making soap

[Tantalus]

anyone remember how to make soap?

i watched women in greece making it from olive oil but cant remember how they did it exactly

would it have been oil and potash?

it was fairly simple , and i remember them laying out blocks of it to dry on old newspaper

would be useful in any extended survival / bushcraft situation

specially as many modern soaps contain enough perfume to attract every mosquito and midge for a 50 mille radius

Tant

 

[jakunen]

You can make it that way. Its basically a fat/oil reacted with an alkali. The alkali (such as potash) does need to be quite strong if I remember from my school days.

 

[bambodoggy]

But not too strong or the resulting soap will seriously dry your skin and cause irritation.

You can also add pine oils/resin or similar if you need/want the soap to be slightly anti-septic.

Apparently you can use any type of rendered fat or oil except mineral oil.

 

[jakunen]

Personally I prefer horseradish juice. Its a makes a great anti-septic/anti-bacterial. Does smart a bit though if you have a cut...

 

[Tantalus]

yeah and dont get horseradish juice anywhere near your eyes :shock:

potash is pottery shards burned to a ..........well an ash right?

do bones work as well?

Tant

 

[ESpy]

Potash is potassium hydroxide; it is water soluble and a major component in wood ash.

The saponification of the fats is a doddle to do, but the resulting product remains caustic for quite a while; IIRC, aging it helps.

Here's some things on it - http://peacecorps.mtu.edu/soap_making.html

Can't vouch for the method, haven't checked it thoroughly enough to comment on safety.

As for horseradish... Did you know that if you take a good, deep sniff of a large amount of freshly grated horseradish, you can work out the exact shape and location of *all* your sinus cavities?

 

[jakunen]

As for horseradish... Did you know that if you take a good, deep sniff of a large amount of freshly grated horseradish, you can work out the exact shape and location of *all* your sinus cavities?

Pete, you're scary mate!

 

[ESpy]

It wasn't a very smart thing to do...

 

[jakunen]

...but it does work for clearing your sinuses if you have a really stinking cold.

 

[den]

As for horseradish... Did you know that if you take a good, deep sniff of a large amount of freshly grated horseradish, you can work out the exact shape and location of *all* your sinus cavities?

Ha. i was had with that one when i was a youngun at school on work experience . Working in a large restaurant a chef who'd just minced a pound of it up in a liquidiser said come here mate and have a smell of this it's really nice.
:errrr:

 

[arctic hobo]

The way I was taught, never use soap when in the bush. It exposes your skin (you get cold), and you will stay clean by your body's natural processes. What it is good for however is cuts, as it is antiseptic - but only fresh cuts. Old ones are best left. Personally I never use soap. :yikes: I mean when in the bush!

 

[TheViking]

I have to admit I never wash in the bush. When my dad and I has been 5-6 days in the swedish wilderness and we get in the train again (to get home) some passangers do look. But who cares?

However as arctic hobo points out, soap is the best antiseptic one can get. No doubt.

 

[Tantalus]

reason i was asking was mainly for clothes washing

underwear socks etc

being able to make a bar of soap would surely be a great help instead of having to carry 6 months worth of sox and undies :roll:

i had a us army survival book once upon a time that reccomended "air baths" if washing was not possible

presumably not in the arctic but warmer climates, strip naked and let the air into all the bits that it doesnt normally get to

also some cultures have saunas or sweat lodges for a similar purpose

haven't tried it in Galashiels yet :roll:

Tant

 

[alick]

Ever noticed that if you get moderately caustic chemicals on your skin it feels soapy ? It is ! The alkali reacts with oils in your skin to make soap right there and then.

Wish I'd had a tape recorder at Ben McNutt's lecture in Wakefield the other night. He menitoned a relatively common tree or plant that can be used as a natural soap. There was just so much stuff to take in that I can't remember what the plant was and whether you use one of the bark layers or more likely the leaves. I pretty sure it wasn't horseradish though because I'd have remembered that.

Cheers

 

[ESpy]

Horse chestnut leaves (and I think inner bark, need to check) have high levels of saponins.

There's others, but I can't remember them off the top of my head (er - possibly soapwort?)

 

[Adi007]

Yes, horse chestnut leaves have high levels of saponins and make great "hand wipes"!

Crush them in your hands, add a little water and lather.

 

[MartiniDave]

You can also use silver birch leaves - what a wonderful tree!

 

[bambodoggy]

Hey Tant,

This is the quote from US Army Survival manual you're talking about:

Personal Hygiene
In any situation, cleanliness is an important factor in preventing infection and disease. It becomes even more important in a survival situation. Poor hygiene can reduce your chances of survival.

A daily shower with hot water and soap is ideal, but you can stay clean without this luxury. Use a cloth and soapy water to wash yourself. Pay special attention to the feet, armpits, crotch, hands, and hair as these are prime areas for infestation and infection. If water is scarce, take an "air" bath. Remove as much of your clothing as practical and expose your body to the sun and air for at least 1 hour. Be careful not to sunburn.

If you don't have soap, use ashes or sand, or make soap from animal fat and wood ashes, if your situation allows. To make soap--


Extract grease from animal fat by cutting the fat into small pieces and cooking them in a pot.

Add enough water to the pot to keep the fat from sticking as it cooks.

Cook the fat slowly, stirring frequently.

After the fat is rendered, pour the grease into a container to harden.

Place ashes in a container with a spout near the bottom.

Pour water over the ashes and collect the liquid that drips out of the spout in a separate container. This liquid is the potash or lye. Another way to get the lye is to pour the slurry (the mixture of ashes and water) through a straining cloth.

In a cooking pot, mix two parts grease to one part potash.

Place this mixture over a fire and boil it until it thickens.
After the mixture--the soap--cools, you can use it in the semiliquid state directly from the pot. You can also pour it into a pan, allow it to harden, and cut it into bars for later use.

Keep Your Hands Clean
Germs on your hands can infect food and wounds. Wash your hands after handling any material that is likely to carry germs, after visiting the latrine, after caring for the sick, and before handling any food, food utensils, or drinking water. Keep your fingernails closely trimmed and clean, and keep your fingers out of your mouth.

Keep Your Hair Clean
Your hair can become a haven for bacteria or fleas, lice, and other parasites. Keeping your hair clean, combed, and trimmed helps you avoid this danger.

Keep Your Clothing Clean
Keep your clothing and bedding as clean as possible to reduce the chance of skin infection as well as to decrease the danger of parasitic infestation. Clean your outer clothing whenever it becomes soiled. Wear clean underclothing and socks each day. If water is scarce, "air" clean your clothing by shaking, airing, and sunning it for 2 hours. If you are using a sleeping bag, turn it inside out after each use, fluff it, and air it.

Keep Your Teeth Clean
Thoroughly clean your mouth and teeth with a toothbrush at least once each day. If you don't have a toothbrush, make a chewing stick. Find a twig about 20 centimeters long and 1 centimeter wide. Chew one end of the stick to separate the fibers. Now brush your teeth thoroughly. Another way is to wrap a clean strip of cloth around your fingers and rub your teeth with it to wipe away food particles. You can also brush your teeth with small amounts of sand, baking soda, salt, or soap. Then rinse your mouth with water, salt water, or willow bark tea. Also, flossing your teeth with string or fiber helps oral hygiene.

If you have cavities, you can make temporary fillings by placing candle wax, tobacco, aspirin, hot pepper, tooth paste or powder, or portions of a ginger root into the cavity. Make sure you clean the cavity by rinsing or picking the particles out of the cavity before placing a filling in the cavity.

Take Care of Your Feet
To prevent serious foot problems, break in your shoes before wearing them on any mission. Wash and massage your feet daily. Trim your toenails straight across. Wear an insole and the proper size of dry socks. Powder and check your feet daily for blisters.

If you get a small blister, do not open it. An intact blister is safe from infection. Apply a padding material around the blister to relieve pressure and reduce friction. If the blister bursts, treat it as an open wound. Clean and dress it daily and pad around it. Leave large blisters intact. To avoid having the blister burst or tear under pressure and cause a painful and open sore, do the following:


Obtain a sewing-type needle and a clean or sterilized thread.

Run the needle and thread through the blister after cleaning the blister.

Detach the needle and leave both ends of the thread hanging out of the blister. The thread will absorb the liquid inside. This reduces the size of the hole and ensures that the hole does not close up.

Pad around the blister.
Get Sufficient Rest
You need a certain amount of rest to keep going. Plan for regular rest periods of at least 10 minutes per hour during your daily activities. Learn to make yourself comfortable under less than ideal conditions. A change from mental to physical activity or vice versa can be refreshing when time or situation does not permit total relaxation.

Keep Camp Site Clean
Do not soil the ground in the camp site area with urine or feces. Use latrines, if available. When latrines are not available, dig "cat holes" and cover the waste. Collect drinking water upstream from the camp site. Purify all water.

The URL for the site that seems to have transcribed the whole book is:

http://www.survivaliq.com/survival/introduction.htm

There seems to be a bit of a split in the bushcraft/survival world as to whether you should be washing or not...
One side thinking you should be as clean as possible all the time and the other side saying wash your hands after you dump and before you eat but don't wash the rest as it ruins your skins waterproofing....

Think I'll go start a new thred on just this very subject! :chill:

 

[match]

A big difference is whether or not you are alone, or with others. If you are not alone, then not washing is more of a risk. Most of the microorganisms you carry on your body don't cause you any hassle, and if they got back into your digestive system, you'd be unlikely to be seriously ill from them. However, the same does NOT apply to the other people you might be cooking for! :shock:

 

[Tantalus]

Thankx bambodoggy

sadly me and that particular book parted company a few years ago, nice to know it can be found online

as for washing vs not washing, all i can say is sweat can cause irritation to the skin, athletes foot and "jock itch" are not uncommon complaints

soap should be a help under these situations

also found this today

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1197491.html

:yikes:

Tant