Author Topic: Soap-Patch Lube?  (Read 1211 times)

Offline OldMtnMan

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Soap-Patch Lube?
« on: March 03, 2019, 07:48:17 PM »
I live in an apartment. We have a table in the meeting room and tenants will put stuff on it from food, clothing, appliances etc. It's a free table and we can take anything on the table.

This morning some strange looking bars of soap were on the table with a note. Made with 50% Olive Oil, 25% Lard, and 25% Coconut Oil. I grabbed a couple and tried it as a soap. It has kind of a Coconut smell. What surprised me was it foamed up just like soap. What in the ingredients would make it foam up?

I'm also wondering if it would work as a patch lube?

Offline P.W.Berkuta

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Re: Soap-Patch Lube?
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2019, 09:07:18 PM »
That lard just may have salt in it. I have made patch lube with unsalted lard - beeswax - and a touch of olive oil depending on the temperature of the year that I am shooting.
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Offline WadePatton

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Re: Soap-Patch Lube?
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2019, 09:38:51 PM »
I live in an apartment. We have a table in the meeting room and tenants will put stuff on it from food, clothing, appliances etc. It's a free table and we can take anything on the table.

This morning some strange looking bars of soap were on the table with a note. Made with 50% Olive Oil, 25% Lard, and 25% Coconut Oil. I grabbed a couple and tried it as a soap. It has kind of a Coconut smell. What surprised me was it foamed up just like soap. What in the ingredients would make it foam up?

I'm also wondering if it would work as a patch lube?

I'm betting there are better things for patch lube (but that's a tired subject). 


It is soap.  Those fats have been saponified with sodium and/or potassium hydroxide (lye) to make soap any fats left over is because the recipes are always kept on the rich side to ensure that 100% of the lye is consumed.  This leaves some fatty/oiliness but then it washes right off with soap and water.

Any concern about salt-test it on raw steel with humidity.

My soap-making days condensed:
Variations in the fats used and their proportions as well as the lye or combination of lyes used are what give soaps their various characteristics. I made some jiggled into the favor of a shaving soap.  But I only did one or two runs, and it is fine shaving soap, but is fantastic for washing your hair, lathers like crazy.  I forget how many oils was combining, plus tallow as the base. Lot of variables to trade-off when deciding the character of soap you want to make. You trade off some cleaning value to get slickness as desired in a shaving soap. But then I tried some Italian (run of the mill) shaving soap and it's by far better. So I stopped messing with saponification, cut my losses.
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Offline OldMtnMan

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Re: Soap-Patch Lube?
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2019, 09:47:42 PM »
Thanks guys. I'll admit to being ignorant about soap.

I'll just use these bars for washing and keep using mink oil for patch lube.