LYE SOAP

1 can (12 oz or 340 grams) Lewis Red Devil 100% lye
21 1/2 oz (605 gms) ice cold or part frozen distilled water
5 lbs, 7 1/3 oz (2.48 kg) lard or all vegetable shortening.

Equipment:
1 ea, 1-2 quart Pyrex or oven ware bowl
1 ea, 4-6 quart plastic bowl or stainless or cast iron pot
1 ea, plastic, wooden or stainless big spoon
1 ea, shallow cardboard box lined with plastic trash bag
Rubber gloves
Canning pot (for water bath if you

We all realize that some of the items have changed over the years and grandmother's did not have plastic trash bags to line their boxes. But making of the soap was still an adults job and it was toxic for children to eat. (No wonder parents threatened to wash some one's mouth out with soap and it works!).

So grandma had borax and made lye soap. Is lye still available? Is that too, on the bottom shelf at the market? Is there a lye soap 'ready made' on the market?

UPDATE the company that markets Lewis Red Devil Lye has pulled it from the market and has replaced it with a liquid drain opener that contains no lye. My suspicions are that it's due to its use in the illegal manufacture of methamphetamines.