Carol M

Before I assumed it was okay to use, I'd probably cut a bar in half and see if you get a zap from the inside cut edge. That way, you could be sure it cured out all the way to the center.

That is one gorgeous soap!

Are you buying it from the same place as usual? I love the pellets; I'm sorry to see them go back to slabs. The last case I got was from Alabaster and they sell the pellets. Why don't you call the company and ask them to send you a sample of the V so you can test it side-by-side to see if you were sent the wrong stuff. If so, they should be willing to make an adjustment.

I notice that most recipes have about a 50/50 mix of hard and soft oils. Does having more hard oils in a recipe make it drying? Or does that depend more upon the particular oils used, whether hard or soft, and the superfat percentage?

If all else fails, try it one more time and add 10%-20% salt to it at the end. Let it melt totally and get it as smooth as possible before doing this. You'll have to move quickly to get it into the mold, and you will have to unmold it, and cut it, within just a few hours to avoid crumbling. I do hot process only, and add 10% salt to almost all my batches to make them harder. It changes the texture of the soap, but not necessarily in a bad way; it's just different.

Since they were made unscented, you might need to add some Vybar 103 to aid in scent retention when you melt them down. Go for it! I've melted down and reused lots of candles before, and made some really good ones.

If it were me, and you're sure about the measurements you used before, I'd try and rebatch it. Mix a solution of 9.12 oz water and 3.47 oz lye. Cut the soap up into very small chunks, add the solution, and cook it. You'd have to use a whisk, or potato masher, or something to smooth the lumps out after it starts melting, and you may have to add extra scent at the end of the cook.

I do oven hot process and never have to cook a 2# batch over 45 minutes. Sometimes 30-35 minutes, depending upon the oils used. I think maybe you miscalculated somehow. :undecided I went to soap calc, and looks like you only used enough water and lye for about an 8 oz batch.

http://www.thecandlesource.com/catalog/i860.html Only about $.13 each; cheapest price I have found. They have 4, 8, and 16 oz sizes, too. Mods, feel free to move this post if it is in the wrong place; wasn't sure where to put it.

I'm really looking forward to it. I have heard from several people that it is the best version ever. For a long time, I did only candles, so by the time I got into soaps, it was already gone.

Good; I'm going to click "submit", then. My chance to try some of that Gentlemens' Bay Rum; Lori discontinued it before I ever got a chance to try it. Something weird going on with the Olive Blossom, though; it wouldn't let me adjust my total to more than one of that scent.

So, the BnL oils are included, then?

That does sound like a lot of votives to be getting from one pound of wax, unless you're using the plastic votive molds from Pourette (red, six pack molds); they only hold about 1.4 oz each, I think.

I love the look of status jars; one of my very favorite containers. Very upscale, and still won't break the bank.

Those look really good. When do you plan to start burning them?

Three cents a pound is very nominal, imo. The way high fuel prices have trickled down and caused the cost of everything to go up, this hardly seems like a drop in the bucket.

According to their message board, they hope to have all oos oils back in within a couple of weeks. Two weeks is a long time,though, when your're totally out and desperate. Maybe someone will come across with a few ounces to tide you over.

www.latherworks.com She doesn't sell oils all the time, but does prebuys occasionally. Email her and see if she has one going on now.

I do oven hot process, so use a large stainless steel Dutch oven to mix and cook my soap in. I have on occasion used it to cook pasta or something, when I needed an extra large pot. I don't use my stick blender, or my Rubbermaid pitcher that I mix my lye solution in, for anything else; they are dedicated.

Well, thank you for that info. I've debated buying some several times, but it isn't cheap by any means, so hadn't done it yet. Plus, I've read that her shipping is erratic at times. I'm in the process now of checking out a few of the 'mulit-base' type products that varying amounts of water can be added to. I've found a couple of thick cream bases that they say can be further diluted with water for a thinner product, but, since they don't tell you how to do that safely, I'm leary. But that's another thread.....:rolleyes2

Thanks, MA; I'll check them out. I've heard that they have some pretty decent oils, as well. Color blocks, too (though I'm starting to move away from coloring my candles). I put in a bid on a hundred that someone was selling; doubt I'll get them, though; I only bid $14. I'll wait and make sure that doesn't pan out first; never know, they might be desperate. One other thing, totally unrelated: what did you end up thinking of that Fantasy Creme Maker from OT?

I don't even wanna sniff that; what in the world would I do if I liked it?:rolleyes2 The SW version is very nice, though.

I don't have a lot of stuff to send samples in. Isn't that the truth! Has anyone found a reasonable source for plain 1 oz plastic bottles, without having to buy a thousand? You're paying nearly $.50 each by the time you figure in shipping for these things; I had no idea they were that expensive! I'll bet they cost no more than a whopping $.10 each to make including caps, if that much. When I think of all the hundreds of these I've trashed over the years; I was throwing away gold.:rolleyes2 I did tack a few on to my last NG order; I think they worked out to about $.27 each, since I figured it wasn't costing me much, if any, extra on shipping. That still seemed a little on the high side to me, but maybe I'm just cheap Can't try everything coming and going from SW if you're spending all your $$ on bottles!

Thanks! I got 8 oz of that coming,along with some other samples. Can't wait to try it out.

Jody's site says if you add more than 8 oz, you will need add'l preservative; WSP says only that you can add water if it's too thick, with no specific amounts given. I emailed Jody and asked for clarification, but haven't heard back from her yet. I have ordered a sample of the NG MultiBase; if this one is good, I may just go with it. They give clear, concise guidelines of how much water to add, and also that the preservative in it is Germaben II, just in case you did go over and needed to add more. I just feel safer with a supplier who is more forthcoming with their product information; if it were a candle, it would be different, but this could be a health hazard and I don't want to take chances.