[Artemisia] The making of Lye

[Laura LaBelle]

Your Grace,

Yes, my husband Lord Forrest of Gumb has been making soap for 15+ yrs, now. He has made it from the "ground up" twice or more (bugger of a chore and rendering stinks - got him banned from the kitchen). He did have his most recent batch of medieval soap in last year's Kingdom A&S and also at last Uprising, in the artisans' showcase. It was a lovely batch. I am sure he would gladly speak with you about his process, although I don't know if he will be making anymore the period way anytime soon. It really was a lot of work.

I don't know if he is still on the Aerie, but I will let him know that you are interested in picking his brain. I know he gets his lye in bulk, but from where I don't know. He makes a lot of soap (non-period) for sale at our farmers' market throughout the summer and shows in the fall, so he has to keep his lye cost down.  He doesn't get it at any of our local hardware stores, as it is too expensive and just plain lye is hard to find.  Apparently it's not the caustic/hazmat issue that has it pulled from the shelves.  It's the fact that it can be used in bombs and I think meth production.

YIS,

Lady Gwen (formerly Branwyn... aka Laura)




On Wednesday, January 22, 2014 11:28 PM, "dukealan at q.com" <dukealan at q.com> wrote:
  
Hello All you medieval smart folks.....

So, has anyone actually made lye from wood ashes?  I'm interested in making soap, including the raw materials.  I have some rendered animal fat, and have aspen wood ashes, so I'm looking for info.  Preferably real-deal info, rather than just something in some book.

Thanks in advance for any info you might have....which could include a book reference if that's all we can come up with.

YIS,

Alan

PS.  Plus, this list has been dead entirely tooooooo long.  We aren't all on FaceBook, and it seems the communication seems to have comepletely shifted over there....
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