Technique experiment

[Todd Ziegler]

I wanted to see how well the color shows up in a pencil line. The pink is slices of a soap that I wasn't fond of. I need to do the slices a little different the next time but I like the way the pencil lines turned out.

 

[DeeAnna]

I missed seeing this on Tuesday. Nice idea to use soap as the pencil line, Todd! Did you make thin slices with a knife or wire cutter? Did you see any problems with the new soap adhering to the slices? Was it hard to prevent air pockets under the slices?

Like you said, the idea could use some refinement, but there's real potential in this. I'm very curious to see how your next attempt works out.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

I missed seeing this on Tuesday. Nice idea to use soap as the pencil line, Todd! Did you make thin slices with a knife or wire cutter? Did you see any problems with the new soap adhering to the slices? Was it hard to prevent air pockets under the slices?

Like you said, the idea could use some refinement, but there's real potential in this. I'm very curious to see how your next attempt works out.

1st, I made the slices with my hand held wood planer and what I should have done was use my big planer because then I could have made slices that were wide enough to fit from edge to edge in the mold. Thus eliminating the problem of not creating a seamless look.

2nd, I did not have any problems with the old soap adhering to the new but I got the soap up to 145°F for about 30 minutes and the old soap melted just enough to stick to the new soap.

3rd, I eliminated the air pocket issue by gently tapping the slices from side to side and end to end, to make sure that they were touching the new soap and eliminating the air pockets. It's not a guarantee that the air pockets will be pushed out. I also laid the slices in by putting one end in and laying it down gently, instead of just plopping it in.

I'm going to try another one as soon as I get my big planer back from a friend who was doing some modification to it.

I think this would be a great way for people to get a pencil line look without getting mica every where. It will also eliminate getting it to thick or to thin of pencil line.

I thought this little experiment posting would have gotten more attention than it has but maybe I should have labeled it better. Or people just aren't interested in a new way to do a pencil line. Lol.

 

[DeeAnna]

"...I got the soap up to 145°F for about 30 minutes and the old soap melted just enough to stick to the new soap ..."

Thank you for sharing your method -- much appreciated!!!! I imagine the heating is an important step to do to ensure the soap stays put together.

Soap maker Grace Holloway uses heat similar to yours to weld soap together. She has some free e-books and discusses soap welding in one of them -- see From Grace to You I think there was an SMF challenge using this technique.

I like how the soap pencil line could be anywhere from delicate and subtle to bold and sassy.

Also a soap pencil line would lend itself to patterns and shapes that would be hard to do with micas or other powdered colorants. Like maybe use a variegated bar of soap to cut leaves of soap that shade from red on one side to purple on the other? Or cut the soap "line" using one of those wavy cutters to make a zig-zag pencil line.

Sometimes threads that don't get much traction just get lost in the shuffle -- it's a weekend or other threads are getting a lot of attention or sometimes it might simply be a case of "manure happens".

I occasionally click on "Find threads" and then on "Unanswered threads" to see if someone's thread has been neglected and deserves an answer. That's how I found this one. Often other people will see it then and reply. Hopefully your thread will get more interest now.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

You are correct about the various patterns and shapes or shades of color that can be created by using slices rather than mica powder. And you don't have to worry about cleaning mica powder from the sides of your mold which can prevent the soap from coming away cleanly when you unmold.

I have already started making some soap with the only use being for "pencil slices". That is what I am calling it for now. I used my dividers and my 2.5lb molds today and created two, three colored soaps for using as pencil slices. I can adjust my big planer to any depth I want. Then I can do any thicknesses that I want. In a couple of days when my lye order gets here, I am going to make a white soap with a rainbow "S" but more like a scroll then a "S" going through it. I also want to try a "/" slash mark design with two or three single color pencil slices.

I think you are right about the possibilities of this technique being used in many different ways.

I didn't mean to sound like I was whining about the attention that my post received. I just thought I had a really good idea and wanted to share it with others.

Edit: these comments from you are like praise from Cesar.

 

[DeeAnna]

I didn't take it as whining. I think you've got a neat idea, and I am also a bit surprised at the lack of response.

 

[earlene]

You could do a rimmed soap within a rimmed soap with this kind of idea as well. I think the design possibilities are endless by using a plane or soap planer to create very thin slices of soap that can be laid or positioned into the soap batter.

It might also be fun to alternate more of the soap 'pencil lines' with the mica pencil lines, sort of like a thin layers kind of soap design.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Thank you very much. As soon as I can, I will post some of my finished soaps using this technique.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

You could do a rimmed soap within a rimmed soap with this kind of idea as well. I think the design possibilities are endless by using a plane or soap planer to create very thin slices of soap that can be laid or positioned into the soap batter.

It might also be fun to alternate more of the soap 'pencil lines' with the mica pencil lines, sort of like a thin layers kind of soap design.

Yes I have a lot of ideas in mind but I have to wait for my lye to get here.

I hope to see others try this too. I think we could see some interesting soaps made.

 

[tommysgirl]

Thank you very much. As soon as I can, I will post some of my finished soaps using this technique.

Thanks for sharing this technique Todd! This opens up so many possibilities for designs. I am still really new and learning about design and technique, but I can say that I find mica messy and difficult to deal with at this point. So this presents a really nice alternative. I look forward to seeing more of your finished soaps, and any that anyone else may try with this technique.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Thanks for sharing this technique Todd! This opens up so many possibilities for designs. I am still really new and learning about design and technique, but I can say that I find mica messy and difficult to deal with at this point. So this presents a really nice alternative. I look forward to seeing more of your finished soaps, and any that anyone else may try with this technique.

Thanks and you're welcome. I had a bunch of soap that I decided just wouldn't pass the test for selling (good soap just not pretty) and I saw a guy on a video throwing in these big slices as confetti and I thought, what if I used some slices instead of powder to create lines.
When I was finished with the test I didn't know what to think, so I thought I would post the results and see what everyone had to say.

 

[CaraBou]

I sense a new soap challenge! It's a brilliant idea Todd. Great tips on plane size and temp. I've always loved vertical embedded soap ends. Now I'm thinking horizontal. Shaping soon after planing seems key to control curling. Hmmm, horizontal curling...

 

[Todd Ziegler]

I sense a new soap challenge! It's a brilliant idea Todd. Great tips on plane size and temp. I've always loved vertical embedded soap ends. Now I'm thinking horizontal. Shaping soon after planing seems key to control curling. Hmmm, horizontal curling...

Thanks, I was thinking about the challenge too. Thickness is the key to stopping the curling. The strips that I used curled a little but I placed them on wax paper and flattened them out by pressing them down and then let them sit for a while.

 

[SPowers]

I missed the post entirely - a busy week of doctor's appts and tests that have been put off for 6 months! It's nice to get back into it.
Very creative idea... I have so much in the way of soap leftovers it's nice to have ideas on how to use them all.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

I missed the post entirely - a busy week of doctor's appts and tests that have been put off for 6 months! It's nice to get back into it.
Very creative idea... I have so much in the way of soap leftovers it's nice to have ideas on how to use them all.

Thanks. I definitely have a lot of soap that needs to be repurposed. I'm making some soap today to use next week for pencil slices. We have to come up with a name for the technique. I'm thinking "zig lines" lol!

 

[SPowers]

I like it!

 

[Todd Ziegler]

I like it!

I really don't care what we call it but it does deserve a name. Maybe the community can come up with a clever name.

 

[SoapSisters]

This is intriguing! I'd also love to see this as one of the Challenges here on SMF. I'm sure there'd be amazing designs.

 

[Soapdragon]

1st, I made the slices with my hand held wood planer and what I should have done was use my big planer because then I could have made slices that were wide enough to fit from edge to edge in the mold. Thus eliminating the problem of not creating a seamless look.

2nd, I did not have any problems with the old soap adhering to the new but I got the soap up to 145°F for about 30 minutes and the old soap melted just enough to stick to the new soap.

3rd, I eliminated the air pocket issue by gently tapping the slices from side to side and end to end, to make sure that they were touching the new soap and eliminating the air pockets. It's not a guarantee that the air pockets will be pushed out. I also laid the slices in by putting one end in and laying it down gently, instead of just plopping it in.

I'm going to try another one as soon as I get my big planer back from a friend who was doing some modification to it.

I think this would be a great way for people to get a pencil line look without getting mica every where. It will also eliminate getting it to thick or to thin of pencil line.

I thought this little experiment posting would have gotten more attention than it has but maybe I should have labeled it better. Or people just aren't interested in a new way to do a pencil line. Lol.

Innovative train of thought

 

[Todd Ziegler]

This is intriguing! I'd also love to see this as one of the Challenges here on SMF. I'm sure there'd be amazing designs.

I'm not sure how that works.