the_tool_man wrote:
Hi Dhakala:

By lye, I mean sodium hydroxide. Potassium hydroxide is a.k.a. Potash
Lye. They are two different things, but with sorta the same name. The
question is, does it produce the same effect as "regular" lye. I ask,
because I think Potassium hydoxide is used as a pH modifier in spa
chemicals, which I can get in reasonable quantities.

NaOH and KOH are both known as "lye." It's the hydroxyl group (-OH)
that does the job. It won't matter if the metallic ion is potassium or
sodium. NaOH is a slightly stronger base than KOH.

Here's a page that says Red Devil Lye has been pulled from retail
markets. It describes several other products that are NaOH or KOH, plus
retail and online sources.

http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/co...lyesources.htm