Comments on: What is Trace? http://blog.thesage.com/2009/05/22/what-is-trace/ Thoughts and ideas from the world of Majestic Mountain Sage. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:26:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Andee http://blog.thesage.com/2009/05/22/what-is-trace/comment-page-1/#comment-628 Andee Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:57:48 +0000 http://blog.thesage.com/?p=2559#comment-628 Kris- I would pitch this batch.  There are so many unknowns.  I don't think you can make something use-able from this material. When making your own lye solution you can try to float the raw egg, and you can test the pH.  But you will need to keep the mixture warm, not boiling, and never add dry lye to the mixture.  Always mix a lye solution. Kris-
I would pitch this batch.  There are so many unknowns.  I don’t think you can make something use-able from this material.

When making your own lye solution you can try to float the raw egg, and you can test the pH.  But you will need to keep the mixture warm, not boiling, and never add dry lye to the mixture.  Always mix a lye solution.

]]> By: Kris http://blog.thesage.com/2009/05/22/what-is-trace/comment-page-1/#comment-624 Kris Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:22:15 +0000 http://blog.thesage.com/?p=2559#comment-624 Hi, Here's what happened. I heated it for 2-3 hours as in "Hot Process Soap by jaspersgarden" I was excited. It was rolling over on itself and I thought it was going to be done any minute so I lowered the heat and when it got cool it was awful. Looked like malt-o-meal on top and underneath was oil. Oh yeah, and I had added more lye powder straight into the mix. Can't remember when. But that didn't work. I can send you some pictures if you want. I had been working to revive this for a couple days. I got disgusted and just left it over night like that. Next morning I scraped off the top malt-o-meal thick stuff and squished it into balls. The oil is in a jar with chunks of that oatmealy stuff suspended. BTW I did not add any oatmeal to this. FYI: I found out my lye water was not strong enough because a hard boiled egg would float, but not a raw egg. so next time I try making caustic water with ashes I will have to make it stronger. When I first mixed it the solution was a nice creamy mixture. Looked right, It just never got to trace. My dad used to make soap. He'd put it in ice cube trays. But, he's not around now. Hi, Here’s what happened. I heated it for 2-3 hours as in “Hot Process Soap by jaspersgarden” I was excited. It was rolling over on itself and I thought it was going to be done any minute so I lowered the heat and when it got cool it was awful. Looked like malt-o-meal on top and underneath was oil. Oh yeah, and I had added more lye powder straight into the mix. Can’t remember when. But that didn’t work. I can send you some pictures if you want. I had been working to revive this for a couple days. I got disgusted and just left it over night like that. Next morning I scraped off the top malt-o-meal thick stuff and squished it into balls. The oil is in a jar with chunks of that oatmealy stuff suspended. BTW I did not add any oatmeal to this. FYI: I found out my lye water was not strong enough because a hard boiled egg would float, but not a raw egg. so next time I try making caustic water with ashes I will have to make it stronger. When I first mixed it the solution was a nice creamy mixture. Looked right, It just never got to trace. My dad used to make soap. He’d put it in ice cube trays. But, he’s not around now.

]]> By: Andee http://blog.thesage.com/2009/05/22/what-is-trace/comment-page-1/#comment-614 Andee Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:34:46 +0000 http://blog.thesage.com/?p=2559#comment-614 Kris- On tracing, heat the soap.  The wood ash water mixture is an unknown amount of lye, but heating this soap will help convert the fat to soap. Kris-
On tracing, heat the soap.  The wood ash water mixture is an unknown amount of lye, but heating this soap will help convert the fat to soap.

]]> By: Kris http://blog.thesage.com/2009/05/22/what-is-trace/comment-page-1/#comment-610 Kris Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:18:42 +0000 http://blog.thesage.com/?p=2559#comment-610 What to do if your soap is not tracing? It's still liquid after 12 hours? Can I throw in some lye and stir? I was making my soap from scratch with wood ashes and water. Got any remedies? Yeah, I don't want to throw it out if I can help it. Call it my botched batch test. :) What to do if your soap is not tracing? It’s still liquid after 12 hours? Can I throw in some lye and stir? I was making my soap from scratch with wood ashes and water. Got any remedies? Yeah, I don’t want to throw it out if I can help it. Call it my botched batch test. :)

]]> By: Julie http://blog.thesage.com/2009/05/22/what-is-trace/comment-page-1/#comment-473 Julie Fri, 22 May 2009 21:39:33 +0000 http://blog.thesage.com/?p=2559#comment-473 Thanks for the photos and comments. Trace is such a weird concept to sometimes get your head around. I always was under the impression that the soap mixture had to be a thick as pudding to be "trace." I love being able to pour when the mixture is thin! :) Thanks for the photos and comments. Trace is such a weird concept to sometimes get your head around. I always was under the impression that the soap mixture had to be a thick as pudding to be “trace.” I love being able to pour when the mixture is thin! :)

]]> By: Rainy http://blog.thesage.com/2009/05/22/what-is-trace/comment-page-1/#comment-471 Rainy Fri, 22 May 2009 19:42:26 +0000 http://blog.thesage.com/?p=2559#comment-471 Thank you very much! That definitely helped me understand better. Thank you very much! That definitely helped me understand better.

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