What did I do wrong?!

[BeingBumble]

Hi All, My past few batches have been hard and crumbly on the outside and I cant figure out why. Thought you might be able to help me. I use the thermal transfer method and wrap well with lots of blankets. I use a silvermoon 5 LB mold with a wood frame. My recipe is palm free and has these qualities:
Hardness: 46
Cleansing: 20
Conditioning: 49
Bubbly: 20
Creamy: 26
Iodine:50
INS: 164
The recipe has worked beautifully in the past. Im thinking it may be the olive oil? Used Safeway Organic the past few times - maybe it was too adulterated? Ive been using Soapers Choice mostly and an organic brand from Costco. Or, I usually just hand stir; maybe it didnt get mixed well enough (Ive been making smaller batches while I was developing my final good palm-free recipe). I dont know!
Hope you can help and hope my attached photo is good enough. THANK YOU

 

[BeingBumble]

Forgot to say I use 40% lye concentration. Water : Lye Ratio of 1.5:1

 

[coffeetime]

It doesn't look crumbly in the photo. All I see is partial gel.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

A partial gel, as is said, but maybe also cutting too late? That might be causing those little bits to snap off, if it's too hard

 

[jules92207]

I'm inclined to agree with the gentleman, looks great and just might be a bit hard already when you cut. Does it zap at all?

 

[Susie]

I normally cut when my soap is room temperature and firm enough to resist pressure when I poke it(highly technical operation, hehe). Usually under 24 hours. Are you giving it longer than that?

 

[BeingBumble]

Thanks everyone. Maybe thats it, not cutting soon enough. Though it was just around 24 hours. The outside is REALLY hard to cut on the edges only. I did a zap test and there was no zap, so thats out. Ill keep at it. No comments about the olive oil not being true olive oil?
Thank you

 

[FlybyStardancer]

I used a bottle of Safeway's O Organics for my first batches of soap without a problem. I've since switched to Kirkland for the price, though.