First time

I LOVE the Woodfield molds!  My bastile soaps came out so easily from the silicone mold.  Smooth edges, a nice satin feel.  I used my Tank cutter.  Yay!  Cuts so easy! Every cut is even and straight.  Ahhhh.....  Interesting though the wire cut produces a pebbly surface.  A knife leaves a smooth cut surface, but the wire doesn't.  I think it drags through the soap more and leaves a slightly textured surface and light swoosh marks arc across the surface.  I don't think I mind that much though.  I think I would prefer a smooth surface, but to be able to cut even and consistently is more important to me.  I don't do huge production work, but I do love how quickly the Tank cuts!

The bastile soaps turned out great!  The pomace OO produces a slightly darker bar.  But they are plenty firm.  The soapcalc.net lye calculator says it will be hardness of 15 and cleansing of 0, but don't believe that.  Castile and bastiles are plenty hard.  At 8 hours after making the soap my bastile soaps are not mushy or soft.  In fact, after a good cure they are bricks!  And yes, they do indeed cleanse.  They are, afterall, still soap.  They don't lather as much and are kind of "slimy" when wet, but they are a very mild soap. 

Yeah, I definitely think the pomace olive oil I had last time was adulterated with some other oil.  My current pomace bastile feels nothing like the soap I made last time.  I'll not purchase that pomace olive oil again.