I was also going to say potassium hydroxide instead of sodium hydroxide, but I have never tried it. I don't know how liquid it will make the soap, though. Maybe discounting the water would work, but it would be an experiment.
Soap Making 101
- Thread starter me&thegals
- Start date
calendula
Lovin' The Homestead
I had always thought that the earliest soaps made from wood ash (potassium hydroxide) were more of a cream than an actual bar depending on how it was made?
aggieterpkatie
Swiss Army Wife
I agree, I'd think they'd just wrap it up in a cloth and go.Farmfresh said:That does not sound very authentic to me.
When we are camping I simply wrap my wet soap in a corner of my towel and head out.
Farmfresh
City Biddy
I have a pretty good memory of Grandma Nettie's strong lye soap. She did buy the lye in my day, but it was a measured soap - no cautious weighing like we do. She used rendered fats from the kitchen exclusively with lard being a major component. The soap was always a shade of tan or brown due to the impurities in the fats and it was HARD. She used to pour it into her wash pan in the basement to set up and cut it into hunks with a big butcher knife on the basement floor after she dumped the mold.calendula said:
Grandpa was a professional mechanic and he always had her soap at his garage to wash off the car grease and dirt from work. She also used it to scrub "un-mentionable things" from Grandpa's boxer shorts!
(My sis and I, the other day, had a good hard laugh remembering her scrubbing those shorts with her soap on a scrub board and cussing him the whole while!) She always wrapped her laundry bar in a scrap of muslin and kept it on the laundry shelf.savingdogs
Queen Filksinger
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So there was a recipe, but just in like, cups and such? That is interesting. I have a book here with some hot process recipes but they describe the soap as a little harsh.
Farmfresh
City Biddy
I think a lot of her recipe ... if there really was one ... was just EXPERIENCE.
Yes a strong lye soap with very little extra fat in it can be pretty harsh. That is why most modern recipes for bath soaps are around 5% super fatted.
Yes a strong lye soap with very little extra fat in it can be pretty harsh. That is why most modern recipes for bath soaps are around 5% super fatted.
That does not sound very authentic to me. sad
When we are camping I simply wrap my wet soap in a corner of my towel and head out. wink
I agree. Are these people really going to be using the soap anyway or is it just a play-acting thing? I thought war re-enactments were contrived and orchestrated like "professional" wrestling. wink
War reenactments are NOT contrived. The battles shoot blank bullets for safety reasons, and for spectator safety the battles are planned in advance although those plans go out the window about 2 minutes into the battle. EVERYTHING we do is made to be as authentic as possible or reasonable. Yes we have ice chests but the must be hidden inside a wooden box. The men sleep in camp in authentic "dog" or a frame canvas tents. The women wear period clothing as do the children, As a newcomer the first thing I was told to do was get period frames for my glasses. The men wear REAL wool clothing and our reenactments take place during the summer in 80-over 100 degree weather. They Drill for two hours after a 6 am revelry call. In full gear. There are allowances and some units bend the strictness of authenticity more than other's. But the point is teach Living History. If it not accurate what would be the point?
As for the soap in the haversack's..and using the soap, if you pay $900 for a rifle, you would want it cleaned between the two battles per day. It also has to be cleaned because it is inspected before each battle as part of the safety regulations. A soldier Might have a rag in his haversack but if he wrapped the soap in it how is he going to get the soap off of it later for cleaning the rifle. rifles don't clean with this kind of soap. It's not as if they had limitless room to carry all of the amenities they would like. The reality is the soap I am offering to the men is not even something they would have carried in 1863 as the only were required to bathe once a month and wash their hands and faces once a week. This is a product I am hoping to sell to the men that will look passable and clean their hands from the grime and black powder.
If you have ever watched a group of women cook pot roast, potato's veggies over a camp fire all day for over 60 people you would realize there is no playacting involved.
Kristina
When we are camping I simply wrap my wet soap in a corner of my towel and head out. wink
I agree. Are these people really going to be using the soap anyway or is it just a play-acting thing? I thought war re-enactments were contrived and orchestrated like "professional" wrestling. wink
War reenactments are NOT contrived. The battles shoot blank bullets for safety reasons, and for spectator safety the battles are planned in advance although those plans go out the window about 2 minutes into the battle. EVERYTHING we do is made to be as authentic as possible or reasonable. Yes we have ice chests but the must be hidden inside a wooden box. The men sleep in camp in authentic "dog" or a frame canvas tents. The women wear period clothing as do the children, As a newcomer the first thing I was told to do was get period frames for my glasses. The men wear REAL wool clothing and our reenactments take place during the summer in 80-over 100 degree weather. They Drill for two hours after a 6 am revelry call. In full gear. There are allowances and some units bend the strictness of authenticity more than other's. But the point is teach Living History. If it not accurate what would be the point?
As for the soap in the haversack's..and using the soap, if you pay $900 for a rifle, you would want it cleaned between the two battles per day. It also has to be cleaned because it is inspected before each battle as part of the safety regulations. A soldier Might have a rag in his haversack but if he wrapped the soap in it how is he going to get the soap off of it later for cleaning the rifle. rifles don't clean with this kind of soap. It's not as if they had limitless room to carry all of the amenities they would like. The reality is the soap I am offering to the men is not even something they would have carried in 1863 as the only were required to bathe once a month and wash their hands and faces once a week. This is a product I am hoping to sell to the men that will look passable and clean their hands from the grime and black powder.
If you have ever watched a group of women cook pot roast, potato's veggies over a camp fire all day for over 60 people you would realize there is no playacting involved.
Kristina
Farmfresh
City Biddy
I understand that the soap rag and the rifle rag would have to be different - of course! I am just saying if they have room for a small tin in the bag that the tin would be better filled with a hard soap and a cloth around it to contain the moisture and perhaps a vent hole or two in the tin.
I hope the "first soap" turns out well! What kind of recipe did you end up using?
I hope the "first soap" turns out well! What kind of recipe did you end up using?
