How We Make Deer Tallow Soap (Plus experimenting with homemade lye from wood ash)

[@saraherber1887]

I have been making soap for 7 decades. Sometimes it just doesn't hold up in bars. Granny always used aged oak with no bark to make her lye ash. The reason I do not know. I have followed her ways with success. Your soap may be useful for waterproofing your boots or keeping rust off your garden tools. You take heart knowing you did a fine job. Goodness, you are young and you have years of soap making ahead of you. You will find your way with it.

[@RingyDingDing]

I was hoping to find a comment that mentioned this, my partner and I were just discussing that it may have been the type of wood used because oak has more tannins in it, which is what makes acorns so bitter. We were wondering why it may not have worked, cool to see we weren't far off!

[@thatguychris5654]

Hardwood contains more potassium than softwood. Also, it is more concentrated in the bark than the wood. I separately burn oak bark for a high-potasium lye and the calcium left over for cement.

[@Whythebutterfly]

To make soap with potassium hydroxide you need to cook it down (I use an old crockpot) until it gels up, about 1 hour, mixing every 15 minutes, with that you can dilute and make liquid soap or pour into molds, the color will definitely be much different than lye soap. The good thing about it is with the cooking process you eliminate the curing time and can use right away. I have never heard anyone using deer tallow, great way of not wasting anything!

[@overratedprogrammer]

I never heard of anyone cooking it down. Maybe the lye water until it's strong enough to float an egg. Then you just mix the 2

[@Whythebutterfly]

@@overratedprogrammer it’s basically 2 different products, the store bought is sodium hydroxide, commonly lye, made from sea salt, normally used for cold process soap, potassium hydroxide, known as potash is made from wood ashes, it’s normally used to make liquid soap, this requires the hot process method, cooked until gelled and then the gel is dissolved in water.

[@HomegrownHandgathered]

Okay good to know! Thank you for the advice

[@mugglesarecooltoo]

How did you add the link in there?

[@Renessa47]

There's an experimental archaeologist named Sally Pointer here on youtube and actually the first video I found of hers was part one of her making wood ash soap where she goes through how to build a lye hopper for cheap, how to test your alkaline solution for suitability to make soap (ph test strips actually don't tell you everything you need to know about the strength), and potential methods for concentrating it if necessary. It's really worth a watch for your next try to refine the process, and part two where she makes the soap with the solution from part one was also posted this year.

[@christineb8148]

That is a great video and resource! I think it clarified to me that I am not going to go to that level and can be happy with some pre-made shortcuts because it was a lot of work to get to the point she needed for success!

[@Renessa47]

@@christineb8148 Haha yeah, when I make my cold process soap it's like an afternoon of chemistry and then a couple days later unmolding/cutting/setting up for curing. The traditional way is like a few months of forethought, planning, and waiting. But as someone who also really enjoys making a big project out of doing something from 100% scratch like this, I still want to try it at least once one day. 😂

[@christineb8148]

@@Renessa47 i know, even though I like to feel like I'm not much of a "shortcut" person, I have to admit that whatever I'm doing is a *total* shortcut compared to traditional makers! Underlying my comment was a respect and appreciation for the time and effort that went into developing traditional skills, especially when you think about how much less precise measuring devices and tools were! I am awed (and honestly kind of humbled) how people came up with and mastered dyes and soaps and cheeses even a lot of recipes in the past before there were books and chemistry frameworks and scales and all of that. And I respect people who keep those long process skills alive!!

[@Renessa47]

@@christineb8148 Definitely! It's crazy all the things humans figured out so early on just by a combination of logic, intuition, trial, and error.

[@HomegrownHandgathered]

Thank you so much, we'll definitely look her up and give that video a watch!

[@debbiem2146]

Wood-ash lye is best made with de-barked hardwoods only. Also, vinegar is great to have on hand in case the lye splashes onto skin as it neutralizes it immediately, preventing a nasty burn. Thank you for the lovely video. Although I have experience in soap making, I have never used deer tallow; furthermore, your entire presentation was truly enjoyable as well as informative. Well done! :)

[@outdoorloser4340]

Just the video I needed before hunting season 👍

[@HomegrownHandgathered]

Good luck out there! You gonna save your tallow this year?

[@outdoorloser4340]

@@HomegrownHandgathered I usually do save my tallow and use it for boot grease and candles, but I can't wait to try some soap 😊

[@AnAlbinoGiraffe]

You guys are my favorite KZbin channel 🥹 also I love hearing you be casual and goofy in the background!!!

[@HomegrownHandgathered]

Aw thanks! Glad you're enjoying it :)

[@Inana_Beth]

Always looking forward to the new video. Love the calm music 🎶

[@Bellllllz]

Thats really cool that you can make a lotion bar and ill have to look more into that. Awesome video!

[@tinad6812]

Good job for your effort. Maybe you could have added more beeswax to harden it. You could possibly melt it down and add it in or at least a piece to see if it works. I was going to suggest heating the knife to cut through the beeswax and then you guys did. You just have to be careful not to get burned. Thank you.

[@amandamodin4912]

I make soap but use the glycerin left from making bio-diesel. I use store bought lye but generally have a usable bar. On occasion I will make liquid soap to use in dish washing.

[@TheFrugalMombot]

do you have a recipe and video on how to purify the deer tallow and do you also use it for cooking? as for the soap/lotion bars, i think you hit the nail on the head at the end there and that they’ll be great for those reasons. i also imagine that people would pay a pretty penny for something like that, hand-crafted from natural wild, pure, healthy, and beneficial ingredients. nothing is better for our own skin or hides. so whether accidental or not, i hope these end up being a joy and blessing to you in the coming months. i think you’ll really be glad it turned out this way.

[@HomegrownHandgathered]

Yea we have a video where we show how we render and purify deer tallow. I think we posted it like a year ago? You'll see it if you look in our videos

[@elizabethedmonds6977]

For some reason my cat absolutely LOVES this video 😂 and I do too!!

[@alialg1621]

You can still cut the ash soap into small cubes and mix them with the soap mixture before transferring it to the molds to get soap with lotion cubes.😊❤

[@ash.lynn17]

I so enjoyed watching this video! Thank you for making it. I want to try making my own lye and soap someday.

[@The_Ashling]

Would love to see some small-scale tests/experiments with wood ash for soap, to see if you can get the results you were aiming for with local materials.

[@Kiki-]

This is a really great video, have you tried grating the beeswax? Should help with the scary cutting job

[@cecilyerker]

Buy beeswax pellets

[@HomegrownHandgathered]

Good idea!

[@cecilyerker]

The ugly non lathering not-soap would probably make a great leather conditioner! It looks very similar to Saddle Soap. Keep it in tins.

[@HomegrownHandgathered]

Yea, that's probably what we'll mostly use it for. Boot conditioner :)

[@thatguychris5654]

- The most potassium is found in hardwood bark. - Wood ash is mostly calcium and potassium. When water is added, the potassium dissolves creating potassium hydroxide. The particles left at the bottom is mostly calcium and can be fired and used as cement. - Sodium hydroxide lathers up very well and is what we're used to. Potassium hydroxide barely bubbles, if at all, but cleans just as well.

[@alicianneboyle2443]

Hey sweeties thank you for sharing your thoughts and video. I have psoriasis and would the moisturizer soap using the wood ash I wonder if that would help me? I was always skeptical on making soap from deer fat and wood ash idk maybe I will still make it 🤷 but I did enjoy watching yinz make soap 🧼 😁

[@thisismyname3328]

I've never seen your long-form content before, but this was a lovely watch! Have you heard of Sally Pointer? She has a video detailing her soap making process, using wood ash lye!

[@felicitysileas1051]

Maybe add a pinch of store bought lye mixed with hard wood ash would do the trick...my thoughts were (if it wasn't lotion) to make a DIY detergent with it. But perhaps instead you can remelt it and add more salt and beeswax and turn it into a waterproof boot conditioner?

[@robertcotrell9810]

I recently cut my finger badly (9 stitches), but just a flesh wound, thankfully. So that was EXTRA stressful. 😬

[@ClearlyPixelated]

In the future, instead of cutting a bar of soap with a knife, you can use a cheese grater to get the amount you need.

[@ThatBritishHomestead]

I am planning to do this soon!

[@overratedprogrammer]

I tried making soap but I don't think my lye was strong enough/didn't have enough of it. Like you, I decided to try it anyway. The end result was greasy, more like a moisturizer. My conclusion was that it takes a LOT of ashes.

[@BelugaSennah]

these guys really looked at dwarf fortress and went, yeah i could do that too

[@Gardeningchristine]

I just rubbed deer tallow on my dry feet and hands. Barely any smell.