlist the help of someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger....... or else plan on my muscles being so sore and achy that my hubby will come home from work to find me crouched down in some corner of the house incoherent and weeping piteously like a baby. 


IrishLass


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## dillsandwitch (Nov 11, 2016)

IrishLass said:


> Let me go check......................... Okay- I just tried it out on a 4-month cured bar of soap and also on a bar of soap that is over a year old (14-months), and yes, I was able to make excellent bevels on them, *but *it was super difficult to do so- i.e., it took _way_ more muscle power, and it was _very slow-going_. If I had to bevel more than one bar of older soap like those that I just beveled, I do believe that I would most definitely need to enlist the help of someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger....... or else plan on my muscles being so sore and achy that my hubby will come home from work to find me crouched down in some corner of the house incoherent and weeping piteously like a baby.
> 
> 
> IrishLass



Hahaha I love it.

Back on topic. I bought A beveler that has a changeable blade on it. Cost $26 from ETSY. the body is made from acrylic and the blade is one that comes from a electric plainer i believe. the replacement blades are about $3 on ebay.


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## baylee (Nov 20, 2016)

I must need a course in beveling... lol   I bought one from Etsy and am not impressed at all.  How do you get the ends 'rounded'?  

Irish Lass, would you show one of your soaps beveled with the item you use please.


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## IrishLass (Nov 20, 2016)

baylee said:


> I must need a course in beveling... lol I bought one from Etsy and am not impressed at all. How do you get the ends 'rounded'?
> 
> Irish Lass, would you show one of your soaps beveled with the item you use please.



No problemlo. Just keep an eye on this post. As soon as my hubby's hands are free, I'll get him to take a few pics of me using my beveller. It won't be very long.......

Okay, I'm back! Here we go:

What the underside of my beveller looks like:







Looking head on towards the dual blades, what my soap sees (if it had eyes) as it makes its way to the blades. I use the smaller groove on the left side when bevelling my soap.:








This is how I angle the beveller when bevelling each edge of my soap. I lay the edge right in the groove:





To be continued in the next post (since I've reach my image limit for this post).............


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## IrishLass (Nov 20, 2016)

Dragging my soap across the blade. The groove makes it easy to maintain the angle as I drag my soap across:






Done! My finished, rounded edges:





Do you see that black knob on the top side of the beveller in the last pic? That's the adjusting knob. You can loosen it to adjust the depth of the angle of the blades to you liking (for deeper or shallower bevels), and then tighten it back up.


HTH!
IrishLass


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## jules92207 (Nov 20, 2016)

So awesome! I love the look of that. Thanks for the demo IL!


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## baylee (Nov 24, 2016)

Oh my, yes that helped so much!  I will be purchasing one of those for sure!!


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## sabnazzy (Apr 30, 2021)

IrishLass said:


> No problemlo. Just keep an eye on this post. As soon as my hubby's hands are free, I'll get him to take a few pics of me using my beveller. It won't be very long.......
> 
> Okay, I'm back! Here we go:
> 
> ...


hello,i cant see your images they have a red x would love to see the beveller and the edges of soap please? thank you


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## sabnazzy (Apr 30, 2021)

lenarenee said:


> Would this work well on cured bars?


well i have been to both these websites and cant find the Japanese one you are talking about can you please take a photo and podt it? thank you


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## sabnazzy (Apr 30, 2021)

sabnazzy said:


> hello,i cant see your images they have a red x would love to see the beveller and the edges of soap please? thank you


can someone please tell me why i arent seeing the photos please


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## Jersey Girl (Apr 30, 2021)

sabnazzy said:


> can someone please tell me why i arent seeing the photos please



If you tag @IrishLass she may be able to help you.


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## earlene (Apr 30, 2021)

sabnazzy said:


> can someone please tell me why i aren't seeing the photos please



Because the photos were probably moved and the links no longer work. That ppst is 5 years old and often images end up being moved, breaking links.


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## IrishLass (Apr 30, 2021)

sabnazzy said:


> hello,i cant see your images they have a red x would love to see the beveller and the edges of soap please? thank you




Hi sabnazzy! I just restored my pics. Didn't know they had disappeared.


IrishLass


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