Rebatching Castile Soap

[amd]

I have tried Zany's No Slime Castile recipe three times now, and I can't get the timing down to cut it, so I now have 6lbs of very brittle hard as rock castile soap loaves. Well... one of them is actually in chunks because hubby and I took a chisel and a hammer to it. But the other two loaves have minor grooves in them from where we attempted to use the wire cutter on it, realized that wasn't going to work, and then tried cutting off an end slice with a knife. Also realized that these would benefit from the hammer and chisel, so we left them for the time being.

I'm wondering if I could rebatch these loafs into something usable.

My typical rebatch method is to soak the rebatch shreds in just enough water to soften them but not have any water present, and then apply heat until everything is a cohesive gel mass, add a bit (2-3 tbsp) of liquid soap so that I can pour it into a mold. My liquid soap isn't castile, so I'm wondering if I just added water if that would give it enough fluidity to get into the mold. Also a bit concerned because of the brittleness of this soap, will it melt? And if it does melt, once it sets in the mold is it going to be brittle again?

Any advice for rebatching castile would be appreciated. I feel like such a noob asking this, but I rarely rebatch soap and have never rebatched castile before.

 

[DeeAnna]

Have you tried warming the soap first? I'd put it in the oven at 140 to 170 F, wait maybe, oh, 20-30 minutes, and see if the soap has softened enough to cut. If not, give it another 20-30 minutes and try again.

Castile is pretty much soap, just like any other lye soap. Yes, it will melt. Your usual rebatch method should be fine with the liquid soap or with water.