Mink Oil

[d.thomson]

Most petrolium products when use with Black powder cause a hard to remove crud in your barrel, so people don't use Motor oil for patch lube. I have never had this problem with " Ballistiol" In fact my BP guns when useing Ballistiol are realy easy to clean. My 2 Cents. F.K.

 

[CrackStock]

Some people actually believe that you can "season" a ML barrel as one seasons a skillet with "natural" oils. I do not buy it anymore. It went the way of showering with the barrel and using scalding water to clean. :grin:

I use alcohol before shooting to clean out whatever oils I put in there to protect it after the last shoot. I don't want that oil to ruin my charge or to become fouling. Better out then in once I want to shoot.

(Have I wound up the congregation there enuff fer ya, Claude?)

CS

 

[Sharp Shooter]

Most petrolium products when use with Black powder cause a hard to remove crud in your barrelquote]

That is my why I want to try to petroleum. In my other gun I am going to use Petrolium and see if there really is a difference.

 

[roundball]

Hoppes has kersene in it. Where doese that come from? It's not petroleum?

You're over-simplifying things...taking things too literally...and we've gone over this ground before:

No...Hoppes is not a petroleum based product as your statement implies.
The fact that Hoppes contains some minor trace of kerosene in, which must be identified on it's product label by law, does not "make it a petroleum based product".

Indeed, Hoppes obviously does not promote fouling as a true petroleum based product[url] does...In[/url] fact, it arguably has the finest bore cleaning properties shot after shot of any lube on the market.

Another example...Natural Lube 1000 is said to include parafin, which if you go far enough back in the deep recesses of chemistry, you'd find a very remote petroleum chemical related root...but that does not magically "make it a petroleum based product".

Context is everything.

 

[Thomas Roach]

I do not have the resource list in front of me, but it is listed as sweet oil, not olive oil. A google search should turn up some info.

Take care,

ThomasR

:hatsoff:

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Where is it stated in history that anyone carried and used OLIVE OIL to lube a patch? Just interested in extending my education. Did they use a second press version or virgin oil.
They mention all manner of animal fats and whale oil. But OLIVE OIL. Tell me where you found this? Maybe in an Italian western movie? :thumbsup:

It's actually very correct historically, certainly in the 18th century. However, they typically called it "sweet oil" then. It's on lots of bills of lading and manifests from the shipments throughout the 1700's.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:

 

[redwing]

Yes sweet oil was used on the frontier. It was used as a medicine. They treated all manner of problems from dry skin to gum disease. It was also used often to treat and reduce pain in the ears. It was used to treat lung and chest problems when mixed with other herbs.
But show me one place anyone ever mentioned it being used for patch lube. This stuff was valuable on the frontier. They had all sorts of animal fat.

 

[MikeChapin]

:redface: Looks like mineral oil is made from petroleum. Looks as though they refine out all the nasty stuff that gunks up the barrel. I'll stick with it for the best possible reason. It works.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Yes sweet oil was used on the frontier. It was used as a medicine. They treated all manner of problems from dry skin to gum disease. It was also used often to treat and reduce pain in the ears. It was used to treat lung and chest problems when mixed with other herbs.
But show me one place anyone ever mentioned it being used for patch lube. This stuff was valuable on the frontier. They had all sorts of animal fat.

Not sure I've actually ever seen any reference to what they used for patch lube. I think it's one of those cases where something was so commonly used that it wasn't ever written about.

Animal fats were certainly used for lots of things, but animal fats go rancid, so are you sure they used that? Did they carry that around for weeks at a time in the hot sun of summer? They probably did at least some of the time, but I've never seen or heard of a specific reference to it. Additionally, they probably didn't carry an animal fats concoction around all the time because the stuff would go rancid after a while in the summer temperatures.

We can see shipping lists for tallow candles, so we know they had those. Did they use tallow for patch lube? Never seen any primary writings about that either.

We do have some primary writings about rendering bear grease and oil. Bear oil works great on guns as a patch lube and a rust preservative. A friend of mine has used it for years. Plus, properly rendered, it doesn't go rancid. Now if I could just get him to part with some of it. :shocked2:

Some of this stuff is really hard to figure out simply because it was so common, no one bothered to write about it. I think the point might be made that at least using things that were commonly available at the time (and olive oil was commonly available) is at least more historically correct than using concoctions that contain modern petro-chemicals.

I always thought that was part of what this reenacting and trekking hobby was all about - experiential archeology - a chance to try to do it or live it for at least short periods of time in as close a manner as possible to what our best guess is on how they did it. Life required a lot of self-reliance back then and hands-on skills that are not needed now. It's a challenge to live without those modern conveniences. And yet, in a survival situation, those skills are still invaluable. :v

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:

 

[redwing]

Did you ever see the grease hole in a long rifle? Now how in the H+++ would you keep Olive Oil in a grease hole??? Yes they used tallow. mutton fat, hog fat, bear fat Etc. I don't think smelling nice in the summer was a big concern, Really!
If you carried Beaver Castor for your trap bait, a little rancid animal fat might smell good. If you wore cloths made of animal skins black from blood and dirt, Get the idea! And living without Olive Oil in the Rocky Mtns. would have been the least of your problems. :rotf:

 

[CZMark]

If you carried Beaver Castor for your trap bait, a little rancid animal fat might smell good.

I've trapped beaver for years and always kind of liked the smell of castor. :redface:

Now take a raccoon, that is one bad smelling animal.

 

[redwing]

I think the most awful smelling critter to skin is a Badger. Sounds like you are an old back country Trapper. D'ruther smell Beaver glands then girls. :redface:

 

[xxgrampa]

hi ho sharpshooter,

if you want to try a petrolium product, use a hi detergent moter oil such as casterol or slick 50.

modern motor oils are made to disolve carbon, prevent corrosion and lubicate. how much more could you want.

the old motor oils didn't have the cleaning agents in them.

don't know how old you are, but back in the 40's and 50's we had to remove the valve covers and scrape out all the gunk. it looked like a black jello mold. sure am glad we have the new oils.

but DO NOT USE ANY LUBRIPLATE, that will turn to asphalt and will take days of scrubbing to get it out. don't ask me how i know :redface:

BTW, seasonimg the bore is a good thing. it doesn't mean putting a black coating in the bore. it means filling the metal pores with some kind of lube so the fouling has no place to stick

..ttfn..grampa..

 

[Swampman]

"Not sure I've actually ever seen any reference to what they used for patch lube."

Colonial Williamsburg has documented the use of olive oil for all sorts of firearms related uses, including patch lube. Tallow/Lard works fine too. Just don't use petroleum.

 

[Dickert54cal]

I use the stuff Jim and Bari Chambers sell. There are 2 --the first is a lock lube that is a bit thinnner than the barrel protector...I am 100% pleased and impressed with the stuff.
Its called ACUGUARD and ACULUBE ........ :thumbsup:

 

[redwing]

Help me out here. As a long time dues paying member of Col. Williamsburg I have never read such an article?
Where can I find the information on olive oil used for patches in the Rev. era or any other at Williamsburg?
I have years of the magazines which one?
Thx