Recent content by passedpawn

Thanks. I've got some muriatic acid. I think I can use that. Doing the titration this weekend to measure total alkalinity. Once I can get that number, I can move forward making some use (or not!) with my ash water. Also, a new electrode for my pH meter arrived today. Previous...

Yes, I'm satisfied with my math. I'm making lye from oak ash. Thanks for the reply. [edit] So I am boiling to increase the pH. I only have pH measurements to get to my necessary 33% concentration, which my math tells me is 14.77pH, which I can't measure with my meter, which is why I need to...

I really didn't want to get into a chemistry discussion, I just want the answer to pH of 33% kOH. But I don't mind the discussion, either. 0 and 14 are not limits to pH... it can go above and below. I still think 14.77 is correct (based on 33% or 5.89M of KOH), and I even think it could go...

My question is, what SHOULD the pH of 33% KOH solution be? I assumed this would be easy to find on the webz but was wrong. So I attempted to measure myself, with solid KOH. I think the dilution math here is correct in order to dilute my sample. Are you suggesting my measurement errors would...

I made a 33% solution of KOH and measured it and I got about exactly 16 pH. My meter won't read above 14, so I diluted it 1000x and measured 13. So, I conclude 16 pH (pH scale is logarithmic). But I did a back of the envelope calculation and concluded that the pH should be 14.77 pH. My...

Smells great. This is the second time I've extracted from that same pine tree. The first time, the vial tipped over and I lost all of the oil. I'm getting ready to make shaving soap next... not sure if I'll use it in that or not. But I will use it soon. I broke the boil flask so I'm...

Each batch takes a couple of hours. Successive batches are necessary to produce a good amount of oil. What I show above was probably 5 or 6 batches, maybe over a couple of days. You don't have to watch it though. But you do have to remove the spent biomass and replace. That part takes...

I didn't weigh the pine needles, but it was about half of a Home Depot bucket full, somewhat compact. I use scissors to remove the larger sticks and chop it up into clumps that will fit into the bioflask. This produced 5 ml /0.25 oz / 6 grams (that's a 15mL vial below). Also, a product of...

Pretty simple. There's a long-needled fir that I came across that has a VERY lemony pine aroma. I'm extracting the oils from that by steam extraction. The oil is VERY aromatic. I put a bit on my fingers and rub it and it produces quite an aroma, lasts quite a while. I'm not really sure...

Right. Sorry for that. Just winging it. It's on the books now. We'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for the comments. I'm learning by 1) doing, and 2) this forum.

No smell really. Was in the back of the pantry cabinet. I'll measure the pH when it's done (how do you know already?). I'm still new to this, so I expect failures along the way. I doubt I'll "ruin my hair" though. Haha. What should I have changed to make it better for hair?

New guy here, please be gentle. Lard 'expired" 13 years ago, according to the label. haha. I use a IR thermometer to measure temps. I don't heat the lye mixture. It's room temp. I just stir (immersion blender) into fat. Oils heated and cooled to 110F...

Ok, my last post to this intro thread, but I wanted to close the loop on my first soap. I got anxious and decided to give it a go. Wow. So different than whatever that blue clump I was using before was. Maybe TMI, but I use bar soap for shaving and shampooing too. Have since I was young...

Wow, thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

Hi everyone. I've been looking at doing this for a long time. I have all this lye around for baking. I know others who are avid soap makers, but I kept putting it off. Wife and I were at the craft market this past Saturday and she bought several bars and I thought it was about time I got...