Tell me about soap carving for beginners please.

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DD13 has a strong memory of trying soap carving in primary school and really liking it but can't remember what tools they used, or if it was just a normal bar of soap. I can't imagine they would have used any sharp, chisel type blades?
I want to get her a kit as a summer hols surprise craft activity - where do I begin?
Many thanks!

That's quite strange - I was thinking about this yesterday, having done it for county shows decades ago and not having thought about it at all in the years in between.

As I remember, it was just a bar of ordinary toilet soap (not industrial soap) that you carved with a penknife.

I found Egyptian cats were good to carve.

Thank you! Anyone else please? Not sure I'm happy with DD getting a pen knife or maybe that's OK?

I'd imagine you could use a tool set for clay/wax carving, there's a few reasonably priced sets on Amazon plus a soap carving book?

That was my thinking, ie wax carving tools probably quite similar, thank you.

Have a look at paper cutting too. There are some amazing books with templates etc on Amazon. Can’t recall the name but if you google paper cutting one has a swan on the front. She would need a sharp scalpel ( and lots and lots of new blades) but at 13 should be able to use it if shown how to hold it.

We did it at a woodfair. The chap running it gave all the kids disposable wooden cutlery knives. The sort you'd get if you ordered a takeaway baked potato - clearly disposable but fairly sturdy.

I read it as soup carving and though- huh? 🤔
I never heard of soap carving either. Out of interest, do you use it or just stick it on a shelf as an ornament?
I recall some beautiful fruit and vegetable carvings in Thailand and Asia. Would that be of interest to her?

We did this! Don't remember what we used to carve but the smell of the green soap is engraved into my memory

And yes, normal bar of soap

Thanks all, very helpful. I prodded her some more and she didn't think they used anything sharp, possibly end of a paper clip.
Agreed at her age and with her level of cooking skills I don't need to worry about blades. Apparently it was "a really fun texture to work with".

Sounds like a great idea, especially with that memory from your daughter.

At 13, I’d have no worries about using a pen knife.