If you don't want to/can't use lye, then you could buy some 'potassium hydroxide' a.k.a. 'caustic potash'.

Or even easier to find (sometimes) is 'Calcium hydroxide' a.k.a. hydrated lime, builders lime, slack lime, cal, or pickling lime. As the last common name suggests, it is used for pickling stuff and can be found in stores in the canning section, I also found it at a Thai-food store one time it was a little pricey though. You can also find it in hardware stores sold as 'hydrated lime', but check the MSDS for that product and make sure there is nothing unwanted in it.

All of these will be fine in just about every tek (if not all). I would recommend getting some pH papers though, you can find these at a pool supply store, and they come in handy. If you know what pH your solution needs to be at, the base you use dosn't really matter.

The only recommended reading I would give is the dmt-nexus, everything you need to know is all here somewhere.