How many molds do *you* have?

[Rusti]

I have two. One of which is the silicone mold from Brambleberry and the other a slightly overlarge wooden mold my dad made me (that I must be seen to use from time to time, even though it's a shade too wide for my taste).

I need to expand my mold inventory by one or two, I think. I made two batches of soap last night, one testing another fan blend and the other my mother's favorite Tobacco and bay scent. Mom's soap ended up in the coroplast makeshift thing I made almost two years ago when I first began my adventures since it didn't make sense to get the big wooden mold out for a 50oz batch.

What molds do you have and which are your favorites? My average batch is 32-33oz of oils (9 or so bars) when I'm putzing around testing stuff. I have made two much larger batches (about 15 bars) for this past Christmas, but they're the outliers.

 

[IrishLass]

I have eight molds. Like you- my batch sizes are on the small side. I mostly make 8-bar or 9-bar batches at a time, sometimes less than that if I'm testing out FOs, and once in a blue moon I'll make an 18-bar batch of a certain popular scent high in demand by my peeps.

My favorite mold is my wooden collapsible, convertible log/slab mold (10" x 3.5" x 2.5"). It's very versatile. I can make either 9 slab-type bars with it at a time or 18. And in log-mode, I can make either between 7-10 or 14-20 bars depending on if I'm using only one log compartment or both, and how thick or thin I feel like cutting them. I have 2 of these molds, by the way (one is a back-up, just in case).

I have 2 of the Essential Depot silicone log molds. (I bought them mainly because of the fun swirling tools made for them, which give me more swirling options)

One Woodfield tall and skinny wood mold with silicone liner.

One of Brambleberry's wooden, rectangular, vertical molds with the acrylic liners. (gives me some unique swirling/layering choices)

One of Brambleberry's round, collapsible, vertical/cylinder silicone mold. (use it for shaving soap)

One of Brambleberry's round PVC mold with liner (bought to use for shaving soap)

The one that I use the most often is my dual log/slab mold, and the one that gets used the least often is Brambleberry's PVC mold. Actually, I haven't used it at all ever since I bought their silicone cylinder mold, which I like so much better. It's a breeze to unmold, and another plus for me is that it's not as tall as the PVC mold (the shorter silicone cylinder feels less clumsy to me, i.e., I feel like I have more control when pouring my batter).


IrishLass

 

[Rusti]

My favorite mold is my wooden collapsible, convertible log/slab mold (10" x 3.5" x 2.5"). It's very versatile. I can make either 9 slab-type bars with it at a time or 18. And in log-mode, I can make either between 7-10 or 14-20 bars depending on if I'm using only one log compartment or both, and how thick or thin I feel like cutting them. I have 2 of these molds, by the way (one is a back-up, just in case).

Did you make this one or buy it someplace?

 

[toxikon]

All my molds are silicone. I have a set of 3 cavity molds (each makes 8rectangular bars), two Tall and Skinnies from BB and one Crafters Choice slab.

I use the T&S for almost everything. They make 12 one-inch bars and I like the shape and size of them. My friend made me a wooden support for them to prevent bowing.

 

[Susie]

I have 4 individual molds-with 9 bars on each, I think. Guest sized, silicone.

I have 2 silicone molds-one holds 32 oz oil batch (so 3 lb ish of soap), one holds 30 oz oil batch. First one makes 9 4 oz bars, second makes 8 4 ish oz bars.

Then I have the 5 lb oil wooden mold my hubby made (it is my favorite because the silicone bows out, which makes it difficult to cut straight bars). It yields 18 4 oz and up bars. It is nice and tall, so I can make huge man sized bars.

I actually made some lady confetti soap in it, without accounting for the confetti, so they are very large bars. I actually like them, as I can rub the washcloth over those huge sides many less times to lather it up. It is not a friendly size for my hand, however.

 

[navigator9]

You don't want to know. Come to think of it, I don't want to know! Because I don't do swirls, or rainbow colors, I think I gravitated toward molds for "pretty" soap. That's not to say that I don't have loaf molds too. My original is an Upland, they're long out of business. I think I have four or five silicone loaf molds now, of various sizes, and a slab mold I made myself, that has to be lined with freezer paper. Then there's the Crystal Lite containers for round soap. And of course, the numerous individual molds, mostly silicone, but some Milky Way molds too. When they're so pretty, it's hard to resist! I definitely prefer silicone molds for the ease of unmolding. And Nurture Soap has great prices if you can make your own box to support the liner, (It's really not hard to do.) So if you only have two, I think you need more. If for no other reason than to make me feel better. :grin:
P.S. I forgot to mention that Aliexpress and Ebay have lots of silicone molds at good prices, too.

 

[SunRiseArts]

oh boy ....I am so embarrassed, because I have not even count. I am afraid to. I probably have close to 50, maybe more, but I do like to make MP soaps that look cool. I have tons and tons of cool silicone molds for embeds and such. I am a sucker for those. Specially when I find Disney ones.

Having said that, I constantly use 4 or 5 of them. My 1 pound molds, and my oval silicone one.

lol navigator. I wrote my post, and then read yours. Thank you for making me feel better.

 

[BattleGnome]

Of the stuff I use for CP I've got:
Crafters Choice 1501
The T&S version of the 1501
18 bar oval individual mold
BB 1# mold
A set of 12 silicone cupcake molds with crinkle sides
A BB 6 cupcake mold with "flat" sides
And my husband just ordered me a CC 1701 slab mold for my birthday

For M&P I have:
Around a dozen milky way individual molds (the cheap singtons from BB)
A couple of the really cheap plastic molds that come with M&P kits from Michaels (they melt on sight if you aren't careful)

I also have 4-5 misc ice cube trays that I intend to use for embeds but either forget or my husband wants for ice cubes and I need to get silicone to make my own molds


I'll also note I'm looking into getting more individual molds. Partly because I suck at cutting. Partly because I like the option of exactly even bars. Partly for potential selling. Partly for batch size customization. Partly for.... Brambleberry had some on clearance last time I looked....

 

[Dahila]

I have 6 wooden logs (my DH made it) then around 25 silicon ones, or maybe a bit more :think: I am kind of obsessed with glass beakers for lotions, I probably have over 50 from 10-2000 ml . .....

 

[fuzz-juzz]

I have three BB molds:
- tall and skinny
- wide loaf mold
- small batch square mold

They are definitely my favourite molds, they are sturdy, retain shape, soap is released easily and sides come out shiny and smooth.

I have few more for individual soaps, nothing fancy, just regular, cheap stuff from eBay (haha), sunflower shape and oval shape. I really like oval soaps, I don't know why, they just if perfectly in hands. I have few more coming soon, I think I ordered square shaped ones, more flowers, etc. I had some cheapy ones before, that I bought when I started soaping 5 years ago. But I found that inside of the molds weren't as glossy anymore and soap was starting to stick to them. I guess over time, NaOH had something to do with it, but I guess, you get what you pay for. Because BB molds are still going strong after so many years.

I don't sell and make only small batches for our personal use, hence not having big molds.

 

[Primrose]

I will admit ... I just ordered ten new moulds on ebay ... *red faced*

I only make small amounts at this stage, and I'm trying out heaps of different moulds to see what I like best. I have gone all silicone and flexible plastic, mostly because I hate lining moulds and also because I make milk soap so I don't like to insulate the moulds (so staying away from wood).

At this stage I kind of prefer individual moulds, both because I cant seem to cut straight or consistently, and because again I don't like my soaps to heat up. I try to avoid gel at all costs.

At the moment I have literally a cupcake mould which gives me 6 round soaps, a mini-loaf mould that gives me 6 small rectangles, and a giant ice cube mould that gives me 8 squares. I find the round one and the loaf one I have give me slightly too big soaps, so I've bought some new ones to try that have a greater number of cavities so I'll see if they make a better sized bar. The square one is a bit too small. I feel like goldilocks lol My OH prefers oval soal so I've ordered one of those as well.

I am one of the rare few that doesn't really like the shape of soap cut from loaf moulds. I actually have one slab mould (a Tupperware container that lost its lid) and I much much prefer using that if I'm not using individual moulds. I couldn't really tell you why to be honest.

 

[earlene]

I couldn't even count! Well, no that's not true. I can count. But I won't.

I have way too many molds. I got a whole bunch of old Milky Way type molds at a de-stash when I was new, as well as my very first wooden log mold with a silicone liner. That one is 5-lb mold I think. It makes a lot of soap, and I've only used it a few times. But it's a good mold for making a huge batch of soap. And it even fits in my oven, just barely, so I can CPOP with it.

I did buy one Essential Depot loaf mold because I liked the idea of the metal basket, but the size of the soap is a bit big. If I fill that mold to the top, the soaps are square shaped when cut. I've used it a several times and usually don't fill it to the top so my soap can be cut to a more rectangular shape. But for re-batches of 'old & new' soap, I tend to fill it completely and end up with square soap. But the square is too big for my hand, so I just don't like to fill the mold to the top.

I just bought a smaller log mold; it's a 3-lb mold, and I made my first soap in it yesterday. I did not fill it to the top and I am a bit disappointed that my soap isn't tall enough. Go figure!

A tall and skinny mold is something I've considered, but plan to make one with a cardboard box first to see if I would really find it useful for me.

A couple years ago, I bought a plastic container at a thrift store so I could make round soap. I was happy with it as a mold, but I haven't used it since. Round soap doesn't seem to thrill me as a soap shape.

I have loads and loads of various silicone molds I use for soap. Some are made for cakes or ice cubes or candy; some are specifically made for soap. Some I made myself using designs I wanted to use for soap (such as the fish avatar to the left of my posts). The first one I bought so I could make a soap specifically for my granddaughter in a feminine design. I went crazy from there. I have car molds (grandson), a frog mold (makes a huge bar of soap), various girly molds, various shell molds, even some Iowa State molds (I don't even live in Iowa, but it is next door), etc. I have also use many of the old solid plastic molds (sturdier than today's Milky Way molds) for CP soap using lanolin as a release agent. They are pretty soap and make large bars of soap. But I don't use them as much now. I even bought some Milky Way tray molds for individual guest soaps and used them once each. I like the resulting soap, but I don't like the plastic the molds are made from - too flimsy IMO.

What I have come to realize is that the pretty silicone mold shapes make gorgeous looking soap until I start washing with it. The soap looks bizarre and ugly once the pretty shapes start melting away. So I'm not so sure I'll be using some of these molds for anything other than gifts and for kids in the family.

 

[Viore]

I have two 1501 molds I use all the time, and a silicone muffin tray I pour excess batter into to make a nice sized puck of soap.

When I first started making soap I bought acrylic molds on eBay and had to stop using them for a multitude of reasons, including leaking and being falsely advertised as "no liner needed." They sit in the cupboard now until I can figure out what to do with them.

I have a Milky Way mold of a rabbit in a tuxedo that I use for unscented M&P, which is perfect because my logo happens to be ... a rabbit in a tuxedo! And finally I have some random shaped plastic and silicone molds for embeds.

 

[CaraBou]

My fav is the Crafter's Choice 1504, which holds about 500g or 1 lb of soap (4 bars). I rarely make bigger batches anymore, because when I make less, I can make more. But I still keep the other 10 or so molds around; ya never know when I might change my mind :mrgreen:

 

[anshika154]

I Have 2 wooden logs and 6 Silicon ones

 

[neonstudy]

I have 2 silicone log molds from Brambleberry, the 10" one, and the 4" one. I use the 10" one the most.

I also have 3 individual silicone molds. One moon cake one I bought off Amazon (super cute, a little small), and a flower and a heart one from Michaels.

And I have these small plastic pencil holders from Dollar Tree, I used those when I was soaping a lot, and needed more molds. I never use them now.

 

[IrishLass]

Did you make this one or buy it someplace?

A fellow soapmaker who used to be very active here on the forum several years ago made it for me (Soapmaker Man). He had his own Etsy shop a while back for a few years, but somewhere around 2010-2012 he closed up shop and seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth (he hasn't been on the forum since 2010). You can see what my mold looks like here.

A few years ago, one of our crazy wet-shaving dudes (Lbussy) drew out a computer-generated diagram of my mold based on the dimensions I gave to him, which you can see here, which would help someone to be able to make one for themselves if they were so inclined.

If one is not so inclined to make one for themselves, Dianna's Sundries sells a version of the mold, which just so happens to be my back-up mold should my original one ever go kaput. So far, though, the original still going strong (11 years now and counting). Unfortunately, Dianna's site doesn't show a pic of their version of the mold, but it's pretty much the same- it's a collapsible dual slab/log mold made of wood, only it has taller sides and it uses hook & eye closures instead of nails to hold the mold together, and the cover is designed just slightly different. The L x W dimensions are the same, though- or at least the L x W dimensions of their version that I bought around 2010 are the same anyway.

P.S. I forgot to mention that in addition to my 8 CP molds that I mentioned earlier, I have a slew of MilkyWay-type molds and a few indy 3-D molds from my M&P days, plus a handful of silicone embed molds. I really don't consider them as counting, but that technically bumps my total count well into the double digits, but I'm not sure by how much.....probably 20-something I'd venture to guess.


IrishLass

 

[cobbsie]

Just wondering if anyone has a good recommendation for sites to buy moulds in the UK/Europe?

I cant get my head round what a pound mould looks like so am not sure what the equivalent sizes are. There are a lot of ebay from China....

 

[Gardensmurf]

Cobbsie, I ordered all of my molds from AliExpress. It takes a while for them to arrive in Switzerland, but otherwise, I couldn't be happier.

 

[BattleGnome]

I cant get my head round what a pound mould looks like so am not sure what the equivalent sizes are.

My mold is 4 inches square and slightly less high (maybe 3.75 inches?). I think 500g is the conversion with the easy math.