First Batch Success

[Fabius]

Hello All,


Poured the first batch of soap the other day. Took it out of the red silicon mold from EB this morning. I was pleasantly surprised that it came out quite nicely.

From what I read here and from videos on You Tube I was prepared for things like the fumes, high lye water temp and to watch for trace.

I have one question. I made 4 pounds of soap. My recipe of olive oil, coconut oil and palm oil called for a small amount of Shea's Butter but that butter would mot completely melt. Over a low heat and with the melted oil blend at about 195 degrees I had some silvers of Shea's Butter that just wouldn't melt. I finally took them out. Is that normal for Shea's butter? The butter was fresh ( I think ) as I took advantage of ED's offer of free loafs of Shea's butter.

What I need to learn to do better is to cut the loaf. I used a sharp chef's knife and I had a bit of trouble cutting down with a straight line.

Tom

 

[Nightlilly]

I can't help with the Shea butter issue (I haven't made my first batch yet)but I think I will probably have issues with the cutting also. I've seen a few videos of people using heavy fishing line and tying each end to a dowel or something then lining it up and cutting straight down. I plan to make a simple wood cutting box with 2 sides and a bottom (like a miter box) and a pre-measured stopper at the end and cut my soap with a large putty knife/cutting knife (not exactly sure what they're called). I imagine I'll be able to slide the soap forward to the stopper and then slide the cutting knife down the front edges of the cutting box.

 

[tryanything]

I don't know what happened with your shea butter. I've never had a problem with it fully melting. Usually the one that is really hard for me is coco butter (that is rock hard at room temp!).

Regarding cutting you can get a mitre box cheap at a local hardware store. That is what I use when I use my log mold. I marked off about an inch on it and I use that and a very large putty knife with no problems. I've since invested in individual cavity molds and a slab mold with dividers in it. One day I might get me one of those professional looking cutters but they are rather expensive.

 

[savonierre]

Shea butter should melt quite quickly unless it was frozen. A mitre box will help cut the soap straight for sure.Congrats on your first batch.

 

[judymoody]

You can also try a wire cheese cutter. I've seen some on Amazon. They are affixed to a U shaped armature and are attached to a cutting board with a groove in it. You line up your soap loaf to the desired width and bring down the cutter.

I have also used a mitre box.