The perfect bushcraft soap

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Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
12,780
1,517
51
Wiltshire
<shakes head> No, but they are on my `junk suitable for xmas presents` list if anyone wants them.

I have fried rendering fat but only ended up with something like lard...nor does the far in the suet from ox hearts seem to extract easily.

(best use it as suet, eh?)
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
Note to self and others on Pine Tar soap

1. Pine tar is horribly messy stuff

2. When you open the bottle it stinks

3. When you heat up pine tar you realise the smell when cold was just an appetiser

4. It traces (starts to set) in less than 30 seconds - most soaps take between 30 and 60 minutes

DON'T use a stick blender. You will never get in in the moulds!

Hot pine tar and 30ml of scots pine essential oil now mean our cottage smells like a disinfectant factory :(

I'm also wondering if soap is supposed to be the colour of HP sauce ????????

Hopefully the colour will lighten as it cures!

Red
 

JohnC

Full Member
Jun 28, 2005
2,624
82
62
Edinburgh
The pine tar soap I bought is dark brown...

I'll not tell the wife about the smell of soap making when I broach the subject of giving it a go..
 

Ice Tigre

Member
Nov 30, 2005
21
0
38
Alaska, USA
Gary, there are plenty of good books on the subject and some great inetrnet resources as well. My own favourite is "the handmade soap book" by Melinda Cross (mine is dog eared and stinks of spilled essential oils :eek:).

I have put a pictorial instruction up that shows how it is done. I am happy to share my recipes with anyone who has made a batch of the basic stuff in that thread and wants to try something more advanced. Also consult Erics fantastic spreadsheet for saponification charts etc.

http://www.btinternet.com/~e_methven/downloads/self_sufficiency_worksheets.xls

Once the guys have tested a few recipes after curing and delivered their verdict (publicly I hope), we could go a couple of ways.

I can publish the recipes for the soaps I develop and people can make their own

or

I could make some bars up when I have time on a first come first served basis (I really can't take money though as it wouldn't be right - it would have to be a "pay it forward")

Red

Sorry I'm slow comming back, my BCUK forum access is intermitent...

I keep forgeting to have a look at the book shop.. I'll start bugging you, maybe about a barter/trade? when it comes time for it to cure...

G.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
No problem - couple of weeks yet. We've moved on to preserving in the house now - its full of pears poached in brandy, cranberry and port sauce and brandy butter (plus about a dozen other things :eek:). Fortunately the preserving is almost finished but I sti have a few pounds of sweets to make yet.

So little time - so many bowls to lick :D

Red
 

Jodie

Native
Aug 25, 2006
1,561
11
54
London
www.google.co.uk
This has been an absolutely fascinating thread and I've learned loads, and not just about
soap making.

I've got a small collection of those wash tablet bags so I'll have to try that out spamel.

Has anyone tried / got any opinions on the 'wash ball' things that seem to last for
ages and supposedly do less damage to the environment etc. etc.? After the initiallly
more expensive outlay they would probably be cost-effective in the long run, but they
just sound a bit, well, gimmicky.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
Well, its all about cured, wrapped and labelled now

If you've ever wondered what a years supply of soap looks like - its something like this

soapkk0.jpg


I'll be asking the "testers" for addresses shortly :)

Red
 

Nat

Full Member
Sep 4, 2007
1,476
0
York, North Yorkshire
Recieved my soap the other day.

Proceeded to put it to the test after testing it on a small area - no side effects. Next came a shower. Doesn't lather like your normal everyday soaps but covers just aswell and gets you clean.

Leaves your skin feeling soap without the slime like shower gels or the more popular soaps, no ill side effects, and no residue.

12 out of 10 Red, many thanks got the family using it now :D it doesn't even aggrivate my excema which i suffer from and is aggrivated by modern soaps.

Red :You_Rock_
 

robin wood

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Oct 29, 2007
3,054
1
derbyshire
www.robin-wood.co.uk
Red,

What an interesting thread, being fairly new I only just discovered it and read all the way through. I think its great that folk are thinking about this stuff. I used palm oil for years to treat my wooden bowls, it was organic from the local wholefood coop but I changed a couple of years ago as I could not acertain how and where it was grown.

Couple of thoughts on soap ingredients by someone who knows nothing about it, for the scrubby bit how about used coffee grounds. For years I have used coffeee grounds and ecover washing up liquid as a swarfega substitute for oily hands works great and leaves a nice smell.

I was surprised in the very first post you suggested vegy suet as an oil I always though that was just palm oil shredded and rolled in flour, none in the cupboard at the monent to check ingredients do you know whats in it?

And a final thought on shaving soap...I have a little wooden bowl with a lid, when the bars of soap get too small and fiddly just before they drop on the shower floor I pop them in the wooden bowl with a drop of water...makes a decent shaving soap.

Thanks for a great thread
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
Robin,

There are a variety of sources and types of Vegetable suet on the market. That said, I haven't checked the "most common brand" ;)

I will as soon as I get home though. If theres any Palm oil in it its getting replaced.

Good heads up - cheers

Red
 

Jambo

Forager
Jul 21, 2007
114
0
U.K.
Note to self and others on Pine Tar soap

1. Pine tar is horribly messy stuff

2. When you open the bottle it stinks

3. When you heat up pine tar you realise the smell when cold was just an appetiser

4. It traces (starts to set) in less than 30 seconds - most soaps take between 30 and 60 minutes

DON'T use a stick blender. You will never get in in the moulds!

Hot pine tar and 30ml of scots pine essential oil now mean our cottage smells like a disinfectant factory :(

I'm also wondering if soap is supposed to be the colour of HP sauce ????????

Hopefully the colour will lighten as it cures!

Red

And the 'Grandpa's' brand I have has palm oil in it. :(
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
Robin,

Just checked "Atora" brand veg suet which lists "vegetable oil" as an ingredient, but not palm oil. Now Palm oil is a vegetable oil so I guess I'm no nearer knowing (I would have been surprised if I had knowingly bough anything with palm oil in). Can anyone shed any light or shall I write to the manufacturer to check?

Heath - glad you liked it mate :)

Jambo - thanks for looking - best we design our own recipe and get someone to make it then - do you agree?

Red
 

robin wood

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Oct 29, 2007
3,054
1
derbyshire
www.robin-wood.co.uk
Not easy to find out exactly which oil is in atora but not palm as it is hydrogenated trans fat...no need to do that to palm its already solid. This is how its made;

The main source of these synthetic trans fatty acids is hydrogenation - an industrial process in which oil is heated to a high temperature (typically 260-270ºC) under pressure and in the presence of a metal catalyst such as nickel, Rayner's nickel (a nickel / aluminium alloy) platinum, palladium or cobalt, then hydrogen is introduced. The catalyst is normally present in the form of a fine powder and one health concern is that a small quantity of it must remain in the oil. The hydrogen is absorbed into the fat molecules, changing its molecular structure and its chemical composition as it converts the unsaturated oil to a more saturated form.

Very bad for health...so bad all major supermarkets have signed up to stopping using trans fats in own brand products but then your not eating soap...make your own judgement on the environmental issues. Quoted from;

http://www.tfx.org.uk/page3.html
 

firebreather

Settler
Jan 26, 2007
982
0
49
Manchester
Got mine the other day and have been testing the bushcrafters soap over the weekend. Its great I have been stuck in mud all weekend and it has kept me clean and sparkly. I used it when I got home on sat got clean before getting back down and dirty in the mud again sat night.
I will do a better write up when i get more time.

Cheers for the soap its great stuff.

Greg.
 

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