Need soap planer/beveler - any suggestions?

I am trying to find a good planer/beveler for a decent price. I am not getting good results with online search. Each time I find something the complany is out of stock or out of business. Any suggestions?

Just a thought would a mandoline food slicer work?

i've heard rave reviews about this one, but it's a little spendy. http://www.lotioncrafter.com/best-ever- ... eller.html

i've been using a carpenter's mini-planer from lowes or ace hardware. it's about $8 and a dandy little tool - can adjust the thickness of your bevel. only downside is it rusts after about 6 months. but at that price i just replace when it starts to get icky...

Thanks! I had not thought of either of these alternatives, but will try. I appreciate your responses.

I was just going to ask this question! I am glad to see it. I also wondered if I could make one. I have seen them with paint scrapers as the cutter. But the carpenters tool is a great idea!

I use this for beveling the edges. Mine is the 1/16".

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,230,41182,41200&p=45501

Mine came from here:

http://www.forcraftssake.com/shop/index ... 8b7d20e961

Works great for small bevels. For bigger cuts and shaving off an edge (like for ash) try this one:

http://www.soap-making-resource.com/soap-beveler.html

They have great reviews and are still in business!!

paillo said:

i've heard rave reviews about this one, but it's a little spendy. http://www.lotioncrafter.com/best-ever- ... eller.html

Click to expand...

I have that one, but it is not a planer, just a beveler (but a very nice one, though. I found the outstanding quality of it to be worth the price).

If you want something that planes and bevels, I just recently purchased this one about a month or so ago:

http://www.soap-making-resource.com/soap-beveler.html

I was kind of hesitant to buy it at first because it's made of 100% acrylic, which means no replacement blades and no way to sharpen it (that I know of), but like you, I was having no luck finding any US suppliers that were still selling a planer or had not gone out of business, etc.., and was I getting desperate.

Well, anyway, I am very happy with my purchase, so far. It planes my soap beautifully, shaving off only the thinnest layer you can possibly imagine being able to shave off of a bar of soap- it's as close to paper-thin as a layer of soap can get and still remain in one piece. I was very impressed. I'm kinda concerned about the sharpness of the 'blade' going dull over time, but at least for now it is very sharp and shows no sign of wearing down. I should probably mention that I'm not in business and my batches are on the small side (1lb to 2.5 lbs mostly, and on occassion 5 lbs.), and I don't need to plane all my soaps, so it's not getting a huge amount of wear-and-tear use.

IrishLass

Yea, I have the one at this link too: http://www.soap-making-resource.com/soap-beveler.html

I agree with IL - it's a great little piece of equipment. The acrylic is easy to clean and it performs wonderfully. There's a slight learning curve, but once you get the hang of it it's SO easy to use.

I have the lil shaver from forcraftssake.com

http://www.forcraftssake.com/shop/index ... 8b7d20e961

It is OK but it scuffs up the flat surfaces of the soap as it bevels

---------------------------------------------

BUT I recently purchased this one from the TOUGHTIMBERS etsy shop and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it

http://www.etsy.com/listing/26724406/ne ... d-bar-loaf

It planes beautifully and the beveler is much better as it does not mar or scuff up the surface of the soap when it bevels because nothign touches the surface as is slides thru....just the corner sits in the groove.

You are all very helpful. Thanks so much!

I also have this one and LOVE it !

Is it possible for an acrylic blade to dull?


http://www.soap-making-resource.com/soap-beveler.html

debbism - what is the blade on the Tough Timbers one? I noticed they sell replacements. I am wondering if I can get a family member to make one.

paillo said:

i've heard rave reviews about this one, but it's a little spendy. http://www.lotioncrafter.com/best-ever- ... eller.html

i've been using a carpenter's mini-planer from lowes or ace hardware. it's about $8 and a dandy little tool - can adjust the thickness of your bevel. only downside is it rusts after about 6 months. but at that price i just replace when it starts to get icky...

Click to expand...

I have that one and love it. I've been using the same one for about 2 years and I clean it with a metal brush as well as hot water. I bought mine from Lee Valley Tools and it was a good purchase....

paillo said:

...i've been using a carpenter's mini-planer from lowes or ace hardware. it's about $8 and a dandy little tool - can adjust the thickness of your bevel. only downside is it rusts after about 6 months. but at that price i just replace when it starts to get icky...

Click to expand...

Paillo do you have a picture of what this looks like? I didn't find it at my local Lowe's today but I didn't really know what to look for either.

For my Australian friends who are looking, I got mine from here, works smoothly and perfectly

http://nizzymoulds.com/

Wow, Swift Ruby

That looks perfectly like I am looking for, but I am in the USA.

Have you tried a vegetable peeler?

I use a Dutch "kaasschaaf": http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaasschaaf. Works fine for me but I'm not sure you can buy them anywhere else than in the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

"...Have you tried a vegetable peeler?..."

I use a veg peeler too, but a beveler is designed to give more control over the depth of cut. If you are looking for a super consistent look, a beveler is your best bet.

Marieke -- it's often called a "cheese planer" in English. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008SD40N4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20