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Also, what would be the best way to store say... 40lb of this stuff while I use up the first 10lb? Would vac-packing and putting in the deep freeze be a decent option?

My cube of lard came in today. Sticking my nose down into it, there's no detectable smell at all! The Armour stuff I had purchased, definitely had a smell when you put your nose down in the tub. Going to soap with it this weekend.

I chose my username because I am a bladesmith. It is just a hobby for me but one that I've stuck with for about 8 years. I like to spend my extra time in the shop. The avatar is just an old picture of one of my forges running. Cody

I'd be interested to know if they do sell to you directly. While the nearest ventura foods is not necessarily worth making a dedicated trip for, chances are I'll be nearby in the future. Though, it will probably take me a while to use up the cube I ordered!

Well, I ordered the 50lb box. I'm sure I'll use it either way so... we'll see how it smells!

This is one of those things I really like to use SoapMaker 3 for. And maybe you can do it with other calcs, I just started with soapmaker and see no reason to try anything else. But you can add all your ingredients and the specific gravity's for them. Then just tell it to resize for one of your...

Yeah, that temperature thing may be an issue for me. I do high temp hot process (I fully cook the soap in less than 10 minutes). So I'm soaping at 200F+ Sounds like that could be part of the problem.

So I did go to Wal mart and get the Armour brand lard and made a batch with it at 40%. I can pick out the smell just a bit but really like the soap. This is why I was considering this deodorized stuff.

Has anyone tried a "deodorized lard"? I've been looking around for something to ensure no piggy smell without rendering fresh stuff myself. When you search the internet for it this product pops up everywhere. Seems like a pretty decent deal $/lb (cheaper on other sites) but I'm hesitant to...

While on the subject of coconut 92... Is it any different from the 76 stuff in the finished soap? I live in a pretty hot climate and I could see where it would be beneficial for something like a deodorant. But in my mind it shouldn't really make any difference in the soap unless maybe a high...

Tried my first multi-color loaf today. Kinda winged it on the swirls. Got more practice to do. This was hot processed and colored with clays.

Thanks! I went through a bunch of iterations but I settled on "simple". Still working on all the other text on it. Cody

Been working on designing a label for my soaps. Not sure if I will ever sell but I'd like to have them labelled for friends/family/etc. I prefer the HP method and, for some reason, just don't have much interest in making soap the CP way. I'm not big into designs and such but have had some...

Yeah, I have seen the saponified oils of ___ from some pretty big companies. I was trying to figure out if that was okay. Seems like it is? For example, Zum bar does it.

Ive been reading through this thread and saw your recommendation for Page Plus. I picked it up for $19.99 and must say... What a great deal! The feature set is fantastic and it can do more than I need. Thanks for the recommendation!

Okay. The reason I asked... the author of the book recommended neutralizing excess alkali for the no paste method by mixing an excess of stearic acid after the soap has finished cooking. The idea is that the stearic will go and neutralize excess alkali and the excess stearic floats to the top...

Does the zap test work for liquid soap? And for anyone familiar with using phenolphthalein, does this look too alkaline?

May have to try that method. The idea with this one is to eliminate the paste altogether. I did end up with 3 qts of soap here at the end but I'm thinking the paste might be easier, lol.

Well there was transparent soap underneath the mountain of bubbles. Not sure how to prevent the bubbles next time.

Been cooking for over an hour now. Still bubbles. If I put some bubbles on my finger, they will lather. I just wish they'd go away. Ugh, just not sure what to do. Maybe I'll just pour it into another container and see what I've got.