"This page describes the method used to make soap when lye is not available.
It's how our ancestors did it before the convenience of shops.

Wood Ash Lye
In order to make wood ash lye you will need three large containers. Clean dustbins, wooden barrels etc. will do. Two of the containers remain whole while the third has tiny holes punched or drilled through the bottom.

In one of the barrels collect rain water.
In the barrel with the holes, collect wood ash from hard wood sources.
It is essential that only hard woods are used, and don't burn any rubbish with the wood.

Place the empty barrel on the ground with the ash barrel on top of it.

Gently pour rain water over the ash and let it soak slowly through the tiny holes into the bottom barrel. The rainwater will leach out the lye contained in the potassium salts of the burnt wood.

When you have finished you will need to test the strength of the wood ash lye.

You will need a fresh hen's egg.

Place the egg into the wood ash lye. If it sinks like a stone, the lye is too weak and you will need to pour it over the ashes again.
If the egg floats, then the lye is too strong. You will need to dilute it with some rainwater.

If the egg sinks slowly - like in slow motion, then it's just right.

You now have a usable wood ash lye, and to make soap all you need to add is rendered fat.

To render fat.
Trim the fat from any convenient animal (cow, deer, goat etc). Chop the fat into fine pieces (or pass through a mincer). Place the fat in a pan with a little water in the bottom to stop burning. Bring to the boil and simmer slowly until all the fat has broken down.
Allow to cool a little and strain through muslin or similar cloth to remove the crunchy bits of meat, bone, gristle and hair.
You now have rendered fat that can also be used to fry food with (if cholesterol isn't a problem). Butcher's sell this as dripping.

To make soap.
Place the wood ash lye in a large pan. Add the rendered fat and boil. When the mixture reaches a consistency like mashed potato, it's ready to put into containers to set.

Pour the mixture into a wooden box lined with a plastic bin liner or similar. Allow to set for a couple of days before turning out, cutting into bars and storing between sheets of newspaper.

That's the way soap used to be made when there were no shops.

A Recipe
9lbs fat (rendered)
2 lbs wood ash lye
5 qts rain water
1/4 lb rosin (optional - it does make the soap softer)

Boil together for about 2½ hours or until it looks like mashed potatoes. Pour into mould and allow to set for three days. Turn out and cut into bars. Store between sheets of newspaper for six weeks before using.

You can add herbs, essential oils etc, before pouring into moulds to provide a variety of soaps.

(The addition of liquorice root extract in soap will hide human scent and is ideal for hunters.)
Remember try this method before you really need to! To do it really effectively, it should be done out of doors in an environment similar to that in which you may find yourself.


 

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