Sponiebr

(raises hand) I have a question, bearing in mind that I'm just an audience member here in the candle forums, but would it be possible to core out the wicks to say oh, 3/8" and replace the core with a 3/8" wicked plain wax candle? Like plug out the wick and stick a birthday cake candle down in the hole? Would it even scent? Would it even work? " 'Curiouser and curiouser!' cried Alice " Sponiebr Ooooo!!! What does THIS button do?

That melter from Candle Science is the same concept as a Presto Pot. I don't make candles, I make soap. Having said that I have worked professionally with melting large quantities of wax. While we didn't really care too much if the wax got off colored from burning or over heating we had to be very conscience about possible fires. We used the Presto Pots exclusively. The overwhelming opinion above seems to be direct heat will burn wax. That the best method is to use a presto or a double boiler. ^What TT said. o.O Sponiebr the Executor of single use only Bad Ideas

Yep. I really like those Freshware molds, they're a little on the light side, but they're really nice especially for the price. There was another listing on that wish web site for the same mold at $3. https://www.wish.com/m/c/5617324f1809d50e01516e04 Now these aren't straight sided, but I really like these little cups for my overages. I will admit that they are a bit of a pain, because they're loose, BUT that is also the major benefit to them. https://www.amazon.com/Baking-Fun-Microwave-Refrigerator-Dishwasher/dp/B01EVJANL6/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1478511935&sr=8-9&keywords=100+handmade+square+silicone At some point in my life, I'll need a puck mold.

What I should be doing is trimming, beveling, cleaning, polishing, wrapping and labeling soap... I'm pretty sure almost everything I have at the house is beveled, now I just need to do all that other jazz. :/ Then I'll only have another 4 more batches to finish up. I really do need to get off my butt and get this done, oh but the ennui... Oh look! Straw!!! I betcha I can make a candle outta that!!! o.O Oh, I probably should sleep at some point as well.

I can't tell if this wax is straight paraffin or if it's been mixed with something else, (there is a very good chance that it does have something else mixed with it to greatly increase the melting temperature). Also what are some of the temperature melting point ranges that you try for in your wax?

Hum, yeah a wick that burns out at the wax isn't optimal... Tests? You do this? I mean it's not like you're rubbing a candle on your face or anything... (oh, wait, fire inside the house... right, forgot about that for a second...) Pish! Do you think Lela Warren (aka: Glittersniffer) would have gain the notoriety she has today with that kind of an attitude? I dare say no, no she would not. Oh... Gulf wax... Yeah, I might have a few hundred pounds of that laying around actually... I don't think it's been mixed with anything, but I honestly don't know. Either way it should still burn. o.O This'll be interesting. If you see me on the News, DENY EVERYTHING! Slainte! Sponiebr the Executor of things that make you go hmmm...

Well, you're the only one I knew that had horses... Straw is rather large in diameter compared to hay and it has a hollow core. Straw is usually the stalks left over from cereal crops. e.g. wheat, oats, barley etc.. Basically all I'm talking about is using one of these thin straw tubes as a wick by itself (e.g. no wick inside of it) so that when it burns it'll snap, crackle and pop. Just a concept I thunked up.

People say it's a thin line between genius and madness and I'm here to tell you it is a broad stroke of gray.

Actually, Trappeur you're the one I had in mind for this experiment, 'cause yanno the horses. But, I digress. So there are these wooden wicks and apparently they're all unpredictable and don't want to work with certain waxes and certain FO's (yadda, yadda, yadda...) but they make this nice crackling noise like a log fire when they burn. So I got to thinking how that all works and I wasn't really feeling the whole true wicking action of a thin slice of wood. Wicks can work by surface tension feed but, meh, they work better with capillary feed. I've made improvised wick and fuse out of a great many things before, hair, fiberglass, a bundle of copper wire, (don't try that or the stainless steel metal braid), pipe cleaners (not great either the wire heats up the fuel/wax/fat)... all kinds of crazy stuff. But all of these had one thing in common, capillary feed/ saturation feeds. For a more precise definition I'd have to say they worked by wicking... <--- see what I did there? And then as I thought about these strange wicks it struck me that even though straw frequently has a shinny outside "skin" the interior of straw is very absorbent and might wick pretty well. I was thinking that someone might try this and find that the straw gives a crackling pop also, and probably without so many limiting factors as the wood wicks seem to have. So with these concepts in mind I was wondering if someone with all of the gear, and knowledge might give this a short test to see if it would work. That's the theory, intent, and scope of the operation. (*This message will self destruct in 10 seconds.*) 9 seconds 8... -Sponie

I know this may be a tad forward but all this talk about wood wicks has gotten my imagination all up in a tizzy. I was wondering if one of y'all might be up for a little experimentation? (coughs) Uh, so could someone try wicking a candle with a piece of straw? I mean like a piece of real straw, not hay or a soda straw. I would probably guess that you'd have to boil the hell out of it in some wax or oil to drive out the molecular moisture, and maybe fill the core with wax separately? (I make soap, and bad ideas I dunno) I dunno why, but I have some strange feeling that an open ended piece of straw might work pretty well. Then again I don't make candles... Just candle curious. Slainte, Sponiebr the Executor of Bad Ideas and Disastrous Notions.

Hi Shauna! Dontcha just love that last question? "Is there anything ELSE we should know about?" It's like some kind of implied guilt... When I got to that question I remember thinking, oh, you'll find out soon enough! Crazy ALWAYS shines through. <----- Anyway, as you can see, that guy might be nutz. But welcome! I'm Sponiebr and I make soap and come up with all sorts of new and innovative bad ideas. Slainte, Sponiebr the Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services

No idea... I' just googled her: http://www.lipsticksandlightsabers.com/2011/02/please-go-directly-to-jail-part-1.html Oh and it DOES look like a harrowing Charlie Foxtrot! I can't WAIT to be entertained tonight Yep! Just because it is not regulated, that DOES NOT mean you are or will be indemnified or held harmless regarding torts or any other liability. Right now, this is what my labels look like, and they're basically this way because they're identifying gifts for other friends and family member (though my church did sell some of my soap at a fund raising bazaar). I want to develop one of those ingredients lists that lists everything that I use in my soap making but doesn't necessarily list the specifics for any particular bar. e.g.: Ingredients: Commercially prepared food grade beef tallow and palm oil shortening blend (list out what wally world's ingredients are here), Olive oil, Coconut oil, Water, Sodium Hydroxide, fragrance. May contain: Aloe, natural mineral colorants (list out all of them common and INCI), goat's milk reconstituted from dried powder, etc... Anywho, I gotta jet off to work. C'ya! -Sponiebr

Remember when I was going off about the certifications and such for the oxides? It's up there ^ above this^. (wave and say hi!!!) So I'm poking along in TKB Trading co... and lo and behold I find a color I like and want to know more about the pigment. Ingredients: There are no ingredients list provided with this pigment because it is not cosmetic grade. It is not permitted for use in cosmetics. Great in soap making and craft projects, however. Wait... so because we soap they don't have to say what's in their colorants? I could grab a handful of red dirt and throw it in and It's gonna be just fine, because it's a soap.... Does something smell fishy here?

Yeah, I'm gonna try it out too... But I'll place an order ASAP because it looks like it'll be over a month minimum before I'd get an order shipped.

Yanno... I don't make candles but looking into this wooden wick concept makes me want to make candles. This is the first time I've ever heard of this, and I have used some weird stuff before to create makeshift wicks. Oh... This has got my curious all in an uproar... Slainte, Sponiebr the Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services

Ooooo... ahhhhh... OOOOOOHHHH... I'm love'n it! When I grow up I want to swirl like Barbara!

Oh and before I ferget... Here are the color tests. Top left to right: Red, Yellow, Green, Ultramarine, red and yellow (the red dot is just some extra I dumped on afterwards I was trying for an orange.), red and blue (hopefully some form of purple, it's got plain uncolored soap on top to fill the rest of the mold) The next 3 are just plain, and that last one was just the uncolored swirled in the mold with the scrapings of the left over red) Formulation was: 38% water to oil 5% superfat 40% Great Value Shortening 34% Canola oil 21% Coconut oil 5% Castor 1/2 tsp peppermint eo. Ta-DA!!!

I was going to RANT... I was going to RAVE like the MAD man that I am about the INJUSTICE and roguish near thievery of the whole specialty craft industry... I was going to DEMAND ANSWERS AND ACCOUNTABILITY... And then... (SOBS) THEN... TT comes in here with wisdom and common sense. and, (WAILING) it's lights out, ice cream cone in the sand, game over, bubbles popped, parade cancelled, THUNDER STOLEN, for me... Oh it was going to be SUCH a PERFORMANCE!!!! Move along folks... nothing more to see here. I'll just... I dunno... my new purpose is gone...sniff... <shuffles off into the cold, dark, and lonely shadows *exit stage left* > ) Seriously though, TT you're absolutely right. I mean even water is poisonous if over consumed. Still, where the certification comes from is kind of interesting, and still seems fairly ill defined. Also are clays like the Rhassoul and French sea clays lab altered? I thought that at least the Moroccan and Brazilian colored clays were naturally occurring. Yeah. They want it their way but their way seems rather obscure. FDA: "THOU SHALT DO THE THING!!!" Uh... what "thing"? "THOU SHALT DO IT!!!" Whaa? What am I supposed to do? "Thou SHALT NOT do THAT THING!!!" (oh boy...) what are you talking about!? Hello? FDA? "WE SHALT REIGN HELL UPON YOU IF YOU do THAT thing!!!" Where can I find out more about the "things"... "THOU SHALT NOT VIOLATE THE CFR!!!" What parts? "Well, what do you mean WHAT parts? ALL OF IT you silly ninny..." You can't use X brand oxide because it's not certified but you don't have to disclose what's IN the soap if you label it soap... Wow. That would be just about enough to drive someone nuts... (Queue IFRA...) "Finish him!" "Fatality!" "IFRA WINS" "MORTAL KOMBAT!!!!!!!!" I WANT THE TRUT... This is the first time I've heard of TKB Trading... Where have these folks BEEN in my life!? WOW! They have officially beat the pants off of anyone else selling pigments! Thank you TT! (and thank you all!) -Sponiebr

That is definitely a part of the cost uptick and I did make mention of it in my OP. It is also an understandable price increase but a minimum of DOUBLE the price? Oh I write novellas... EVERY TIME I POST something... It's a horror show, a train wreck, nay, a TRAIN WRECK HORROR SHOW!!! (that's why you looked... ) Excellent points TT!!!! That's what I'm talk'n 'bout! I don't have a clue as to if they practice the same GMP that soap makers are supposed to be practicing, so I have no idea about that. It would seem to me that keeping products isolated would be wise for any manufacturer though... But regarding general safety the company's major selling point is the Non-Toxic label. So what does that even mean at a fundamental level? Does Non-Toxic mean that the specific chemical that they have labeled for sale is generally considered as not poisonous or does it mean that there is some sort of process and ongoing testing that ensures that their product is, in fact, Non-Toxic? Personally, I really would rather not bother at all with oxides or anything other than natural colorants, but there is a stability to the oxides that does make them a very attractive option. So many of my family members are deathly allergic to just about everything including, but not limited to, AIR. One of my family members is allergic to FD&C colorants, Red #4 and Red 3, and all of the Yellows causes anaphylactic shock. As I understand it, many micas are colored with FD&C food coloring, so I haven't used them as much. I certainly don't want to use a product that is going to cause any kind of harm to anyone. Period. EVER. The point behind me making the soap is to produce a better, safer, and generally more healthy product at a better cost than is currently available in the market. While there are certainly things that I make for myself where I operate outside of established safe practices, they are for ME. Typically I would not give something like that to anyone else, I mean unless they completely understood what they were getting into and they just REALLY wanted to try it, because they probably aren't going to like it. (e.g.: Peppermint Pine Tar soap AKA "the tingle" 6.25% Peppermint EO PPO. ) So far I've found that the rose red clay, and Moroccan red clay, produce a nice enough red and orange for me. Annatto is just fine for yellow, charcoal is perfect for black, white... (meh). So really... all I need is a solid blue but a real blue is hard to get naturally. Then there is this point of the certification as safe for cosmetics... WHERE is this certificate on these specialty supplier's websites? The most information that I have seen published is a MSDS sheet detailing that the oxide is CLEARLY a skin irritant. If I buy my oxide from them it's OK, but if I buy from a Paint Supply it's a huge NOPE? I have no problem, (in fact I prefer) with buying a certified product that has testing and certifications that detail it being "safe" for soap and cosmetic use, but my issue is that I'm NOT SEEING these certifications, all I'm seeing are claims from other buyers that X brand is safe. The vendors aren't even providing these certifications, all I'm seeing are MSDS at best and as frequently as not, just an annotation about how oxides don't bleed, and usage rates... I'm looking for proof. I will most likely bring this up on the Dish once it gets back online, and I KNOW I'm going to come out mangled for it, but the WHY behind the certifications or the claims of safety is a really important issue. Also, I HAVE already danced around this concept on the Dish before, but really didn't get much attention as there were other issues at hand. So is this really a thing or is it a form of brand loyalty that because it comes from a specialty company that we FEEL better about using the specialty brand? I don't generally have a problem with telling people that I use X ingredient in my soap, be it ultramarine or GV shortening. I wouldn't just say "OH!!!! ALL of my soaps are made with pigments that are exclusively used to paint the walls of prisons...That's why I'M SPECIAL." I would say I use a mineral pigment or oxide, and if they wanted more info on WHERE I get it, I'd tell them. That's not the issue for me. Oxides and pigments are used in all kinds of things, from hand grenades to lipsticks, they are the colors of our life. I'm looking for the truth. o.O .... o.o... Um... Should I just keep the fact that I've eaten a lot of Diamond Brand rolled oats to myself? (how long the bugs have had to chew on it changes the dust and debris levels significantly. A fresh bag right off the line is pretty clean but 50#'s of rolled oats is A LOT OF OATS...) THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE. Trust no one. Sponiebr

I've been scouting about, and here are some recent adventures into the treacherous wilds of my bad ideas: Oxides. MY GAWD THEY'RE EXPENSIVE!!!! "You want HOW MUCH for a half ounce of Chromium(III) Green oxide!!!!!? WHAT!!!? Well that's just ABRASIVE!" And abrasive it is, I've been using it for decades on my razor strops. Now I'm not pointing any fingers at anyone, and I'm not naming names, and I sure as hell am not kissing EITHER of them, so there's nothing to tell there, but this oxide pricing issue DOES rather raise some HUGE RED FLAGS with me. What is it about "BubbleMuffin's Sud's of Joy Emporium" brand of 320 mesh Chromium(III) oxide qualifies it to be worth $30 a pound verses "Mr. I Paint Stuff" brand of chromium(III) oxide which is $15 per pound? Is it mesh size? Nope... Same mesh size. Is it the purity? Nope... Same exact pure 100% chromium(III) oxide in each. Is it some kind of special certification that specifically spells out that "BubbleMuffin's Sud's of Joy Emporium" brand of 320 mesh Chromium(III) oxide may be used in soap and cosmetics? Well, if there is one I can't find it. In fact I can't tell ANY difference from looking at the websites or the jar that would lead me to believe that ONE was safer than the other EXCEPT that Mr. I Paint Stuff's jar specifically spells out that it is Non Toxic. So, after wondering about these aforementioned issues I contacted a paint pigment supplier and I just asked if their pigments were safe to use in soap or if they had any kind of FDA certifications, and well, what was in them... The gist of their reply was the exact chemical names of each of the exact same things we would normally use in soap making: Ti02, Sodium Aluminum Sulfosilicate, Chromium III, and Iron oxides with trace metals like Cu, Sn, Mg, Ni... (o.O) Really... Well, then... My butt hurt just became a little more personal. (Fast forward through some storms, a hurricane, and other life weirdness... A few more emails... yadda, yadda, yadda) I got some samples of the red, yellow, green, and ultramarine blue. And I made some soap with them. They worked just perfectly, in fact they behaved EXACTLY like the other oxides I have used, with absolutely NO discernible difference in usage rates or mixing, I mean the ultramarine and the chrome green even had that slightly gritty feeling that I always get when I first start mixing them with the oil. It was the same stuff at a fraction of the cost. I'll get some pictures of the color tests I did in a batch last night and put them up here, but I kinda wanted to flesh this out before all y'all saw the pictures. IF there IS some sort of "magic paper", "secret label", or privately known 'thumbs up" that a non toxic oxide or a mineral pigment HAS TO HAVE to be safe to use in soaps, for the love of everything happy PLEASE TELL ME. But if there isn't... Well... This is probably gonna piss some people off that have been WAY over pricing some very basic products. I totally understand the small vendor's need to charge more for small quantities because of having to buy in non bulk volume, and then repackage to sell in small quantities, but a minimum of DOUBLE the cost up-charge just seems unreasonable. Just out of curiosity, do candle makers use oxide pigments in their candles or is it just dyes? Stay tuned for more Bad Ideas to follow! Same bad place, same bad time! Nunununu, nunununu badman! Sponiebr

I got it at 10 and 3 so my total is 13. At least it was that in soapcalc. I have no idea what the actual content of the canola that I used is.

Yeah... I was not impressed with the numbers when I calc'd it out. Nothing horrifying, but certainly far from ideal. It traced about as fast as a lard soap would have, and yeah, it was a translucent ivory color. It certainly wasn't unpleasant to work with. The smell, meh... just like American Chinese fast food so I put a little peppermint EO in it just for kicks, (and yanno... the "tingle" o.O ) I had some "clean" batter left over so I'll put one of those into a plastic bag, seal it up, and abuse it to see if I can accelerate DOS formation. I'll put another into a "sock" and treat it well. I'll post more about the oxides in another thread but suffice it to say they behaved predictably well.

I dunno. It was listed under the single oil test results. It looked NASTY too, really like broken porcelain.

but... but... Someone on the DISH did it and sliced up their hands with the broken glass like soap that it made! I WANT BROKEN GLASS SOAP TOO!!!!! (pouts) I NEVER get to have any FUN!