Ok. So I am cruising the net, ferreting out shaving information. I forget where I was, but I saw something that gave me pause. A pair of hands running a bar of shaving soap over a flat grater (think like for grating cheese). The grating are falling into a shaving mug. Presumable the person will use the gratings for shaving with. There is prolly a reason for the grating, but I don't know. I was wondering if any of you guys might.
Why would someone grate shaving soap?
- Thread starter billk7457
- Start date
Not an expert but non-glycerin soaps don't melt well. If you want to fit your soap to a container and are using a tallow based soap you have to grate it first to fit in the container then wet it slightly to pack it in to fit.
A lot of people like to store their soaps and use them out of a different bowl, some soaps don't come in a bowl. Some people will melt soaps into another container and some soaps don't melt well at all. Some people will grate samples for more surface area while loading with a brush. A lot of reasons to grate. Having said that, I've never grated anything. I did cut up a sample of MFW into a ramekin though.
Tallow soaps don't handle heat well, it destroys them. That's why you have to grate them into your soap container.
Clayton
Clayton
Some people will grate the edges of the soap to make it fit a container then once the puck fits, will put that gratings back. Personally I just use the pot it comes in, although my Fitjar soap is smaller than the container so for the first couple of shaves it shuffled around but now its more or less stuck down.
Honeybee Lime (grated), Tabac (grated) and Mike's Barbershop (knife cut) in deep Ramekin bowls from Bed, Bath and Beyond.
You can also mix soaps by grating them together and pressing them into a bowl.
I have some grated Tabac spread out in a bowl in my basement. I hope the scent will eventually fade away so I can tolerate using it.
I have some grated Tabac spread out in a bowl in my basement. I hope the scent will eventually fade away so I can tolerate using it.
Aaron, Just leave it open on the counter and the scent will subside. Tabac is a great soap.
Clayton
I grate them and mix them together when I have only a small amount left of each soap or soap stick. I mixed the remains of some Valobra, MWF, Mystic Waters, and Queen Charlotte soaps together.
Thanks for the tip, Clayton. I'm glad the scent does subside. It is a great soap. However, if I leave it on the counter, I'll be banished to the basement along with the soap.
When using tallow based soaps, like MWF, it allows the soap to melt more evenly so you get that tallowy goodness in every bite of pasta.
Modern Williams seems to lather better for me after grating it. INB4 any Williams comments pro or con...
I've heard of people grating down soaps that are difficult to later, and when in the process of packing the soap back into the bowl they would add a few drops of glycerine.
Would this be effective?
Would this be effective?
Outside of being able to reshape soaps to different containers, grating reduces the loading time for me, especially with triple-milled soaps.
I've grated some modern Williams with some Col. Conk to get a great smelling creation that gives a pile of slick, cushiony lather. I've also grated two Palmolive sticks into a container since I'm not a fan of sticks and face lathering.
I used to whip up lather from my soap pucks in their aluminum storage containers. This proved to be messy on occasion. I tried using a spare hand held grater to get soap chips, but shifted to a melon ball spoon. I scrape shavings off the puck into my salsa bowl, and then whip up the day's lather. So far, this is working well for me.
Some samples are sold grated so that a sample sized quantity can be pressed into whatever container you will work it from. That's how my MWF sample came from Garry's.
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