Salt bar cutting

[Neve]

I had to go out to dinner after pouring my soap last night. When I got back three hours later the sides were still warm and I didn't feel confident to remove and cut yet. Because I was pushing the boundaries of what my mixing bowl can hold it's only 36% salt.

After five hours I remembered the soap and cut it. The salt had settled and that's where it crumbled. On my first ever decent swirl too.

Any tips for fixing the edges? I tried scraping one is there a better way? I use a metal soap cutter (a big blade).

 

[dixiedragon]

No advice - I just did my first ever salt bars this weekend - but that's a really pretty swirl!

 

[Neve]

Yeah just my luck I finally do the perfect trace and a decent swirl and I mess up the cutting. I thought it might be gelling because it was so warm after three hours, I guess I should have just cut it anyway.

It took me 10 minutes to get it out of the mould! I was terrified of damaging it.

 

[shunt2011]

I pretty much always remove and cut within 3 hours. Sometimes it's still pretty hot to the touch. However with only 38% salt I probably would have waited a bit longer too. I use between 50-75% salt in my bars.
Even in my divider slab mold I have to remove them while pretty warm or they will crumble and give me fits coming out of the molds. They look pretty. I would just use them as the are. My bars that aren't to my selling ideal become mine. I love salt bars.

 

[Neve]

I am making another batch today, this time I'll go with the 50-75%. I just didn't use the calculator last time! I was aiming for over 50% but my maths was way out... oops. Warm or not it gets cut as soon as it's firm!!

 

[Seawolfe]

Mine looked like that when I used a thick cleaver to cut them till hubby shouldered me out of the way and got a thin knife to cut them. On my second batch I used the thinnest bladed knife I could find - an old bread knife. Worked a LOT better.

 

[Neve]

Grrr. I tried scraping them but I just cut my finger. So no more of that!

 

[Pepsi Girl]

Beautiful!

 

[Neve]

The scraped ones look pretty decent now and the swirl shows better. I cut them a bit larger once I realised they would all crumble, knowing I would somehow trim them back. Feel like I need a sander!

 

[clhigh29]

When I made my salt bars (first and only so far), I poured it into a 9-bar slab mold and put the rest in a loaf mold. I got nice clean edges with the 9-bar, and what I poured into the loaf mold was only 1" thick, but cut rough like yours. These rough edges actually look cool on a thinner soap. My daughter actually likes them better than the thick, clean-edged bars. Not sure how to fix the sides, but your soaps do look pretty.

 

[Obsidian]

I use a microplaner to smooth out my salt bars if needed. I like to use either a wire cheese cutter or a crinkle cutter for my salt bars.

 

[Neve]

I don't have either of those. I guess I could go to the kitchen store. My new batch just got poured. I'd like not to mess this one up!

 

[Obsidian]

Thats really pretty. A sharp thin knife will work fine for cutting.

 

[Neve]

It's still soft to touch. My husband has gone into town I told him to look for a cheese cutter thingy. You never know, Canadian Tire might have one. I am hoping this swirl looks as good as the last one, I did it a little different. Haven't given up on planing the edges of the seaweed swirl yet either I just wanted to use up the other half of the coconut milk.

This time I added in 20% avocado oil, 75% salt, and stick blended the salt in rather than hand-stirring. I am hoping that helps prevent the settling issue.

 

[Pepsi Girl]

Wow that is a lovely color! I need to see this cut

 

[Lin]

What's a microplaner?

I've been thinking about looking for a long very thin serated knife at goodwill for cutting Salt bars. Ideally I want cavity molds but I don't know when I can afford some. I've got them saved in my eBay watch list though, like an 8 cavity oval mold for 6.99 including shipping. I'm sick of waiting to try salt bars!

I use a wire cheese slicer, the butcher block kind, to cut my soap. That will work on salt bars? Careful sending your hubby out, everytime I asked a store employee they brought me to those wire cheese slicers that look like large veggie peelers. You might end up with him bringing one of those home.

 

[Obsidian]

Microplane, made for zesting citrus and grating hard cheese.

 

[Neve]

Ok here it is cut. At 5:30 it was still soft but I unmoulded and cut anyway. I couldn't find the latex gloves so my fingers are feeling pretty rough right now.

Hubby didn't bring anything home.

Stick blending with the salt really helped. Sounded awful but it worked.

 

[Obsidian]

They look great, you cut them at the right time. Salt bars will always be some what soft when cut but thats what is needed to prevent crumbling.

 

[Pepsi Girl]

Just as lovely as I imagined them to be!