doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Sperm Oil Question

J.R.B., it may be that you have a long lost cousin in Wisconsin??

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Maybe if his ancestory goes back to Saxony, Germany. This "real" Baumgarten is standing up, but I don't know squat about sperm oil.

Anyone looking for a great read related to the collection of [sperm] whale oil in the early 19th century should pick up a copy of "In The Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex". Inspiration for Melville's great novel and packed with facts about the oil and methods used by the guys from Nantucket back in the day as well as a awesome story of survival at sea.

I was under the impression that because sperm whales are on the endangered species list that commercial trade of its oil is banned, or am I all wet? If it is indeed 'banned' is this stuff from Brownell's new stock, or is it old pre-ban stock, or is it really sperm oil at all?

Must be old stock. I couldn't find any on the Brownell's site unless it's hidden somewhere.

I'd say it is....All the men brave and daring enough to milk male whales are dead and gone.

Or pull their teeth.

I read somewhere that the Sperm Whale is the only whale that can dive to the deepest of depths "(9,800 ft)"....might be the reason for such a remarkable fluid such as spermaceti in his snout.


"The term candlepower was originally defined in England by the Metropolitan Gas Act 1860 as the light produced by a pure spermaceti candle weighing one sixth of a pound and burning at a rate of 120 grains per hour. Spermaceti is found in the head of sperm whales, and once was used to make high quality candles."

"Spermaceti is insoluble in water, very slightly soluble in cold alcohol, but easily dissolved in ether, chloroform, carbon disulfide, and boiling alcohol. Spermaceti consists principally of cetyl palmitate (the ester of cetyl alcohol and palmitic acid), C15H31COO-C16H33.

A botanical alternative to spermaceti is a derivative of jojoba oil, jojoba esters, C19H41COO-C20H41, a solid wax which is chemically and physically very similar to spermaceti and may be used in many of the same applications. Esters of cetyl alcohol and jojoba oil are used as a substitute for spermaceti."

The sperm whale dove to those incredible depths in pursuit of the giant squid. My grandmother had a piece of the wax like spermaceti. It was in her sewing kit when I was a child. Family legend was that it was found washed ashore in Bermuda where she was born but it was most likely from a candle.

Your grandmother knew what she had. It was most likely Ambergris from a sperm whale. It is know to wash ashore in the Caribbean. If you knew how it was produced by the whale, you might have wanted to wash your hands after you handled it.