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  1. 01-07-2010, 06:58 PM #11
    gssixgun
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    Quote Originally Posted by fccexpert View Post
    Not true. Milled soaps are simply plain old cold or hot processed soaps that have been reprocessed at least once. Reprocessing involves milling (grinding, grating) the soap, adding water, heating to melt the soap and drive off some of the water and then letting the mixture set. There are triple milled soaps that have been through this process three times, so clearly milled soap can be remilled and reprocessed.

    Reprocessing can be used to correct problems with the original soap. or it can be used to add additional material ingredients such as glycerine, fragrences or fats.

    You can also make clear glycerine soap by reprocessing with alcohol and glycerine instead of water.

    Although technically you "might" be correct that there are some "milled" soaps that "might" melt...

    For the purpose of this conversation most shaving soaps that are not glycerin do not melt... So don't go throwing yer new puck of MWF or Tabac in the microwave and zapping it on high...

    Again if you're unsure, slice a small piece off, and try melting it in either the microwave or even better try the double boiler method....That way you are sure....
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  2. 01-07-2010, 08:08 PM #12
    Alraz
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    I was purposely avoiding this thread but I think that it is time for me to post. Glen, I think the key here is: "microwave". If instead of the microwave, you use a double boiler, you can get any soap, even Tabac or MWF, to melt without problems. It is a little involved because it requires milling or grating and addition of a tad of water to start the process, and about 45 minutes of constant heating. There are other ways of making "milled" soaps bet this one is widely used. I have done this many times to make my own soaps. In fact, there is a video that shows the process in detail: YouTube - How to make Lye Soap : Hand Milling or French Milling Soap for Homemade Lye Soap Making


    That burning of the milled soaps that people observe, likely has its origins in the use of the microwave as the heating device. Heating in a microwave oven is not homogeneous, and therefore, create hot pockets which lead to the "burning". I could explain, probably by PM, if anybody is interested ;-). Needless to say, a microwave should not be used to melt soaps as correctly pointed out by Old_School.

    When this topic has come up in the past, I have made the point that if you could not melt a milled soap, you could therefore not make triple milled soaps, see this:

    http://straightrazorpalace.com/soaps...ome-tabac.html

    Another thing that I wanted to say since I am here is that the "hardness" of the soap does not necessarily reflect the method of production. I have "milled" soaps that are softer than glycerin soaps. The hardness of the soap depends on the complete formulation, including the ingredients. Also not all the "milled" soaps are really milled (as in using the process described above), as I have dicovered recently. Many soapmakers do not make the distinction of whether their soaps are milled or glycerin anyway.

    The truth is that without doing some lab tests, the glycerin content of the soap cannot be established. However, overtime, one develops a feel for which one is which. I think that developing this is probably a good way to go. You know that if a soap is translucent, it is likely glycerin-based although, you can add titanium dioxide or other ingredients to make them look like the old fashioned soaps, which is often what you see with shaving soaps ;-).

    The bottom line is that for certain reason that I cannot understand, people seem to always want to shape their soaps to the container they are using. Grating and pressing seems to work for all soaps, and also the the double boiler, butt at the expense of some of the volatile components of the scent. Is it worth doing all of this? I am sure that each person would have his own opinion but what else is new ;-)

    Al raz.




    Quote Originally Posted by gssixgun View Post
    Although technically you "might" be correct that there are some "milled" soaps that "might" melt...

    For the purpose of this conversation most shaving soaps that are not glycerin do not melt... So don't go throwing yer new puck of MWF or Tabac in the microwave and zapping it on high...

    Again if you're unsure, slice a small piece off, and try melting it in either the microwave or even better try the double boiler method....That way you are sure....
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  • 01-07-2010, 08:28 PM #13
    gssixgun
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    I guess that small part I keep writing over and over again and again just is too simple for all you experts..let's try one more time OK????

    IF YOU ARE UNSURE !!!! SLICE OFF A PIECE AND TRY MELTING IT


    BTW I apologize for being so adamant about this, but I don't want some Newb to mis-read what you guys are posting and go toss their MWF puck in the microwave on high OK??? I know you guys know way more about soap than I do...in fact if you watch the vid that Al-Raz posted it shows a usable process, but again take it slow...Hopefully he will take the time to break down the entire process for us in a thread or the Wiki...


    Last edited by gssixgun; 01-07-2010 at 10:59 PM.
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  • 01-21-2010, 11:38 PM #14
    hardblues
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    Default Melting Soaps to Transfer/Pour into larger Bowl

    Recently, I purchased a nice soap bowl, where the retailer offered one of their soaps w/the purchase of the bowl. The wrapper offered the suggestion of melting the soap in a microwave to pour-form to the bowl, so, I did it. I was pretty careful not to over-heat and removed it when it liquified. As I had another bowl, I didn't used the soap for a number of days, but, when I did, noted that the soap did not lather well...the lather being very thin and dried to almost invisible by the time I was finished stropping.

    As I am admittedly somewhat new to all this, I cannot confirm, but, suspicion that the microwave method is not the way to go...the retailer is reputable and I'm sure the product was good quality...hence, my suspicions on the microwave changing the chemistry...or...as I did not stir the product, perhaps the different elements separated, affecting the lathering qualities...the grater method offered by a few here sound pretty fool-proof...
    Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
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  • 01-22-2010, 12:06 AM #15
    Whoresbane
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    Quote Originally Posted by hardblues View Post
    Recently, I purchased a nice soap bowl, where the retailer offered one of their soaps w/the purchase of the bowl. The wrapper offered the suggestion of melting the soap in a microwave to pour-form to the bowl, so, I did it. I was pretty careful not to over-heat and removed it when it liquified. As I had another bowl, I didn't used the soap for a number of days, but, when I did, noted that the soap did not lather well...the lather being very thin and dried to almost invisible by the time I was finished stropping.

    As I am admittedly somewhat new to all this, I cannot confirm, but, suspicion that the microwave method is not the way to go...the retailer is reputable and I'm sure the product was good quality...hence, my suspicions on the microwave changing the chemistry...or...as I did not stir the product, perhaps the different elements separated, affecting the lathering qualities...the grater method offered by a few here sound pretty fool-proof...

    Microwaves is just a bandwidth of light that resonates water.

    The water in the soap was heated through microwaves and that melted the soap, causing water to evaporate as well. By the time the soap solidified, its water content is lower than what you started with.

    Im not an expert in lather, but i'd assume after the water content dropped, this affected how well the soap was to make bubbles, since i hear later is dependent on the ratio of fats of the soap and water to make numerous fine bubbles.
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