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Cat&Oak

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So I was trimming some soaps up today with my Brambleberry 12 bar wooden cutter and broke 4 wires. I was using the end wire because I cannot make a straight cut to save my life.

The soap was mostly cured so it's not surprising they broke. I was trying to be slow and careful though.

I use the Nurture 7.5 mold and decided that even Sasquatch would have a hard time in the shower with those big square bars so I was taking an inch off to make the bars more enjoyable in the shower. Cut to 4.8 ounces cured so not bad.

What WAS surprising was when I went to the Brambleberry website they wanted 3 dollars a wire. So I went over to Nurture and you can get 5 wires for 6 dollars there for their cutters.

I was so irritated that I went ahead and ordered Nurture's 18 bar cutter.

I also got FREE shipping with Nurture which I would never in a million years get with BB.

Vent over.
 
So far, I love Nurture Soaps! And they give you a 1$ credit for every review you leave on their products. Up to $20 a month I believe.
I enjoy that as well....and they give thoughtful free samples and funny cards with your order and those white muslin bags that are so cute I save them all then never know what to do with them 🤣🤣🤣
 
I do not use a multi-bar cutter so take my feedback with that caveat. My cutter has an adjustable gradient and for a slab mold I first have to cut the slab into 3 x 3” loafs and then 1” individual bars; one batch requires three adjustments (the first being adjusting the height from the previous batch’s 1” setting). All of that adjusting used to put several kinks in the wire I used to use and after just a few batches the wire would break.

I switched to fishing line for my soap cutter just about a year ago.
The fishing line is considerably less expensive, and I get several uses from one length from the spool. Again, not sure how well it would work for your multi-bar but it’s worth experimenting. I am curious how it would perform, though.
 
I do not use a multi-bar cutter so take my feedback with that caveat. My cutter has an adjustable gradient and for a slab mold I first have to cut the slab into 3 x 3” loafs and then 1” individual bars; one batch requires three adjustments (the first being adjusting the height from the previous batch’s 1” setting). All of that adjusting used to put several kinks in the wire I used to use and after just a few batches the wire would break.

I switched to fishing line for my soap cutter just about a year ago.
The fishing line is considerably less expensive, and I get several uses from one length from the spool. Again, not sure how well it would work for your multi-bar but it’s worth experimenting. I am curious how it would perform, though.
That's a great tip! Thanks for sharing that😍
 
What WAS surprising was when I went to the Brambleberry website they wanted 3 dollars a wire. So I went over to Nurture and you can get 5 wires for 6 dollars there for their cutters.

Keep in mind that my husband made my cutter, so I'm not sure this would work for all, but I buy these for my cutter
https://www.amazon.com/Rogue-022-El...in+steel+guitar+strings&qid=1625253151&sr=8-7Currently unavailable, but it's a starting point for a search or if you have a music shop locally to ask them to order for you. Much cheaper than either of the above options if you have Amazon Prime. If you only need one wire for a single bar cutter, more than likely a local music shop will be the best solution for a single wire (or two for backup). I can't imagine needing to buy specifically from Brambleberry, etc for a cutting wire.
 
Keep in mind that my husband made my cutter, so I'm not sure this would work for all, but I buy these for my cutter
https://www.amazon.com/Rogue-022-El...in+steel+guitar+strings&qid=1625253151&sr=8-7Currently unavailable, but it's a starting point for a search or if you have a music shop locally to ask them to order for you. Much cheaper than either of the above options if you have Amazon Prime. If you only need one wire for a single bar cutter, more than likely a local music shop will be the best solution for a single wire (or two for backup). I can't imagine needing to buy specifically from Brambleberry, etc for a cutting wire.
This is also great to know thank you 😍 The sizes were different for N vs BB so I assumed they were custom to their cutters. I've been wanting to scale up to Nurture's cutters for a while because honestly I wasn't a fan of the wooden cutter. Even though I rubbed it all over with Vaseline to seal the wood I did have to spray it a few times in the sink to get it really clean. It didn't warp which is good but I think this new one will be much better for my business.
 
it's a starting point for a search or if you have a music shop locally to ask them to order for you. Much cheaper than either of the above options if you have Amazon Prime. If you only need one wire for a single bar cutter, more than likely a local music shop will be the best solution for a single wire (or two for backup). I can't imagine needing to buy specifically from Brambleberry, etc for a cutting wire.
You're right, there really isn't' a need to buy specifically from the place you got the cutter from.

The sizes were different for N vs BB so I assumed they were custom to their cutters.
They probably are, however, you can adjust them to any sized wire you like. You just need to know how to replace them, and then use whatever wire you want. I have a FCS hobby cutter, and to replace the wires I use 20 gauge (I think it's 20 gauge) wire that is used to hang art. Super cheap, I have about 40 foot, bought about 10 years ago, and have only had to replace one wire (of course I'm not cutting cured soap either. ;)) So that 40 foot will probably last me a lifetime.
 
You're right, there really isn't' a need to buy specifically from the place you got the cutter from.


They probably are, however, you can adjust them to any sized wire you like. You just need to know how to replace them, and then use whatever wire you want. I have a FCS hobby cutter, and to replace the wires I use 20 gauge (I think it's 20 gauge) wire that is used to hang art. Super cheap, I have about 40 foot, bought about 10 years ago, and have only had to replace one wire (of course I'm not cutting cured soap either. ;)) So that 40 foot will probably last me a lifetime.
Thank you! Silly me I had no idea you guys are the best!
 
Is a multi bar loaf cutter the only way to get " perfect" even weight's? No matter how carefully we cut our loaf using our cutter ( guide box with a cutter) we always wind up with uneven weights after cure no matter how even the cuts. 😭😭😭
 
Is a multi bar loaf cutter the only way to get " perfect" even weight's? No matter how carefully we cut our loaf using our cutter ( guide box with a cutter) we always wind up with uneven weights after cure no matter how even the cuts. 😭😭😭
I had a guide box for years and had the same problem. Once I started using a cutter suddenly my bars looked professional but I can't cut a straight bar to save my life!
You don't need an 18 bar cutter they have smaller ones. Nurture has some that a very reasonably priced and etsy also has some good looking ones that get good reviews. A single wire cutter may be exactly what you are looking for.
 
Thanks!!! I've been slowly saving my Nurture Soaps spending points towards a cutter buts it's slow and I was thinking maybe it was just me not able to see with my old eyes
 
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