When do you all "shape" your soaps?

[Kerye]

I sure am having fun making my soaps!!!!

One of my daughters just became a new homeowner, so I wanted to give her some soaps for a little housewarming gift. They are all about 5-6 weeks old, so were definitely ready.

I was having so much fun "shaping" them, all I did really was smooth the edges, beveled the bigger bars, all with a paring knife, I can see I am going to want a real beveler soon!

I was just wondering though how soon I could do all this? I have some soaps that I made just last week, would it help them to cure faster if I did all the shaping now, or I should just wait until they are cured?

TIA!

 

[Vic1963]

I think you are supposed to make sure they are totally cured out, and shrank all that they are going to shrink........so they don't warp out again after you trim them.

 

[IrishLass]

I do all my beveling just as soon as I unmold and cut. They don't need to be cured first before you bevel. You can wait that long if you want to, but it's not at all necessary. For me, I find the sooner I bevel, the smoother my bevels are when compared to my later bevels when the soap is too hard.

When I first started making soap, I used a potato peeler to bevel with, which worked pretty good. It gave me more control than a knife, but I use the beveler from here now:

http://www.lotioncrafter.com/best-ever- ... eller.html

It gives me 2 different beveling options, and the bevels have a really nice scalloped look to them like a fancy picture frame.

IrishLass

Edtited to add that the curing process has no adverse affect on the way my bevels look further down the road. They still look as great as the day they were beveled.

 

[Guest]

Scroll down the page to "HANDcraft Soap Edger"

Two different holes on each end. Small bevel or larger bevel.
Easy to do entire log.
Heartsong showed this to me and I bought one -- love it!

http://www.soapequipment.com/soapcutter ... r_Soap_Box

 

[Milla]

Scroll down the page to "HANDcraft Soap Edger"

Two different holes on each end. Small bevel or larger bevel.
Easy to do entire log.
Heartsong showed this to me and I bought one -- love it!

http://www.soapequipment.com/soapcutter ... r_Soap_Box

I've definitely looked at this before and almost bought it. Glad it works!

 

[SilverMaple]

Gah! One day I will have a soap beveler!

But for now, my $1.65 potato peeler is working fine, I suppose.

I bevel whenever I think of it. I usually do HP soaps a few days after unmolding, CP at unmolding if hard enough, otherwise I'll wait a few days to a few weeks.

I've only had one batch that warped oddly during the cure after beveling. The others look the same no matter when it was done.

 

[Guest]

i bevel after they are out of the mold , sometimes weeks later . Whenever I feel like doing it basically .

Kitn

 

[Kerye]

Well thanks everyone! I guess I will be beveling lots tonight then!
I will have to try the potato peeler, I told myself can't buy a beveler until I sell at a least a few bars!

 

[Bnky]

WOW... the soap cutter shown at the top of soapequipment.com's site looks awesome.

 

[carebear]

I don't do it until they've fully cured because the harder the soap the less I mess them up with finger prints, divots, and bits of the trimmed soap sticking to the bar.

 

[LJA]

I do mine the same day as unmolding, usually - but if I get a softer batch, I'll do it a day later. With all of my soap though, I've never had any trouble planing them or anything, at ANY time.

 

[Claire Huddle]

I do all my beveling just as soon as I unmold and cut. They don't need to be cured first before you bevel. You can wait that long if you want to, but it's not at all necessary. For me, I find the sooner I bevel, the smoother my bevels are when compared to my later bevels when the soap is too hard.

When I first started making soap, I used a potato peeler to bevel with, which worked pretty good. It gave me more control than a knife, but I use the beveler from here now:

http://www.lotioncrafter.com/best-ever- ... eller.html

It gives me 2 different beveling options, and the bevels have a really nice scalloped look to them like a fancy picture frame.

IrishLass

Edtited to add that the curing process has no adverse affect on the way my bevels look further down the road. They still look as great as the day they were beveled.

Holy cats, now I don't have to start a new thread to ask specifically about beveling! Seek and ye shall most likely find, at least on this forum. I'm going to make a batch today so I can try to bevel a few fresh edges tomorrow. I may try on a 3-week old bar as well, but I'm betting it will be too dry. Sadly, I followed the link above but they no longer have a beveler. If my hand bevels are as hideous as I suspect they will be, I'll search for a beveler down the road. Tah!

 

[TheGecko]

I was just wondering though how soon I could do all this? I have some soaps that I made just last week, would it help them to cure faster if I did all the shaping now, or I should just wait until they are cured?

Personal preference really. Along with your recipe and curing process. My Coconut and Salt Soaps are usually done shortly after unmolding. Regular/GMS usually a week after unmolding during Spring/Summer and around two weeks during Fall/Winter.

 

[IrishLass]

Sadly, I followed the link above but they no longer have a beveler. If my hand bevels are as hideous as I suspect they will be, I'll search for a beveler down the road. Tah!

Yeah, LotionCrafter's no longer sells it, but Woodcraft does:
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/...I6NXw2IG05wIVkhx9Ch1DYA1qEAQYAiABEgJKlPD_BwE#

And Lee Valley Tools sells it as well: https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/sho...ese/41232-japanese-round-molding-wooden-plane

It's not the least expensive by any means, but it will last you forever and a day. It's well-made out of hard white oak (the same wood the centuries old USS Constitution, aka 'Old Ironsides' warship stationed in Boston Harbor is made out of. Mine is in excellent condition and still going strong after all these years of use bevelling my soap.

Here is my pictorial of how to use it: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/how-do-you-bevel-soap-share-your-method.64433/

And here is a thread by forum member Earlene who uses the same tool to bevel her soap: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/thank-you-irishlass-new-beveling-tool-from-lee-valley.75389/


IrishLass

 

[Claire Huddle]

Super! Thanks! Although, at my age, even buying green bananas becomes a questionable investment. LOL!

 

[Primrose]

Black sheep of the family here ... I do not bevel

 

[DeeAnna]

Holy cats, now I don't have to start a new thread to ask specifically about beveling! ...

I thought you already had this past Saturday. https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/when-to-trim-shape-cp-bar-edges.78076/

Color me confused?????

 

[Claire Huddle]

Oh dear, D

I thought you already had this past Saturday. https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/when-to-trim-shape-cp-bar-edges.78076/

Color me confused?????

Oh dear, no, color ME overly cautious and reluctant to goof things up. And also managing to not see the above post until today. Seriously, today, over a month later.
Anyway, in my mind, trimming and beveling are not the same. My earlier post was really simply about trimming. The kind of thing I can do with a paring knife or vegetable peeler. Then, on seeing this thread and the gorgeous beveled edges on some soaps (Irish Lass's among others), I rightly or wrongly made a distinction between that and the simple trimming that I do. And was ecstatic to see links to dedicated tools for the purpose. Sorry to have given reason for confusion and sorrier yet to have left this unanswered for so long. I would never intentionally ignore you.

 

[shunt2011]

@Claire Huddle to me trimming an beveling are the same. I use a peeler to bevel the sharp edges off (trimming). There are tools made for beveling/trimming, I have a couple but I prefer my hand peeler. IL soaps are amazing though.

 

[DeeAnna]

Ditto -- trimming and beveling mean the same thing to me too -- the step where you tidy up the bar and soften the sharp edges.

I always use a potato peeler to take a small chamfer (bevel) off the corners. It's fast, easy, and looks good. I have a soap planer that can be used to bevel edges, but it is more fiddly to bevel with this tool and doesn't do as good a job as the peeler.

You can use a cutter like Irish Lass's to make a deeper, shaped profile if you want, but the object is the same as using a peeler. I have a cutter like hers, but I keep it for woodworking. On soap, I prefer a minimalist look.

For those who say they "can't" bevel with a peeler, it's honestly not beyond most people's abilities. Practice makes better, as a friend says.