Perfect Loaf Mold Size?

[HowieRoll]

This is coming to you from a hobby soaper...

I have 5 wooden molds that I've built. Two are tall and skinny (one "large," one "small"), two are regular loaf molds (one "large," one "small"), and one is a slab that makes 6 bars of soap.

The interior length of the "large" ones is 9" (batch size 28-30oz oil)

The interior length of the "small" ones is 5 3/4" (batch size 22oz oil)

The reason I ended up building my own, particularly the tall and skinny ones, is because I couldn't find molds small enough to suit me. I don't want to use 40oz of oil for every batch of soap I make, as I experiment a lot with designs and, erm, not all of them come out as successful as they were in my head when I started. But the small 1-lb mold is just too small for me. Am I sounding like Goldilocks? Too big! Too small!!

Anyhow, these have been fine but I really, really want a silicone mold (think the Crafter's Choice 1501 might be under the tree for me this year...) so I can 1) do away with freezer paper, and 2) get square edges on the bottom. My handmade ones are lacking in that department.

The long and short of this long story is that I would be highly, highly interested in a mold you design that could be adjusted lengthwise.

As an aside, are any of your molds for sale at this point?

 

[JoeyG]

This is coming to you from a hobby soaper...

I have 5 wooden molds that I've built. Two are tall and skinny (one "large," one "small"), two are regular loaf molds (one "large," one "small"), and one is a slab that makes 6 bars of soap.

The interior length of the "large" ones is 9" (batch size 28-30oz oil)

The interior length of the "small" ones is 5 3/4" (batch size 22oz oil)

The reason I ended up building my own, particularly the tall and skinny ones, is because I couldn't find molds small enough to suit me. I don't want to use 40oz of oil for every batch of soap I make, as I experiment a lot with designs and, erm, not all of them come out as successful as they were in my head when I started. But the small 1-lb mold is just too small for me. Am I sounding like Goldilocks? Too big! Too small!!

Anyhow, these have been fine but I really, really want a silicone mold (think the Crafter's Choice 1501 might be under the tree for me this year...) so I can 1) do away with freezer paper, and 2) get square edges on the bottom. My handmade ones are lacking in that department.

The long and short of this long story is that I would be highly, highly interested in a mold you design that could be adjusted lengthwise.

As an aside, are any of your molds for sale at this point?

Hi Angela,

Firstly, I love your Goldilocks analogy... but I was expecting you to say that you had finally found one that is juuust right... LOL

Our molds are 2 part silicone molds (this allows you to pull the mold apart instead of having to dig the soap out) and there is also no need to line them with paper. Square edges are generally not an issue either.

We are working on an adjustable loaf mold, so we will have that available at some point.

Regarding molds for sale, we were hoping to have some up on the website before Christmas. Functionally they're great, but cosmetically we're still trying to iron out a few bugs so it will probably be January before we go live.

Thank you kindly for your input

 

[Kittish]

Hi Angela,

Firstly, I love your Goldilocks analogy... but I was expecting you to say that you had finally found one that is juuust right... LOL

Our molds are 2 part silicone molds (this allows you to pull the mold apart instead of having to dig the soap out) and there is also no need to line them with paper. Square edges are generally not an issue either.

We are working on an adjustable loaf mold, so we will have that available at some point.

Regarding molds for sale, we were hoping to have some up on the website before Christmas. Functionally they're great, but cosmetically we're still trying to iron out a few bugs so it will probably be January before we go live.

Thank you kindly for your input

Honestly, I don't care if my molds are pretty, so long as they do what they're designed to do. :mrgreen:

 

[SunRiseArts]

For me is the small tall skinny mold that gets 10 3.5 to 4 oz bars. 2 wide x 3 tall, by 10 long inches

 

[toxikon]

Anyhow, these have been fine but I really, really want a silicone mold (think the Crafter's Choice 1501 might be under the tree for me this year...) so I can 1) do away with freezer paper, and 2) get square edges on the bottom. My handmade ones are lacking in that department.

What I love about silicone molds is how freaking smooth the loaf feels after I take it out. It's like a big block of perfectly smooth marble. I spend way too much time just touching it after I unmold it LOL.

 

[shunt2011]

What I love about silicone molds is how freaking smooth the loaf feels after I take it out. It's like a big block of perfectly smooth marble. I spend way too much time just touching it after I unmold it LOL.

I love my silicone molds. I have the Brambleberry silicone lined wood molds and the Nurture ones. But they are 5lbs. My favorite are the Nurture. They unmold so smoothly and have that smooth glossy finish generally.

 

[bathgeek]

I use the $13 molds you can get on Amazon that are a wooden box with a silicone liner. They are just a smidge over 10” and I get 10 bars plus an end slice with them. They are slightly smaller bars at just a bit over 2.5” an edge when the slices are cut. I have something like 20 of these (found them at under $10/ea with free shipping and stocked up.).

I’d love to be able to make a 40-bar block or slab with these dimensions.

 

[randycoxclemson]

My preferred mold is the kitty litter box. I can make 5-9 pound batches, depending on how thick I want them to be, and then cut them into 2 by 2.5 inch bars or thereabouts. If I use the loaf mold, I get these gigantic four-ounce bars that are always too big for my wife's hands and even a bit unwieldy for me. I also like the litter box because I just put it inside a kitchen garbage bag and it's lined with no fuss.

I hope some day to make a 17 pound batch that would completely fill the box. That would mean cutting narrow strips (say, 1 inch by 3 inches) and I'd get a lot of bars out of that.

When I need fancy layering or uniform circles, I use the loaf mold or silicone column mold (most often used for shampoo bars). My other go-to for solid round bars are yogurt cups half-filled. Those sizes are almost perfect, now that yogurt cups have become so small.

 

[HowieRoll]

Hi Angela,

Firstly, I love your Goldilocks analogy... but I was expecting you to say that you had finally found one that is juuust right... LOL

Our molds are 2 part silicone molds (this allows you to pull the mold apart instead of having to dig the soap out) and there is also no need to line them with paper. Square edges are generally not an issue either.

We are working on an adjustable loaf mold, so we will have that available at some point.

Regarding molds for sale, we were hoping to have some up on the website before Christmas. Functionally they're great, but cosmetically we're still trying to iron out a few bugs so it will probably be January before we go live.

Thank you kindly for your input

I would say if you made adjustable loaf and T&S molds then they would be juuuussssst right. I've been on your website many times and have ogled the molds, the ease of releasing the soap with no liners, and the nice, square corners. I was hoping to give my husband a gift idea this holiday of one of your molds (as in, email him the link and say "Buy This" haha), but will patiently wait. Maybe it will make a nice gift under the tree for, say, President's Day.

 

[JoeyG]

@ SunRiseArts

For me is the small tall skinny mold that gets 10 3.5 to 4 oz bars. 2 wide x 3 tall, by 10 long inches :smile:

We do a tall & skinning mold, but not that long. I think we'll be adding some closer to your dimensions though.
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@ shunt2011
Just noticed your site link... very nice. Clean, straight-forward, user friendly, and your soap looks great!
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@ HowieRoll

I would say if you made adjustable loaf and T&S molds then they would be juuuussssst right.

Hopefully that will happen soon for you, because we are doing both.

I've been on your website many times and have ogled the molds, the ease of releasing the soap with no liners, and the nice, square corners. I was hoping to give my husband a gift idea this holiday of one of your molds (as in, email him the link and say "Buy This" haha), but will patiently wait. Maybe it will make a nice gift under the tree for, say, President's Day. :smile:

I'm betting your husband loves your subtle hints... lol, must make gift buying a lot easier for him. Sorry about Christmas, but as you say, President's Day is right around the corner.

 

[SunRiseArts]

@ SunRiseArts
We do a tall & skinning mold, but not that long. I think we'll be adding some closer to your dimensions though.
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You know what would be great if possible? A way to section it in the middle.

Mine like that one has a capacity of 38 oz, however, sometimes I want to only make 4 or 5 bars like 16 or 20 0z, and I just put a tic tac box with freezer paper at the end to block it.:mrgreen:

 

[IrishLass]

I'm just a hobbyist, but this is my most favorite mold out of all my molds: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showpost.php?p=514940&postcount=13 It gets used more than any of my other molds.

It was made by a fellow soaper who used to be quite active on this forum and who had a business making molds, but he seems to have dropped off the face of the planet in recent years.

Anyway, I've been using it since 2006, and the things I love about it are...

1) It's completely collapsible, which means I can be creative with my mold liners, i.e., I can use either fondant mats, bubble wrap, or mylar, etc... without ever having to worry that my soap might become stuck in my mold
2) Because it's completely convertible into log or slab mode I'm not limited to only a few swirling techniques.
3) Depending how I pour, I can make a small sample batch of 4 standard-size bars that are 3.5" wide x 2.5" tall x however thick I feel like making them, or I can make two 2-pound loaves (14, 16 or 18 bars depending on how thick I cut them) or just one 2-pound loaf of soap (7, 8 or 9 bars depending on how thick I cut them), or a 2 pound slab of soap (9 standard-size bars), or a 2.8 pound slab if I want thicker bars, or I can make a 4 lb. batch in slab mode (18 standard-size bars).
4) It's CPOP safe
5) It's well insulated, allowing my soap to achieve full gel without much fuss.

 

[JoeyG]

@ SunRiseArts

You know what would be great if possible? A way to section it in the middle.

We're actually working on a method that would allow the user to section off the mold anywhere along the length of it.
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@IrishLass

I'm just a hobbyist, but this is my most favorite mold out of all my molds: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showpost.php?p=514940&postcount=13 It gets used more than any of my other molds.

That is one cool mold. We actually played around with hinged walls... they were a little too restrictive for what we're trying to do though.

5) It's well insulated, allowing my soap to achieve full gel without much fuss.

Just curious, as I know everyone has their own method. How do you tell when the bottom has?