[Artemisia] The making of Lye

[jchapman]

Dear Alan,
Having tried the wood ashes extraction, here is my experience and what 
my research says.

You need LOTS of ashes.  A barrel probably will yield enough for a batch 
of soap.  You will need to let the water slowly soak through the ashes 
and then collect it as it dribbles out the bottom.  Then it will need to 
be boiled down till it is strong enough.  A raw egg was floated in a 
solution to test its weight (specific gravity) which will tell you its 
strength.  (You might try making a regular lye solution and floating the 
egg for comparison.)
The solution off the wood ashes has potassium and will make a soft soap 
as opposed to the grocery store lye (drain cleaner) which has sodium and 
will make a hard bar of soap.

Good luck and keep us informed.
Judith


On 1/22/2014 11:25 PM, 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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