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I bought a huge block of Olivo soap (for £1.80 )and when I came to cut it into manageable chunks, it crumbled

How should I cut it?

I tried heating and wetting the knife to no avail, I was wondering about zapping it in the microwave... but I think this might be unwise.

Worst case scenario, I'll melt it down and re-mould it, but what a pain, I thought I would be able to cut it easily

Unbelievable - Ann... I bought exactly the same soap today via the Neeps food co-op ( a bit cheaper than you paid) and we've been struggling to cut it too. Ideas so far... sharp knife didn't work...

Hot knife... not tried yet
Hot wire... as yet untried...

I was going to wait and ask Wombat when he's at Ina's, but maybe someone will answer before then.

Well I bought mine on Thursday afternoon from my favourite health food shop in Glasgow (grassroots if anyone wants to know)

Nev had just dropped me off round the corner, so I missed my chance to ask him... let me know if he has a plan would you please

cheese wire? wire saw?





hammer'n'chisel?

I've just made some pure olive soap and it's best to cut it when it's straight out of the mould, before it cures and gets too hard. It's dead easy to do and with just one litre of the cheapest, low-grade olive oil I managed to make 13 bars of it. I've posted a tutorial on http://www.growveg.info/index.php I think you have to register before you can find stuff but it's listed under myplot and my user name is the same as here.

Guess what - I have a huge bar of Olivo soap (£1.75 from the green shop in Berwick) and I had the same intention! Wombat will be here on Wednesday - I can ask him - and we can experiment on mine and we'll post the results! It is wonderful stuff tho - I use it to wash my hair and my body and it leaves me all shiney and managable (Chris says I have a very distorted idea of managable tho!)

contadina wrote:I've just made some pure olive soap and it's best to cut it when it's straight out of the mould, before it cures and gets too hard.

I think that's the problem here - it's too hard and a bit crumbly too. Once I've used this I'll give soapmaking a go - been meaning to try it for ages.

Hi, I am sorry to say, that it is very unlikely you will be able to cut it without crumbling, as it is a pure soap, it should be cut just after a few hours of being in the mould. I would simply take the crumbles and use them as they are.

I would not advise melting it down and re moulding it is not quite so easy!

Sorry, but enjoy your natural soap as it is!!!!


Louise

Well it is far too big to use without cutting it and it has crumbled into unusable small bits (they would just wash down the drain) so I will remould it if I can't cut it... I have done it before - not easy but less wasteful than using the crumbs.

Anyone thought of using a fine-toothed saw?

I tried using a serrated knife... with no luck... there MUST be a way.

Surely it is sold in a huge block so that it can be cut at home

The only thing you could do with the crumbs - turn into gloop, i.e. dissolve in water; and then use for washing. I do that with soap leftovers, and use the stuff in the machine.

No - serrated edge knives apply lateral pressure - that's your problem. Honestly, I'm sure a fine-toothed saw (fretsaw or coping saw or maybe a junior hacksaw) would do it - let the saw do its own work, don't apply any pressure to speak of.

ina wrote:The only thing you could do with the crumbs - turn into gloop, i.e. dissolve in water; and then use for washing. I do that with soap leftovers, and use the stuff in the machine.

Ohh, I like that, sometimes I prefer liquid soap too... I can do that Thanks Ina

Annpan wrote:

ina wrote:The only thing you could do with the crumbs - turn into gloop, i.e. dissolve in water; and then use for washing. I do that with soap leftovers, and use the stuff in the machine.

Ohh, I like that, sometimes I prefer liquid soap too... I can do that Thanks Ina

can do that with any soap, and it's amazing just how much water you can add to it to make into the same thickness as commercial liquid soap. So when they sell posh liquid soap in the shops - it's mostly water