"...several experienced soapers state that they use a steep water discount and consider their CP soaps cured after just a few days. If anyone mentioned that here, they'd be shot down in flames..."
I agree -- the "cured in a few days" idea is something that pops up fairly often about CP soap made with concentrated lye solution and also about HP soap. It's weird that these two methods are supposed to give similar instant cure, because HP soap usually has MORE water than typical CP soap. I suspect the main assumption is "done saponifying" is the same as "cured." I don't get why this idea persists -- it's a matter that a soaper can easily check by testing a soap every week or three for some months to a year and keep careful notes.
The soaps I tested (see chart in Post 1) were made with lye solution concentrations of 30% (vegan) and 33% (honey beer), so they are moderate "water discount" soaps. You can see for yourself that both took about 30-40 days to really slow down in their weight loss. The longevity in use and lather quality are other qualities of soap that can be easily evaluated. Even though these qualities are somewhat more subjective, it's still possible to learn that a soap can change quite a bit over time.
I think The Gent says it best -- something about a soap that's safe to use is not the same as a soap that is at its best. I think he says it a little more poetically, but I hope you get the drift.
So ... yeah ... I don't get it either, Spenny. :roll: