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I started soap carving when I was in Cub Scouts trying to earn my Whittling Chip. Since we did not have our Whittling Chips we could not use pocket knives so, instead of carving wood with a regular knife we learned to carve with soap and a knife made out of popsicle sticks. The popsicle stick knives are easy to make and you can find directions to them online. Another good alternative is the potato carving knives that are available now.

My first soap carving was a simple whale. It was not rounded on the sides, just on the top and bottom. I did carve features, the best that I could, onto the sides. I added a mouth and eyes. I even tried to add a blow hole on the top. The tail was a bit tricky, but it did hold up okay until my younger sister got a hold of it. My Den and I went through quite a few bars of soap before we earned our Whittling Chips.

We learned never to try and make deep cuts because the soap would crumble instead of coming of in flakes or strips. We also learned to avoid buying inexpensive soap because it did not whittle well. Moisturizing bars worked the best because they were softer.

Soap carving can be fun and if you save the shavings they can be added to a bath for some homemade bubbles. So, if you want an easy inexpensive hobby, you should try soap carving.

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