How do you make your own lye?

k15n1

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Don't LET it bother you. Remember, the internet stands between us and we were not created/evolved to deal with this kind of impersonal interaction. Even rude-sounding posts a probably not intended to hurt anyone.
 

Boogity

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1Brotherbill said:
. . . . . Do you remember what she used for the fats?
Oh gosh! At that age I doubt that I would have even known there would be fat in the soap. Now that I think about it I would imagine that it was rendered pig fat because they always had the stinkinist pigs in the world. And they always had deep fried pork rinds and cracklins. :p

My maternal grand parents were Appalachian back woods folks. They probably lived a lifestyle 30 or 40 years behind the rest of the country. I couldn't understand my grandpa but the folks in their county didn't have any trouble at all. Grandma had to translate for us.

Both of them were killed in a land slide in 1956. There was a pond on the hill behind their farmhouse and in the spring of '56 there was a lengthy rainy period, the dam let go and caused a river of mud to cover their home in the middle of the night.
 

1Brotherbill

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Boogity said:
1Brotherbill said:
. . . . . Do you remember what she used for the fats?
Oh gosh! At that age I doubt that I would have even known there would be fat in the soap. Now that I think about it I would imagine that it was rendered pig fat because they always had the stinkinist pigs in the world. And they always had deep fried pork rinds and cracklins. :p

My maternal grand parents were Appalachian back woods folks. They probably lived a lifestyle 30 or 40 years behind the rest of the country. I couldn't understand my grandpa but the folks in their county didn't have any trouble at all. Grandma had to translate for us.

Both of them were killed in a land slide in 1956. There was a pond on the hill behind their farmhouse and in the spring of '56 there was a lengthy rainy period, the dam let go and caused a river of mud to cover their home in the middle of the night.
My god it is like a Hollywood movie. Sorry your loss.

Lard makes a hard bar of soap. Your grandma pulled it off with wood ash and lard.
 

rhoda_bruce

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I'm a bit late. I don't know how I didn't see this thread before. Well today, I tried to do the instruction as previously mentioned in Back to Basics, with a few minor alterations to allow me to use what I had on hand. I have also watched a few youtube videos on the subject. I can't float an egg in the solution yet, so I think I have to cook it a bit and see what I get.
I made cracklings today....and they are mostly gone, just so I'd have the lard to use for this purpose.
I'm on my work week, so it might be a while before I can complete the task.
I'm completely on my own with this one. I know absolutely no one who has attempted this. I think I have about 2 quarts of lard to use and lots of ash, so just have to make the right amount of lye to agree with the lard I have.
Might think of a quick medicinal recipe I can tap into. Hope I'm not wasting my time.
 

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