[bunkerbob]

I can't believe this... It's Not a Lye! for all of us soap makers, olive curers and candle makers another product bites the dust.
I went to the supermarket yesterday to get some Red Devil Lye for olive curing and could not find it on the shelf, ask a clerk and they looked at me like I was some dope, well maybe a little true, "never heard of it" one said, what!, its been around since I was a child and probably much longer. :dunno:
Then I asked for some liquid Castile soap, another huh?, maybe in the organic food section, what?, never mind.:scratch:surrender:
Well I found a site online to get the lye http://www.essentialdepot.com/servlet/the-3/4-lbs-Food-Grade/Detail and another for making your own Castile soap and more... A Database of the Most Interesting Natural Soap Making Recipes

 

[NaeKid]

Wow!!!

I'll take a quick-trip this evening to see if I can find some lye around here and will let you know what I find.

 

[lhalfcent]

I can't find lye around here either. But i have found Fels Naptha soap and Castile soap bars.
So last year when i couldn't find Red Devil Lye i researched how our pioneers did it. They took wood ashes and soaked them in water overnight which leaches lye, a bit more gentle than the red devil stuff. So I decided to experiment with a small batch.
Anyway I made a small wood outdoor fire in one of those yard grills, the bowl shaped one. when the fire was out and wood turned to ashes i took my hose and filled the bowl with water and put a cover over it and let it set all night.
the next day i took an old collander and put cheese cloth in that then poured out the water from the grill into the filter i just made and had lye!
So i started another fire and melted my tallow i made from suet and added or I should say guessed on the ash lye. Trial and error. lol
The soap took a bit longer to soponify but it did work. I tried it with suet and oils to see which worked better. both batches did the same but it was time consuming.
I am going to try it again this year. But get myself a bit more organized.