Oh my goodness, I'm so glad you replied as it was YOUR soaps that especially caught my eye and made me think 'I could do that... if I had the tools, knowledge, and patience!'. Especially thankful that you mentioned those specifics (all foreign to me) about your soaps so that I DON'T try to do mine right out of the mold. Have I mentioned that I love this forum? I LOVE THIS FORUM!!I normally bevel my edges within about 1 hour or so after I've unmolded and cut them into bars, but if the bars are slightly too soft yet for whatever reason, I wait a day or so later, by which time they are usually fine with being bevelled. I probably should mention that I normally use sodium lactate and a water discount (33% lye concentration), and I also gel my soaps, so for the most part they are firm enough at cutting time to able to withstand being bevelled nicely. If I wait too long, it's a little more muscle work for me. I use a Japanese woodworking radius planer to bevel my soaps.
Ungelled soaps are a different story. I normally pour off enough batter to make 1 ungelled soap out of every one of my batches, and those can can take up to 2 weeks to be ready to bevel nicely.
IrishLass
Perfect! I have some bars that are just now cured and was afraid I waited too late, but I think I'll be okay. Well, as okay as a klutz like me can be armed with any tool capable of slicing/dicing/paring/rendering hideous. I'm going to give it a try this afternoon. Thank you!
Another super helpful reply! You guys are great! So reassuring that there is no absolute, cast-in-stone rule on when to do it, that common sense and experimentation are the way to go. Thank you!
I meant absolutes as far as trimming.
You know, I AM saving them, but have no idea how I will use them other than in a confetti soap. I'm not even going to ask how you go about rebatching as that is a 'whole other thing', and I promise to search before asking. The answer is probably already out there! Thanks!Also don't worry about wasting the shavings. I save all mine in a plastic container with lid, and either rebatch them or make confetti soap.
Oh good. I wasn't sure. I can LOL now though!
I do pretty much what Irish Lass does. I like to get my soap cut and cleaned up in one operation, so I only have one mess to clean up. I also like to smoosh all of the trimmings into a little "hamburger patty" and smooshing is easiest to do when the soap is freshly made.
I did a batch yesterday afternoon and cut the bars this morning. The center bars were ready to bevel pretty much right away. The end bars didn't fully gel so they needed maybe an hour after cutting to become dry enough to bevel. So I did something else for a little bit, came back to the soap, and finished up.
Remember -- this is not brain surgery ... it's only soap.
If the soap is soft like cream cheese right out of the fridge (or softer), you'll have lots of trouble if you try to cut or bevel the soap. If you can press gently with your finger and feel the soap start to make a dent, it's too soft. A wire cutter tears through the soap, and a knife sticks badly. A potato peeler or similar beveling tool just smears the edges rather than cuts a shaving.
The soap needs to have a firm but yielding texture -- like mild cheddar cheese -- to cut and bevel well. This is when you can press moderately firmly without leaving a dent, but you can feel the soap give a little under your finger. This is the point at which I like to cut and bevel my soap.
It's also an option to cut your bars at the "mild cheddar cheese" stage, but wait to bevel until the soap is much firmer -- more like aged cheddar or even parmesan. At that point the soap will barely yield or won't yield if you press it hard with a finger. Soap this firm will bevel nicely, but it probably cannot be cut easily if at all.
As a friend often says, "Practice makes better!" You won't get good until you practice, make mistakes, cuss a little, and try again until you get the hang of it. So pick the worst looking bar you have and get busy!
) Your cheesy analogies are helpful. They also made me hungry. Luckily husband made a "Fatty" (log of ground beef stuffed with cheese, onion, crumbled bacon, and hot peppers, then wrapped in (yes!) bacon, and cooked in the pellet stove with moderate smoke). Between that, my small success with beveling, and a glimpse of SF quarterback Jimmy Garappolo (oh my), I am set for the day. (I may be old enough to be his g_mother, provided all parties got an early start, but I can still appreciate beauty when I see it.)I have a YT video I'm working on about what I do with my bevel scraps and misc scraps.
Some day I'll get it finished and posted.
