I use molds just like that and use 1000g of fats, which fits perfectly. I get 10 bars, each cut at 1”, and cut off a sliver on each end that I press together for a small tester for me.
Does this recipe look like it makes sense?
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Google tells me 1 kg is equivalent to 35oz. My total batch weight is more than that however - more like 1.4kg which google says is 49 oz. So I reckon your first measurement was right @Shelley D. When I use that mold it is my standard batch of 1kg oils - total batch weight 1.45kg, and I always have leftovers for four little hand soaps that I pour into cavity molds.
This made me laugh out loud! I have never been a math person and I took earth science and geology instead of biology and chemistry. Soaping makes me want to understand chemistry but I just can’t wrap my brain around it.I pulled mine out to double check and I wrote 47.34 oz on the side so let me check my math. . . I'll brb
I have returned convinced I will forever hate math!
So I re-measured my mold (3" x 2.5" x 10") = 75 and multiplied by .4 (as recommended above in this thread) and got 30
So I don't remember how I got the 47.34 oz unless I got totally frustrated and just filled it with waterI may test that theory later. However, I do know that being 10 inches long and I like chunky bars of soap and I don't measure when I cut, my bars are slightly larger than an inch when I cut them so I usually get 8 or 9 out of my loaf.
The funny thing is ~ I know exactly what to type into soapcalc to make it work!
And now back to our regular programming…
@TheGreenProductJunkie, I am assuming from your name that you don’t want to use animal fats or palm? That’s perfectly fine! There are lots of other options. I am unable to really help with that as I am firmly on team lard. I will recommend that you make a maximum of 10 bars, as soap has a way of multiplying. You probably won’t like some of the soap and smaller batches gives you less to rebatch or toss. There is so much to learn, make sure you have a recipe to two you like before getting caught up in colors or fragrance. Welcome to SMF! Lots of great information and wonderful people here.
It's worse than breeding rabbits, eh @Relle?
Interesting! I don't feel so bad now!
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You don't need to breed rabbits, they do it all on their own.
see, now look what you have done 
. were rabbits now will inhabit the world.
First of all, 42oz is a LOT for your first batch. Admittedly I started with a 50 oz batches, but I also started with BB's Beginners Cold Process Soap Kit. It's one I still recommend if you want to try soap making since it comes with a tried and true recipe and all the ingredients (and mold) so if you don't like it...you're only out your original costs and not a lot of leftover stuff. With that said...after more than a few "opportunities to learn" (what I call 'failures'), I quickly bought a couple of the 4" Square Silicone Molds that BB sells. A lot easier on the bank account to waste 20 oz of ingredients than 50 oz, especially since EOs/FOs are not cheap. And even though I'm in my fifth year of soap making, I still use those 4" Molds...they are perfect for testing new scents, new colorants, new additives, new recipes.
So my recommendation is get a couple of those, start with plain batches of soap until you find a recipe that you like and then start playing with color and scent. 4-5 oz bars might not sound like a lot of soap, but that's 8 bars of soap and it usually takes me 30 days to go through a single bar. Even if you only make two batches of soap a week...that's 32 bars a month. And if you're testing your recipes, you'll want to cut those bars in half and now you have 64.
Regarding your recipe...I'm going to start by seconding what @cmzaha...BrambleBerry is a soap supplier and their recipes are geared to selling ingredients. That's not to say that they aren't good recipes, but Babassu Oil is $15.00/lb, while Palm Oil is $5.00/lb. This is important for two reasons: 1) Soap is a wash on/rinse off product that isn't on your skin for more than five to ten minutes...it's NOT going to moisturize your skin, it's NOT going to heal your skin, but it will get you clean since that is its purpose...to bind with dirt and oils so it can be rinsed off. Unless you are going for 'label appeal' or selling to a high-end market, using expensive oils is a waste of money. 2) Saponification; this is the process that breaks down your oils and butters into fatty acids and turns it into soap. In other words, the oils and butters are no longer 'oils and butters', so whatever special qualities they had are negated. What you want to look at are the fatty acids of those oils and butters and how they contribute to a balanced bar.
What you need to start with is a simple recipe, BB has one (Simple and Gentle Soap Project) that is 24% Coconut Oil, 44% Olive Oil, 32% Palm Oil. Speaking for myself, I'd drop the CO to 20%, the Palm Oil to 31% and add 5% Castor Oil. And I recommend a 33% Lye Concentration...your current recipe is 30% and you don't need that much water. And with winter coming on, if you live somewhere were you get a lot of rain, I'd bump it up to 35%.
And one last thing...all those pretty soaps on the BB website? You can pretty much copy of the designs using your own [cold process] soap recipe.
So my recommendation is get a couple of those, start with plain batches of soap until you find a recipe that you like and then start playing with color and scent. 4-5 oz bars might not sound like a lot of soap, but that's 8 bars of soap and it usually takes me 30 days to go through a single bar. Even if you only make two batches of soap a week...that's 32 bars a month. And if you're testing your recipes, you'll want to cut those bars in half and now you have 64.
Regarding your recipe...I'm going to start by seconding what @cmzaha...BrambleBerry is a soap supplier and their recipes are geared to selling ingredients. That's not to say that they aren't good recipes, but Babassu Oil is $15.00/lb, while Palm Oil is $5.00/lb. This is important for two reasons: 1) Soap is a wash on/rinse off product that isn't on your skin for more than five to ten minutes...it's NOT going to moisturize your skin, it's NOT going to heal your skin, but it will get you clean since that is its purpose...to bind with dirt and oils so it can be rinsed off. Unless you are going for 'label appeal' or selling to a high-end market, using expensive oils is a waste of money. 2) Saponification; this is the process that breaks down your oils and butters into fatty acids and turns it into soap. In other words, the oils and butters are no longer 'oils and butters', so whatever special qualities they had are negated. What you want to look at are the fatty acids of those oils and butters and how they contribute to a balanced bar.
What you need to start with is a simple recipe, BB has one (Simple and Gentle Soap Project) that is 24% Coconut Oil, 44% Olive Oil, 32% Palm Oil. Speaking for myself, I'd drop the CO to 20%, the Palm Oil to 31% and add 5% Castor Oil. And I recommend a 33% Lye Concentration...your current recipe is 30% and you don't need that much water. And with winter coming on, if you live somewhere were you get a lot of rain, I'd bump it up to 35%.
And one last thing...all those pretty soaps on the BB website? You can pretty much copy of the designs using your own [cold process] soap recipe.
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I have used similar things, and my first batches were done in quart milk and half-and-half boxes I'd used up! I love my fancy silicone molds, but you can grab a small cardboard box and line it with freezer paper (shiny-side in) and there you go. The benefit of the milk carton is that it has a smooth lining already, and you can just rip off the cardboard when the soap is firm! Zero cost for the mold....
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(laughing) I remember how the forum members reacted when I made a 12-pound batch a few weeks in! Thankfully that batch worked out great, but if it hadn't I'd have been crying into my cider at the lost materials. I've reluctantly joined the 500-grams-of-oils club for test batches, and I know some of you make much, much smaller batches than that for tests (didn't I hear that the soap science guy has instructions for making one-bar batches??).
Problem with one-bar batches is that I like to have a 'control' and real world conditions. My preference for testing is a 4" Square Silicone Mold; I get 4-5oz bars and can set one aside as a 'control' and then cut the other three bars in half and abuse the heck out of them. I could use the same mold that I use for my 'sink' soaps...4-3oz cavity mold for testing; 8.3 oz Oils vs 14oz, but it would change a lot of my conditions.
There are many advantages to making smaller batches, the biggest one is that you can have a lot of fun with different recipes, scents, colorants and additives without filling your house with more soap than you can probably use in a lifetime. The first six months all I had were a couple of 50oz molds...10-5oz bars. Even though I had a lot of failure, I had more successes and a lot of soap until I donated them to a local homeless shelter. Getting a couple of smaller molds meant I could still have fun AND have more variety.
Hello everyone. I want to say hello before the year ends. I'm super busy and not with soap. I have a book to finish before Christmas, a party to clean the house for (I hired a service to do the deep clean), school projects to attend for my daughter and to finish the shopping. Happy Holidays to all.
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