There are a lot of people that make soap in the area I live. None of them can make a good shave soap. That is a bit more tricky. I lived off grid until '89, and did a lot of that kind of thing for myself. Now I trade for bath soap, that is locally made using very simple ingredients. I think the countries were colonized around the same time frame, so I think you should know as well as any. Basic soap making has not changes much over time. The chemistry of stuff included in some of the modern soaps could be more questionable.