The oils
| Oil | As the source prints it | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut Oil | Cochin cocoanut oil · 26 lb | 13.6 % |
| Stearic Acid (triple-pressed, ~50:50 C16/C18) | Stearic acid · 165 lb | 86.4 % |
Everything else
- Glycerine C. P. — 76 lb
- Water — 38 lb
How it is made
| Process | Semi-boiled |
| Alkali | Caustic potash lye, 50° B. · 69 lb · 50° Bé |
| Superfat | Not stated |
| Water | as the source states it |
| Iodine value | 2 |
| INS | 214 |
What the numbers say
Hardness 98 above 29–54
Cleansing 11 below 12–22
Conditioning 3 below 44–69
Bubbly lather 11 below 14–46
Creamy lather 87 above 16–48
Computed from the fatty acids of the fats above. The bands are what the craft has settled on, not chemistry — a bar outside one is not wrong.
The source
Stearic acid is 86 % of the fat charge. The book tests the finish by taste — "if a cooled sample bites the tongue more stearic acid is added until there is a 3% excess of this", which is a superfat stated as a procedure rather than a number.
E. G. Thomssen, Soap-Making Manual: A Practical Handbook on the Raw Materials, Their Manipulation, Analysis and Control in the Modern Soap Plant, D. Van Nostrand Company, 1922, p.91. Soap-Making Manual: A Practical Handbook on the Raw Materials, Their Manipulation, Analysis and Control in the Modern Soap Plant · read 2026-09-22