| Soap is simply fat (an acid) mixed with | | | | made on the stick at the water line. The |
| caustic soda (an alkali); mix them together | | | | stick was than placed in the lye concentrate |
| and you have soap. The old time craft of | | | | and at exactly the place marked on the stick |
| making lye was very affective. One method of | | | | would tell the soap maker how much rain water |
| making their own caustic soda (alkali) was to | | | | to pour into the lye solution for the proper |
| hollow out a log and drill a lot of holes at | | | | concentration for soap making. This took the |
| the bottom. They than put a layer of gravel | | | | guess work out of the use of using the proper |
| (for drainage), a layer of straw, a layer of | | | | amount of rain water to add to the lye for |
| hardwood ashes, and filled the log with rain | | | | making soap. |
| water. It took a long time for this mixture | | | | |
| to seep down and drain through the holes at | | | | Animal fat was used for soap making; tallow |
| the bottom. The slimy stuff that came out of | | | | (beef fat), sheep fat, lard (pig fat), was |
| the holes was homemade lye. The crude lye | | | | the favorite choices. These fats made a |
| was than boiled down until the right | | | | wonderful hard bar of soap. They than heated |
| consistency for making soap. | | | | the fat and dribbled the handmade lye very |
| | | | slowly into the warm fat. When the mixture |
| Testing the lye strength for soap making was | | | | was all jelled together at just the right |
| quite creative. The soap maker dissolved | | | | time (traced) they would pour the soap into |
| salt in water until no more salt could | | | | wooden molds. After a few days they would |
| dissolve. A long stick with a weight tied to | | | | cut the soap into bars. They than let the |
| one end would be dropped into the salted | | | | soap cure for a few months until it would be |
| water solution. The stick would bob upright | | | | ready to use. |
| to the top of the water. A mark was than | | | | |