Is a Loaf Soap Cutter Worth it?

[Crombie]

Soap Cutter

I am a hobbyist and only make soap for family and friends. I have a Bud Cutter (Mod II). I had a mitre box and even after months of practice, I could not every get an evenly cut nice bar. I will never be without a Bud cutter as long as I am making soap.

 

[Numbers]

My dad makes molds very similar to yours Feather. I like the built in notches for cutting but it can be a pain when it's time to clean it out

 

[Feather]

My dad makes molds very similar to yours Feather. I like the built in notches for cutting but it can be a pain when it's time to clean it out

Hi Numbers, I must have married your dad. :shh:
I haven't run into that as a problem, I use a spatula to clean the molds and cutter. In fact, I use the spatula to loosen the soap mold ends too.
Like this one:

Those molds are designed to make 12 bars at a time. We also make them to make 24 bars at a time.

 

[WithLovefromNature]

I just want to say that I really appreciate all the feedback. I now feel that I have a better understanding of the options that exist out there. And like Pepsi Girl said, there are such inventive people out there. It really is nice to be a part of a trade that embraces each other's skills and knowledge. ......still open to any and all feedback.......

 

[dixiedragon]

The wire multi cutter bar is totally worth it. I always poo-pooed it - until I got one as a door prize at a soap meeting. If mine broke I would be online ordering one today.

The log cutter - If you are selling, I think it would be worth it. If you are not selling - IMO not really. We had one but it fell off the counter and broke. We do miss it sometimes, but it's not diffult to make do with a cheese slicer to cut long strips off of a loaf, which is the only thing we used the long log cutter for.

 

[Paintguru]

I got Bud's single wire cutter. Chose it for a few reasons. One...price, saved me like $50 or so. Second, the time savings between a single and multi-wire cutter is minimal in my case, as I'm not producing 10+ loaves at a time. Third, I can adjust the size of the bars with his single wire....can't with the multi. I think the wire does a great job vs. a knife.

 

[freesia792]

I had no idea that cutting was such a big deal. I've only ever used a chef's knife to cut my bars. My bars are fairly consistent in size and as bubbly and silky as can be. I am truly ignorant as to why I'd ever need a fancy cutter. Enlighten me?
Second time I've tried to send so what's up with "Your message is to short. Please lengthen it by at least 4 charters?"
Since when can a person not just get to the point?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Other people may not be able to cut as well as you can. Or they want more than just fairly consistent results. Or they produce a lot of soap and a knife just doesn't cut it, so to speak.

If you're cutting perfectly well for what you want without one, then you don't need a fancy cutter at all. If you can't cut so well or it's taking 5 hours to cut all your soaps, then you'd need something more.

 

[Dennis]

I had no idea that cutting was such a big deal. I've only ever used a chef's knife to cut my bars. My bars are fairly consistent in size and as bubbly and silky as can be. I am truly ignorant as to why I'd ever need a fancy cutter. Enlighten me?
Second time I've tried to send so what's up with "Your message is to short. Please lengthen it by at least 4 charters?"
Since when can a person not just get to the point?

Crooked, uneven, jagged cuts keep the "rustic" handmade theme intact and could allow a higher price as opposed to the perfectly cut and trimmed neatly packaged assembly line approach of those who have "sold out to the MAN!" :lolno:

Calm down, I was just kidding.:mrgreen:

 

[AngelMomma]

I have been very interested in getting a loaf soap cutter and wondered what experiences people have had with them. Which ones worked the best/worst and so forth. I found a guy on etsy who makes them for $160 and thought I might try him, but it just seems so pricey for a cutter. Worth its weight in gold or not so much? Thanks for the tips!

I haven't purchased a Bud cutter. BUT I would LOVE too!

That being said. I asked my Mr. Muscles if he could make me a VERY simple guide so I could cut my bars straight down. I was tired of angled cuts. Hahaha!!! I started showing him pics and videos of the Bud cutters. Then he got "that look" in his eye. The look that says he just took a very simple 20 minute project and turned it into a complicated week long project. Ah!!! So my cutter is almost done now. The cost if you made one yourself like we are the cost is about 50%-65% of what he charges. That is ONLY if you have the tools yourself and you can access all of the hardware locally and have the skill to just look at something like that and just whip it out. We strung one part of the cutter to check it out and it cuts like BUTTER!!! TALK about a time saver!!!! And if you are selling soap have symmetrical even cuts I totally think it would be worth it.

I still have to sand, stain and do finishing work on it today and then we will have to string it etc. Then I get to REALLY try it out. I am very blessed to have a sweet hubby and it makes him happy to MAKE something himself. Doing things like that just makes him so happy.

But if I didn't have my hubby (and I had the extra $$$ laying around, lol) I would totally be getting a Bud Cutter!

 

[dixiedragon]

@ freesia - for me, cutting the soap would make my hands hurt, and I would not call my results even "fairly consistent". Heck, I would not call them, "rustic and homemade" looking. I would call them, "Looks like she got liquored up and tried to cut soap with an ax." I could never find these miter boxes some soapers use. My local hardware stores only carry one where the cut doesn't go all the way to the bottom and the sides are very shallow, so you only had a "guide" through about 1/2 of the bar. Have no idea what these things could possible be useful for!

I would like to say that I have never cut soap while intoxicated.

 

[shunt2011]

If my husband wasn't so darn handy I would purchae Bud Hafner's cutter as well. However, my husband is handy and was able to make me two just like Bud's one is 1 inch and one is 1.25 inches. I couldn't live without them. He also made me a log splitter and a simple single slicer when I first started. I couldn't imagine going back to cutting them one at a time with a knife or with a mitre box as they were never even or consistent when it came to labeling them.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

As I am (currently) just a hobbyist, I've just made molds with a 2cm guide which I hope will be okay for now. In the future, I might well make a wire cutter

 

[smeetree]

I couldn't imagine going back to cutting them one at a time with a knife or with a mitre box as they were never even or consistent when it came to labeling them.

Really? I get them perfect with a knife. You just need to use a ruler beforehand and mark out ever 1" across the loaf, then go back and cut them. It works great.

 

[Dennis]

@ freesia "Looks like she got liquored up and tried to cut soap with an ax."

I would like to say that I have never cut soap while intoxicated.

Never say never. Stranger things have happened. :roll:

 

[heyjude]

I am a hobbyist who loves her two cutters! I have BB's multiwire cutter for cp and Bud's mp cutter which I use when I have mp embeds on top of cp. I was so tired of funny looking cuts.

 

[PinkCupcake]

Really? I get them perfect with a knife. You just need to use a ruler beforehand and mark out ever 1" across the loaf, then go back and cut them. It works great.

That doesn't work for me. I can't seem to cut straight down. I use a mold with a cutting guide, but someday I would love to have a multi-cutter.

 

[Lin]

I use a ruler to mark out everything first, even use an L square ruler to help with my "slab molds" (cardboard cereal boxes) and my cuts still suck lol. I just spent an hour the other day using a vegetable peeler to try and pretty up my rectangle christmas soaps. They look worlds different now though!

I have a genetic connective tissue disorder which causes severe joint problems and I have nerve damage along the other sides of both arms from elbow dislocations. I also have some of the shakiest hands around lol, when the muscle twitching and jerking is bad I think I can rival some with parkinsons! So currently the knife doesn't work so hot for me LOL. So thats why as soon as I have the cash to spare I'm going to pick up that cheap $11 cheese cutter from walmart for now. If I can't find one even cheaper at the thrift store. And for now I ogle those fancy wire multicutters, some day!!!

Currently my soap is only for myself and friends, so they all know what things I struggle with and don't care about perfectly straight cuts. So I've got time to perfect things before I need to have my soap pretty enough to sell.

 

[shunt2011]

Well, for those that can make straight cuts kudos to you. I wish I could have. I just could not get a straight cut and it was important for me to have a good cut for consistent weight once I began selling them.

 

[houseofwool]

Well, for those that can make straight cuts kudos to you. I wish I could have. I just could not get a straight cut and it was important for me to have a good cut for consistent weight once I began selling them.

Word!

My cuts using a jig or miter box always looked like an epileptic monkey did the job. Fine for stuff around the house, but not for soap intended for sale.