JessicaB903
Well-Known Member
Well I'm kinda confused, I've read that you cant let metal touch the CP soaps but then you use a stick blender (some I've seen use a mixer), does the metal affect that or is it only after the soap goes into the molds?
A really dumb newbie question
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reallyrita
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There are no dumb newbie questions. We were all newbies once and we all had plenty of questions. The lye reacts with metal...except for stainless steel. If your metal mixing spoons are stainless and the beaters on the Stick Blender are stainless you are good to go. Some folks seem to be able to cure their soaps on metal racks which may not be stainless...chrome or whatever...with paper towels between the rack bars and the soap. Could be risky. I use plastic bread racks that I liberated from a dumpster behind a grocery store...battered and dirty but cleaned up nicely. 
A lot of the kitchen ware these days seems to come from China and I bought a few big "stainless" slotted spoons from the store which I am pretty sure are from China. They are not as solid and hefty as my oldie goldie. I wonder about the quality of the stainless as it goes into the soap pot but so far, no troubles. I have left those spoons, coated in soap mixture, overnight in the empty pot and still no corrosion. So, bottom line, if you are sure it is stainless, you are ok using it. I have noticed that the cheaper Chinese stuff does not usually say "stainless" on it as the American made pieces always do.
A lot of the kitchen ware these days seems to come from China and I bought a few big "stainless" slotted spoons from the store which I am pretty sure are from China. They are not as solid and hefty as my oldie goldie. I wonder about the quality of the stainless as it goes into the soap pot but so far, no troubles. I have left those spoons, coated in soap mixture, overnight in the empty pot and still no corrosion. So, bottom line, if you are sure it is stainless, you are ok using it. I have noticed that the cheaper Chinese stuff does not usually say "stainless" on it as the American made pieces always do.
first off, there are no dumb questions!
I would say that either way the metal can potentially degrade, granted...it takes place over a long period of time and take quite a while to degrade... because the soap batter does not remain in contact with the stick blender for an extended period of time, and in my case at least...it is washed right away to remove any soap residue... I have not had problems yet, if you were to pour it into a metal soap mold, then yes it would probably degrade the metal quite a bit since the soap batter is sitting in it for 18 hours minimum for the normal soaper (unless you are trying to do salt bars or a quicker recipe)... the constituents that react with the lye in the soap batter can also wind up in the finished product of soap... which is why it is usually reccommended to not use metal, but stainless steel is ok to my knowledge.. (I believe I made a mistake in stating that stainless was not okay at first..I do not use stainless instruments or tools, only pyrex and HDPE plastic...sorry for the mixup!)
hope that helps...if anyone has any information to contradict/clarify what I ve just posted please dont hesitate, as what I have posted just now is based off of my personal experience and the knowledge I have gained from researching during the time I have been soaping... but I do realize that as a community there is much information out there and we are doing active research as soapmakers every time that we make a batch... so the more info the merrier!
I would say that either way the metal can potentially degrade, granted...it takes place over a long period of time and take quite a while to degrade... because the soap batter does not remain in contact with the stick blender for an extended period of time, and in my case at least...it is washed right away to remove any soap residue... I have not had problems yet, if you were to pour it into a metal soap mold, then yes it would probably degrade the metal quite a bit since the soap batter is sitting in it for 18 hours minimum for the normal soaper (unless you are trying to do salt bars or a quicker recipe)... the constituents that react with the lye in the soap batter can also wind up in the finished product of soap... which is why it is usually reccommended to not use metal, but stainless steel is ok to my knowledge.. (I believe I made a mistake in stating that stainless was not okay at first..I do not use stainless instruments or tools, only pyrex and HDPE plastic...sorry for the mixup!)
hope that helps...if anyone has any information to contradict/clarify what I ve just posted please dont hesitate, as what I have posted just now is based off of my personal experience and the knowledge I have gained from researching during the time I have been soaping... but I do realize that as a community there is much information out there and we are doing active research as soapmakers every time that we make a batch... so the more info the merrier!
Glad you caught that about stainless steel, Ian. It's a perfectly good material for mixing soap, mixing lye solution, and storing lye solutions in for extended periods. It must be marked stainless, though. You don't want to mistakenly by something made with aluminum or tin or some kind of mixed metal. That would be very bad.
IrishLass
IrishLass
IrishLass said:Glad you caught that about stainless steel, Ian. It's a perfectly good material for mixing soap, mixing lye solution, and storing lye solutions in for extended periods. It must be marked stainless, though. You don't want to mistakenly by something made with aluminum or tin or some kind of mixed metal. That would be very bad.
IrishLass
Meee tooo... and I further edited it... apparently I left out the "I" where I said.. I do not use stainless steel in my soapmaking...only the pyrex, hdpe plastic or silicone stuff
I also just wanted to say, if you haven't bought your stick blender yet, they do have one that is made of all plastic at Walmart (although I'm sure the blade is still made of metal but I think that's stainless steel anyway).
It's a Hamilton Beach one for 19.99. I bought it originally but took it back in favor of an Oster one with a stainless steel rod for the same price (at Target).
The HB one comes with a whisk attachment too!
It's a Hamilton Beach one for 19.99. I bought it originally but took it back in favor of an Oster one with a stainless steel rod for the same price (at Target).
The HB one comes with a whisk attachment too!
jarvan
Well-Known Member
I love stainless steel (true stainless, that is) as it is very durable, doesn't react with lye and cleans up better than anything plastic IMHO.
JessicaB903
Well-Known Member
Great and thanks for the info about the SB, I saw that one at walmart but it didn't say if the blade was stainless so I didn't get it. I will also check out that one at Target next time I get to Longview!
CherryGardenGirl
Well-Known Member
I got a culinart plastic stick blender from Shopko, on sale (from 20) for 15 dollars. I double checked that the blades were stainless steel . . . I wonder if the rod that holds the blades is stainless??? One of the blades is a little crooked so I have to try bending it up a little
You might want to check this site out and look at the videos. This will give you a good idea as to what is what and how to do. It helped me alot when I first started.
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soapm ... rpath1.htm
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soapm ... rpath1.htm
JessicaB903
Well-Known Member
Cool, thanks for the link to that website! I will check that out as soon as my husband lets me get on his computer (mine doesn't have sound)!
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