Making lye from wood ash

Lye has some (maybe limited) uses for the bushcrafter. One is to make tinder or Adamou from Horse hoof fungus (Fomes fomentarius).

You could also boil inner bark from Willow in wood ash lye to make longer lasting and more pliable cordage.

The third use for lye is to make “lutefisk”. This is a Norwegian/Swedish speciality made from stock fish (dried Cod) treated in lye. I won’t go further into that matter.

And not to forget that one could make soap of it by adding animal fat or plant oils.

Lye is made from wood ash, preferably from beech, but as beech doesn’t grow up here we use birch ash instead.

The mixture for making lutefisk is 4 litres of ash to 10 litres of water (this mixture probably varies a little).

The clean ash is put into a large pot (iron or stainless steel, not aluminium) and water poured over it. Boil for ten minutes and let the mixture cool.

Strain the liquid trough a cloth and store for later use. Keep it away from children.

The ready lye should feel smooth and slippery between your fingers.