A Question of Tools

The last time I posted a link to one of these it was removed. Hopefully this different context will result in a different result.

I have thought that it might be nice to have a guide for cutting my soaps. It also seems like a planer to help with things (like my orange "skin" issue) might be helpful. Finally, those "crinkle cuts" seem nice.

So I says to myself ... "self", "I'll bet Amazon has something." They do. I found this one (all tracking parts of the link are removed so I hope it's okay):


Twinklefilter Adjustable Wood Soap Mold Loaf Cutter and Beveler / Planer Set + Wavy & Straight Soap Mold Loaf Garnish Cake Cutter Cutting Tool

It's $55 with free shipping. That setup minus the cutters has three ratings with 5 stars and two with 3 stars so not a lot of feedback. One of the negative comments was the wingnuts were small and the other was that it did not cut straight. I suspect the latter would have had an issue no matter what. This package specifically has a three star rating because the blade rusted. Uh ... yeah.

Has anyone used this? I can see that the cutting slots may be large (leading to the second reviewer's issue) but keeping the blade against the guides should help that. Aside from that it looks functional. Can anyone poke any holes in this?

And I do know that I can make one, I'm just not interested in taking some of my sparse free time and using it to make a tool.

I'd rather take that $55 and invest in a wire cutter to do the same thing. But that's IMO.

And I paid $14 on Amazon for a plastic miter box that I put marks on. The bench scraper and wavy potato cutter I already owned.

wetshavingproducts said:

I'd rather take that $55 and invest in a wire cutter to do the same thing. But that's IMO.

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When you say that do you mean make or buy? If so who sells them?
And can you get crinkly wire for them?

Susie said:

And I paid $14 on Amazon for a plastic miter box that I put marks on. The bench scraper and wavy potato cutter I already owned.

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I don't have (and have not seen) a mitre box as tall as my soap. Do y'all make shorter loaves then?

I've never used it, but it sure looks like a pretty cool contraption- especially with the planer built into it (it might be worth it just for that). A planer is essential, if you ask me. I thankfully don't have to use mine a whole lot, but I'd be one sad, sorry soaper without it, that's for sure.

I myself just use a ruler to make tick marks and then use my trusty old Cutco "French Chef" knife (lined up along the tick marks) to slice my soap into straight bars.

I've used a multiple wire cutter before, and while it's certainly pretty cool to have all my bars cut in one fell swoop, I just didn't like being limited to all of my bars having to be cut at the same, certain thickness all the time. Plus, I have a variety of molds that dictate a variety of different cutting depths. I suppose if I were in business and had gobs of bars to cut (and customers breathing down my neck), that it would be different, but for my little hobby set-up, my knife and ruler (as well as my planer and my 1/8" & 1/4" radius beveller) serve me just fine. And sometimes I use a crinkle cutter instead of my knife if I'm in the mood.


IrishLass

I've been doing the tick marks and knife but somehow I still manage to not have things straight. I blame my astigmatism, yeah that's it!

Well at least this made me go looking elsewhere. I found a place that sels very nice looking American made Stainless Steel tools:

http://soapequipment.com/soapcutters/

No planer but they have some nice mitre boxes and that edge beveler thingie that makes pretty edges. Prices seem pretty reasonable.

It creates a new question: Does anyone ever cut anything but 1" bars?

LBussy said:

I don't have (and have not seen) a mitre box as tall as my soap. Do y'all make shorter loaves then?

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My soaps are taller than the mitre box I use. It took a little practice but I line the block up and put my blade in on one side and eyeball it to the other side. My cuts are not all perfect but I like them as they are. The lack of perfect cuts is not from the soap being tall, but because I do not always hold my log in position.

Of course it might depend on how much taller your soaps are....

LBussy said:

It creates a new question: Does anyone ever cut anything but 1" bars?

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All my bars are cut thicker than 1". My least thickness 1.25".

IrishLass

LBussy said:

I've been doing the tick marks and knife but somehow I still manage to not have things straight. I blame my astigmatism, yeah that's it!

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Do you also make several tick marks all the way down the side of the soap for each bar as well (as opposed to just making 2 of them on the opposite top edges of the soap for each bar)? I ask because that's the only way I can cut mine nice and straight. I just line up my knife in the top 2 marks that I made on the opposite edges on the surface of the soap loaf to mark out each bar, and then as I press down on the knife through the soap, I make sure the blade edge follows the dotted tick marks that I made all the way down the side right to the bottom of the loaf. If that's something that you already do, then maybe your astigmatism really is to blame. lol


IrishLass

I tried that once, but when the knife starts going the wrong way I found out I get cracks if I try to correct. Then I either get cracks in the bar, or strange tick marks in the middle of it.

I have a similar unit that you posted. It does make cutting quite a bit easier. I now just use it to split my logs in hal for my multi bar wire cutter my husband made me. I cut my bars about 1.25" as well.

Check soapmaking resources as that's where I purchased mine and it does take my loafs with no problem. It doesn't have a planer though. The mitre box I started with was a bit of a challenge. I tried the whole knife thing and am so jealous of those who can do it accurately. I sucked at it.

If you want flexibility in a wire cutter, I'd look at a wire cheese cutter and make some marks in the wood/marble/whatever to measure what you want.

wetshavingproducts said:

If you want flexibility in a wire cutter, I'd look at a wire cheese cutter and make some marks in the wood/marble/whatever to measure what you want.

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I have the wife on the look out but we've not seen one that's large enough.

LBussy said:

I have the wife on the look out but we've not seen one that's large enough.

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Perhaps a miter box and a DIY wire cutter using a hack saw frame would be enough pre-made to not take up too much of your time.

Oh good idea. I'll try that, pretty sure I have a coping saw laying around. That should make a nice frame.

I personally don't see anything wrong with this product. And I do see advantage in the adjustable guide, the dual slots, the built in planer, and the fact that it comes with two blades. Not a bad deal for $55 especially if you price the cutter, the blades, and the planer separately. If the price is right for you, I'd say go for it.

My husband made me a cutter similar to this from scrap wood, but it is simpler (not adjustable) and doesn't have a planer. I bought the blades (crinkle & straight) separately from Michael's for about $8 each. This setup made a huge difference in my soaps. But the cutter wasn't perfectly square and I wanted thicker bars (read: adjustable) so I eventually became dissatisfied. I have no interest in woodworking or hardware DIY so that wasn't an option for me.

I spent $20 I think on a planer. It's a simple design, and DH kept saying he'd make one, but he has his own hobbies so rather than nag I finally bought my own. He made me a beautiful "Bud-like" whole-loaf wire cutter last Christmas, so I was in no place to complain.

My point is, you should weigh this against your own budget, values, and needs. It is reasonable to consider, IMO.

Bumping this thread with a request. In exchange for the sad but delicious-smelling scraps of soap I give to my contractor friends, they offered to make me something. That something should be a planer. I have never seen one so I can't really explain what I need, how many inches of wood attached in which way where, but I know I need a solid surface and a strong, sharp blade built in to smooth my big sexy man-sized soaps.
So, to anyone who has such a thing, can you please give me the specs? Or even a decent pict? Thanks in advance.

Tell them you want an upside down bench plane or "jointer" that will do a 4 inch wide cut. Preferably stainless steel for the blade, by the way. The wood should ideally be hardwood, but not oak (the tannins in oak will react with the high pH of the soap and turn ugly looking).

Here you go: http://nizzymoulds.com/Planer.htm

I have a friend that has this cutter and loves it. I have a wire log cutter, but thinking about getting this one when I want different size cuts