Making Lye From Wood Ashes, or How to Do it the Pioneer Way - if You MUST!

Few developments in the history of soap making have made quite the difference that laboratory-made lye becoming commercially available made. But lye wasn't made in large scale labs until the mid 1800s - soap has been around for thousands of years. What did people do before that? Well, they made their lye the "old fashioned" way by leaching water through wood ashes. So if you're in a far corner of our globe and can't get lye locally...or are just curious how it's done, here is a collection of pages that will show you how.
One note...whether you buy it in a store, from an online vendor, or make it yourself, lye is still a VERY dangerous chemical that can cause serious burns! Just because it's made by a nice old lady in a pioneer dress (see the article) doesn't mean you don't have to treat it with respect.