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What type ( if any or avaialble ) would a soldier have carried on his person ? Would he have had a bar of Lye soap or possibly Pine Tar ? zI am just looking for some small items to add to my kit.
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Richard Schimenti
2nd Kentucky Cav. Co. D. Morgan's Raiders -
Re: Soldier's Soap ?
I'm not an expert but i believe it it was lye soap. Hunter GreeneHunter Greene
''Before us in proud humiliation stood the embodiment of manhood: men whom neither toils and sufferings, nor the fact of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from their resolve; standing before us now, thin, worn, and famished, but erect, and with eyes looking level into ours, waking memories that bound us together as no other bond;— was] not such manhood to be welcomed back into a Union so tested and assured'' -
Re: Soldier's Soap ?
You could always go with homemade lye soap, or something like this:
that would have been purchased from a sutler.
Either way you are good, depends on what your budget and tastes approve.Chris Utley
South Union Mills
[url]www.southunionmills.com[/url]
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Re: Soldier's Soap ?
Hallo!
Most all soaps are "lye" soaps, using the saponification process to make a salt of a fatty acid. Sodium hydroxide was, is, often the alkaline and either vegetable or animal fat the fat. For example, "home spun" lye soap used animal fats. Often, more commercial or fine soap used vegetable fat.
Beyond "homemade or homespun," IMHO, the problem is more along the lines of finding something that will simulate or emulate the Period soaps in looking for a soap lacking much color dye, fragrance or perfumes, etc.,
IMHO still, an expedient is "Castile" soap which is based upon NUG olive oil but some brands IIRC use coconut oil which is not quite "as period." A modern bar can be cut into smaller shapes and the moldings or stampings removed.
I have used a "lye" soap block I picked up at an event. It has character now as a mouse got into my basement and gnawed on it, leaving teeth marks. I always meant to get to an "earth shop" or New Age "nature store" to see what types of hand-made soap they might carry but never got around to it.
CurtLast edited by Curt Schmidt; 01-06-2014, 03:53 PM.Curt Schmidt
In gleichem Schritt und Tritt, Curt Schmidt
-Hard and sharp as flint...secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.
-Haplogroup R1b M343 (Subclade R1b1a2 M269)
-Pointless Folksy Wisdom Mess, Oblio Lodge #1
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-Often incorrect, technically, historically, factually.Comment
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Re: Soldier's Soap ?
Castile, Marseilles, and brown Windsor are period commercial options that are available today.
Olive, almond, and palm oil base soaps are good options.
Coconut oil soap is also ok, in the period it was referred to as "marine soap" as it was good for use in sea water.Josephine ByrumComment
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