Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a baking sheet and sprinkle it lightly with flour.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix together thoroughly with a whisk or fork. 

Add the butter, lard, or coconut oil to the flour mixture and cut the fat into the flour using a pastry cutter until the fat is the size of peas.

Add the buttermilk and mix to combine. If the dough is still a little dry, add additional buttermilk one tablespoon at a time until a stiff dough just comes together. Knead only until a cohesive dough comes together.

Move dough to the prepared baking sheet and press evenly into a 3/4 inch disc. 

Cut biscuits with a biscuit cutter or a narrow-mouth canning ring. Once all of the old-fashioned buttermilk biscuits are cut, pull the scraps together and cut into remaining biscuits.

Spread the biscuits out on the baking tray and place in preheated oven. Bake for fifteen minutes or until golden brown on the bottom and cooked through.