Hard Winters Planning/Discussion Thread

[piosenniel]

About wood ash and its uses for cleaning:

from SurvivalTopics.com - HERE - Note what sorts of ash from what sorts of trees works the best and what NOT to use ashes on as a cleaning agent.

from The Farmer's Almanac - HERE - Uses for garden soil, repelling slugs, melting ice, cleaning glass and metal

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Recipe for quick and simple leather cleaner:

Leather Soap
From "the Art of Soapmaking" by Merilyn Mohr.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cup clean rendered Tallow
1/4 cup Neats Foot Oil
1/2 cup Melted Beeswax
3/4 cup Cold Soft Water
1/4 cup Lye Flakes

Instructions:
Stir lye flakes into cold water until dissolved. Melt 1 cup tallow. Add neats foot oils and set aside to cool

Melt beeswax in top of double boiler. Add remaining 1/2 cup tallow to beeswax, stirring to melt and mix thoroughly. Retain tallow-wax mixture in hot water to liquefy.

When fat and lye are lukewarm, pour lye slowly into fat, stirring constantly to emulsify. Beating vigorously, add tallow-wax mixture in thin stream. This will cool and solidify quickly. Continue to beat till thick. Pour immediately into molds.

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*Neatsfoot oil - Neatsfoot oil is a yellow oil rendered and purified from the shin bones and feet (but not the hooves) of cattle. "Neat" in the oil's name comes from an old English word for cattle. Neatsfoot oil is used as a conditioning, softening and preservative agent for leather.

*Lye flakes - How to make - HERE