http://www.endtimesreport.com/making_bar_soap.html

The question at hand

-- Little Bit Farm (littlebit@brightok.net), November 09, 2004

Answers

http://www.endtimesreport.com/making_lye.html

Making the lye

-- Little Bit Farm (littlebit@bright.net), November 09, 2004.

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/paul_norman_3/soapmake.htm

more help

-- Little Bit Farm (littlebit@bright.net), November 10, 2004.

I think this is a question we're going to have to work on. So few people have actually made soap with wood ash lye. The only batch I made was a wonderful, strong, soft soap. The laws of chemistry state that wood ash lye is mostly potassium hydroxide as opposed to canned lye which is sodium hydroxide. Potassium hydroxide makes soft soap, sodium hydroxide makes hard soap. That's all I know from "book learnin' ." I'll report back when I have more practical evidence.

-- Tabletop Homestead (tabletophomestead@earthlink.net), November 11, 2004.

I really think that historically they had methods of creating hard lye soap. I believe this because in places like Bittersweet, Foxfire, and numerous diary entries hard lye soap was considered an art form like great pie crust. It had to do with length of cooking, and a particular look to the soap upon comlpletion.

Little Bit Farm (scroll down)

Here is an excellent article:

http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/bitters weet/sp74h.htm

Bittersweet Lye soap and hominy

-- Little Bit Farm (littlebit@bright.net), November 28, 2004.