More About Sperm Oil Than You Could Ever Want To Know

[RAEDWALD]

Now where can I get some Blackfish oil?.........
https://www.cherrybalmz.com/history-sperm-whale-oil

 

[Carbon 6]

Before petroleum came along all sorts of animal derived oils were used for things like lighting. It must have been a god awful assault on one's nose to live back then.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Carbon 6, it would be an assault on our noses, but I suspect those folks didn't notice it much in the same way a cattle rancher or pig farmer really doesn't notice livestock smell much. BTW, my dad used to say the livestock smell around a feed yard smelled like money.

 

[nhmoose]

Their own body odor covered up the smoke smell of the oil and fat used for illumination.

 

[Carbon 6]

Their own body odor covered up the smoke smell of the oil and fat used for illumination.

Ya, I've met people I could smell 200 feet away.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Very informative read, especially the developments of modern oils and greases and the comparisons. Someone put a lot of effort and research into this. Thanks for passing it along.

 

[ohio ramrod]

It is still considered the best lublricant for extreme cold. The Hubble telescope is lubed by sperm whale oil. ( My nephew worked on the Hubble). I still have about two ounces left from 1966. I use the Jobola bean oil sold by Dixie gun works as a replacement and find it even smells the same. As a patch lube it is great. But even the real stuff isn't as good of a rust preventive as modern oils.

 

[Brokennock]

Now where can I get some Blackfish oil?.........
https://www.cherrybalmz.com/history-sperm-whale-oil

Thank you.

 

[Big Rviers]

I used sperm whale oil for many years, it was a highly versatile and effective lubricant I Can't say the smell was ever a issue, but then again if the scent of smoked tanned buckskins and sulfurous black powder is offensive to you your in the wrong sport.

 

[Greenjoytj]

Lubegard brand uses JoJoba seed oil it’s a high temperature oil used as whale oil replacement used in their ATF.

Lubegard “Premium Universal” lubricant, in a trigger spray bottle.
Read Lubegards write up on the properties of their LXE Technology.

Lubegard Technology - Lubegard
It started here, during the preliminary development of the company’s proprietary LXE Technology, that International Lubricants Inc. took the opportunity to manufacture products that were friendlier to the environment, benign in their affect on users, and superior at resolving many common...
www.lubegard.com

Premium Universal Lubricant - Lubegard

www.lubegard.com

Considering the old time muzzleloaders seem to swoon at the mention of whale oil, a high quality replacement should have them all over this product.

I have been testing as a regular use gun oil for about 2 years now and it’s been working perfectly.

 

[tenngun]

Just looked up Charles W Morgan first voyage it brought in three thousand barrels of oil. Whale oil barrel was about thirty five gallons.
A single sperm whale yielded 6000 gallons mentioned in that article. If average yield was half that or so, about a hundred barrels per whale. So about thirty sperm sized whales taken in a voyage( not counting baleen and sperm oil.
the Morgan was a little bigger then average whalers but not too much and smaller then some.
In three years at sea on her first voyage she took about thirty whales. Of course it took several months to get to the grounds and to get home. But that was a lot of doing nothing interspace with worked to death till the catch was processed.
What was Ismael thinking?

 

[GREENSWLDE]

I am led to believe from British motor engineers Sperm oil was used in the first automatic gear boxes which led to the development of modern trans oils. Apparently the nearest thing you can now legitamately buy as a replacement..I hate automatics but the oil is good. Good for quenching oil. When I was a lad we had a barrel of sperm oil in the heat treatment area. If you dropped your tools in the 40 gal. barrel you rolled up yours sleeve and went hunting in the 50 odd years of scale that half filled the tub. BOY DID I HATE THAT BARREL. OLD DOG..

 

[Rokon]

Raewald--Thank you so much for posting that article written by CherryBalmz. Really informative and certainly rings true for this old soldier.

 

[Brokennock]

Of course it took several months to get to the grounds and to get home. But that was a lot of doing nothing

Since when is there ever "doing nothing," for the crew aboard ship? Under way or at the pier, there is always work to do.

 

[tenngun]

Yes your right, a ship at sea requires constant work and they drilled putting boats in the water and practice runs.
Should have rephrased it. How about repetitive or routine, repetitive.