Hey, Redhorseshoe, I was looking around and your post caught my eye. Maybe I can help. I'm a soap maker and a trapper since 1998, due to my sons eczema, and now have a little home business called "Clean Heart Soaps". Also I'm a historical reenactor for a 1885 historical village in the next county. I reenact making soap over an open fire in a cast iron kettle using the rendered fat from hogs and lye water I've collected from the ash hopper my DH made for me. I live in AL and we don't have a lot of hard wood either. You know, back in the 1800's the settlers use whatever was available to them. They would make soap once a year. And during the year, they would collect ashes all year from their wood burning stoves and fireplaces and put them in the ash hopper (a wooden V shaped box) outside. They also saved all the fat they could and render it for making soap. The ash hopper was made of wood and was in the shape of a V. At the bottom end of the hopper would be a hole. When it rained, the water seeped down through those ashes and lye water, (brown water), would come out of that hole and drip into a crock. There are a couple of ways she could test the lye water to see if it was strong enough to make soap. One way is to dip a long chicken feather in the lye water. If the lye ate up the feather, it was strong enough, another way is to put a fresh chicken egg (whole) into the lye water and if it floated enough to about the size of a nickel, at the top, then she knew it was strong enough. If the lye water wasn't strong enough, she would boil it down a bit to make it stronger, if too strong, she would add water, (rain water, cause it's soft with no minerals that might come from a well or stream). I'm sure there were times it was too strong, that's why many socks,and clothes, etc. were eaten up. lol Anyway, That's how they made lye water for their soap back then. I'm sure they used whatever type of ashes they had around. It's true that Oak ashes makes the whitest soap, but in reality, I don't think she was worried about her soap being white. I would like to share more with you if you're interested...this is "my" soap box, pun intended, and I love talking about soap, sharing soap, how to make soap, and more importantly teach folks how to make their own. It's an art I don't want to be lost. We can either e-mail or talk on cells. I'd like to send you some soap that I made in the kettle at the Lee Co. Historical Village in Loachapoka, AL. It's an Indian name meaning "Turtle Killing Place". You can e-mail at
lyemaster@yahoo.com, if you'd like to talk lye and soap.
cleanheart
Only when we give joyfully, without hesitation or thought of gain can we truly know what love means. ~Leo Buscaglia