Lye from cardboard ashes?

Hi all,
I have access to the occasional deer and other animal. I'm making rawhide,  leather and buckskin as I learn the processes.

At present to de-fur I use caustic soda to make a lye.

I don't have access to many hardwood ashes,  which are renowned as the best for making lye.... but I do get frequent access to paper and cardboard ashes.

Has anyone tried making lye from these before?

An interesting question, you have me scratching my chin now.

I worry that the lye content of cardboard/paper ash would be incredibly small so you are going to need a lot of ash to get a result that you would want. The wood they utilize for these products are softwoods that have been processed to turn into the pulp. I however am not positive what creates the potassium salts from the burning process at the end of the day so I would love to hear results if you try it.

This might be a goofy suggestion, but way back in the day I have heard that the ashes of corn cobs actually made some of the best lye ash. If you get your hands on some corncobs come harvest time?

Yes, I'm unsure too. As far as I have read, the issue with softwood ash is the residual resin content in the ash. That resin makes it harder to get the water in to extract the lye.

So, I wondered if the boiling process in turning softwood in to card/paper pulp removes those resins...
I think I might have to experiment if no one else knows either!

Instead of lye I have used hydrated lime(calcium hydroxide) to get hair to slip on a hide.  It is sold as type s  next to cement in hardware stores.  A 50 bag costs about $14.

It has lots of other uses around a homestead as well.

One I've heard recommended before...but I had the caustic soda already in stock  😀

I'd like to try ash lye, but don't want to waste any skins if it's not going to be worth using.