doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Advice on a lubricant?

"Cachalot"
Geno, I have an old oil bottle (pre 1900) which was sold by the Free Sewing Machine Co (bottled in New London CT) containing about 4oz of oil (now empty). The label on this bottle is still intact & it states "Cachalot Oil".
It should be noted the "Best" grade of the Sperm oil which was recommended for fine machinery was extracted from the head of the Cachalot whale & was already a liquid. Some sources say that from 300 to as much as 500 Gallons of this oil was contained in the head of a large male sperm whale. Many, many more gallons of a lesser grade of oil was obtained by stripping off the blubber & rendering it out. This grade was originally used as illuminating oils in lamps etc.
The only experience I have ever had with Sperm oil was a bottle of the stuff I bought many years ago from Dixie Gunworks, still have most of it left. This was undoubtably the oil from rendering the fat, as was the worst oil I have ever had bar none. In short order it would gum up any thing to which it was applied. My mother had given me her old Singer metal oil can as she was obtaining her machine oil pre bottled & I filled it with this oil for use on my guns. It clogged up the spout & thickened in the bottom of the can & I ended up having to soak it clean with a solvent to restore the can to use.
I purely hope the $100.00 can of Brownell's oil was the good stuff (head oil).

Ballistol is good unless you're hunting in the rain.

I have heard a lot of praise for Ballistol, but not actually tried it. What does it do in the rain Joe? Is it water soluble & thus wash off?

When I've used it to clean blackpowder guns it turns to what looks like milk when it gets wet.

I’ pretty much with the oil..is oil crowd.

Turbine bearing oil would be ideal if you hinge pin is spinning close to 45,000 RPM. To me oil should do two things well: Lubricate and protect from rust, and for most civilian applications just about any mineral oil will meet those requirements.

Here in the shop I have all kinds of oils, mostly for the machinery. The two oils that I use on guns are LPS2 and a shop made concoction based on the “Eds Red” formula. I like it because it has Lanolin which seems to do a good job of keeping rust a bay for extended periods of time.

LPS 2 I use as water displacing oil for after bluing/CCH, I have a crock pot full of LPS2, and parts come out of the bluing operation, and are put into the LPS pot to soak for a while.

When the guns are assembled, I use the stuff with lanolin, the few areas that need grease will get it…but that’s about it.

I did a bit of investigation on Ballistol recently, and have started using it on a few things. As I understand it, the stuff will mix with water but will still leave an oil film when the water evaporates. The only guns of mine that see rain are my duck guns, and they usually get CLP. I have just used a Ballistol mix on my snow chains (very expensive chains) to keep them from rusting while in storage. Put the chains in a 5-gal bucket and fill with a Ballistol/water mix to cover and soak, then hang to dry.

I don't see a need for much lubrication inside my guns, so for that, I'm with the "oil is oil" crowd. The only place I've seen any metal moved is bolting surfaces, so I clean and grease my pins/hooks frequently. I'm much more interested in rust prevention on the internals. Any gun that gets wet enough on the outside to be toweled off gets the stock removed and the innards oiled.

When I varmint hunted with rifles I found the extreme heat of multiple shots, coupled with shooting in hot humid conditions would lead to a rust bloom on blued bolts and barrels within hours. At the time, I read an article wherein the author tested a number of readily available "gun" oils for their rust prevention. His recommendation and my own subsequent tests satisfied me that nothing was superior to Shooter's Choice Rust Prevent. It has been my go-to for general gun oiling for a couple of decades.

I used to use G96 gun treatment, made by Birchwood Casey I believe. Iremember it smelled good enough for colonge and stuck on a gun like glue. You could rub it and rub it ,all it would do is smear. I haven't seen it in years. After a hard sweaty day in the shop you could rub a little on your arms and stop for a beer on the way home without getting throwed out of the saloon. Aw the sixties they must have been great but I can't remember. Rich

I also melt anhydrous lanolin (get it by the plastic tub) in my Ed's Red and unlike everything else in ER, it's good for your hands when you clean off whatever you use to get it out of the tub. I believe it makes the ER a reasonable anti-oxidant layer in bores of shotguns. I like Balistol on revolvers inside and out but don't really worry much about exteriors of long guns as long as they're wiped down with something oily. I used to do the bearing surfaces of break open guns with Vaseline mixed with 3-in-1. Currently, based on rec here, I use the heaviest Mobil 1 racing oil I can find and at least it stays where I put it whatever its other miraculous qualities.

jack

The best gun protectant is Eezox http://www.eezox.com/gun-care.html the best place to buy it is Ebay.