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. sep 21 / 2:40pm
yes, you're missing the whole point - there's no money in selling crisco ! !
in one book i have it says: "...this chapter is not intended to throw rocks at old-time lubes and solvents.. those who enjoy playing the whole game the old way have every right to go with bear grease and possum fat, but first, how about those modern chemicals ?"
(no sarcasm in that paragraph, is there - ha!)
and later in the same chapter: "Shortening, sheep tallow, and bear fat ...be it vegetable oil or animal fat, it can go rancid: therefore, lubing up a bunch of patches with an of these products for the log term is unwise...."
(unwise !)
then it goes on with no less than 7 pages full of giant pictures and glowing text all about "those" new, lab tested, space aged wonders that all advertise in the book and on our web pages.. that's why crisco doesn't "work" anymore - it isn't expensive, lab created, and a major advertiser..
(though, personally i do wonder if my revolver would start smelling like a french fry....)
we used to read books for entertainment or go exploring a creekbed or a spooky forest; today they want video on their ipod while the microwave cleans itself.. time moved past us like rush hour traffic.
i think that's really what's happening..
in "lyman's blackpowder handbook" they use crisco in all their ballistics tests and talk about a digital computer that did the complex mathmatics for the tables - a newfangled digital computer machine, huh, wow what will they think of next.. that was written in 1975.. they have on leisure suits, and talk about gearheart-owen gunpowder (?).. face it, we're dinosaures.
great question.. i hope you aren't offended by my answer.. none intended.
~d~