Sperm whale oil...

[noahmercy]

Was this commonly used by mountain men? I know the masses living in the rest of the country used it extensively on firearms and fine machinery, but I'm just wondering if it made it out to the "fur fields". Also an interesting related fact is that jojoba oil is a virtual dead ringer for sperm whale oil. So if the Rocky Mountain trappers used whale oil, I'd feel as PC as possible bringing a little glass bottle of jojoba oil to the rendezvous. :imo:

 

[Canuck Caster]

I do know that sperm whale oil was used in the first automatic transmissions. I found in an old hunting book a recipe for bore cleaner- one part sperm whale oil, one part acetone and one part turpentine. Much later, I found out that Ed's Red is similar, except that he extrapolates Dexron ATF in place of the sperm oil. I think that jojoba oil would be a better substitute than Dexron though. Or at least more natural. How do you know that jojoba is a dead ringer for sperm oil?...just curious...

 

[54ball]

Now this was for fire blueing guns and such. An old west firearm gunsmith wrote, "Mobil 1 Synthetic motor oil is a good subsitute for sperm whale oil."

 

[jrdavis]

A few years back I bought a couple bottles of synthetic Sperm whale oil from Dixie gun works...it even had the smell. it worked real good as I could shoot a long time before cleaning. don't know why I stopped using it and started mixing things up to use...I guess Dixie still carries it!

 

[Stumpkiller]

I think it would have been available to Mt. Men, at least at the sutlers and communities they were closest to. It was the primary lamp oil before kerosene was "discovered" in the mid 1800's. Before then, if you found crude oil on your property you were considered cursed with misfortune.

Isn't jojoba oil much expensive?

 

[noahmercy]

Canuck, this bit of info came from an old National Geographic article. It said that the properties of jojoba and the chemical makeup were super-close to that of sperm whale oil, and many of the industries overseas used it as a replacement.

54, I actually do use Mobil 1 as a lube on my Hi Lift jack and other mechanical things I want to work when the temp is low. (Including my engine.) It should work fine on firearms in just about any application.

JR, they still sell it. $3 for an 8 ounce bottle...I might have to try it, as that's pretty reasonable.

Stumpy, you're spot on about how the early settlers felt about oil. My, how times have changed! You're also right about the oil...it is dear. Cheapest I've found so far is around 2 bucks an ounce. Of course, if it really is like whale oil, it wouldn't take much to keep the innards of a piece lubed.

 

Although entirely possible, I kind of doubt that sperm oil was "common" among mountain men. It was expensive - even then - and they likely would have used something easily obtained, like hog lard or bear grease. I suspect bear grease was more common since they were numerous and hunted often in the old days. I don't have personal experience with them but I surmise beaver, mink or otter fat would have made good lube also.

 

[noahmercy]

Good observation, Anvil. Maybe it would be more appropriate for a persona other than a mountain man. I got lucky and a friend gave me a big can of bear grease, so I have that. But since I'm specifically looking for an oil, I'll have to do a bit more digging to find out what the trappers used.

 

[Stumpkiller]

By interesting coincedence, the genis and species of American Beaver is Castor canadensis. Castor oil . . . beaver oil? More than coincedence?

 

[noahmercy]

Mmmmmmmmmmm...castor oil....

 

[Canuck Caster]

"Le castor" is french for "the beaver". We have the likeness of one on our Canadian nickel, and the beaver is Canada's national animal, much like the US has the eagle. So, this leads me to ask the question---if castor oil is made from le castor, what is baby oil made from? :blah:

 

[jrdavis]

"Le castor" is french for "the beaver". We have the likeness of one on our Canadian nickel, and the beaver is Canada's national animal, much like the US has the eagle. So, this leads me to ask the question---if castor oil is made from le castor, what is baby oil made from? :blah:

duh..... :huh: :master: :crackup:

 

It's like "INDIAN TACO'S" don't ask, just eat... :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:

 

[Old Charlie]

castor oil is made from a bean!
Old Charlie

 

RE: THE QUESTION--- Didnt Lewis and Clark render oil from the 300 lbs of whale blubber they bought while at Fort Clatsop ??? YES Didnt the HBCo. purchase HUGE quantities of oil off of Russian, British, and American whalers that ran the west coast ??? YES. So, oil was not just available, in the west, it was MADE there..Seems FAIRLY reasonable it would have travelled from BOTH coasts to the interior..

 

RE: THE QUESTION--- Didnt Lewis and Clark render oil from the 300 lbs of whale blubber they bought while at Fort Clatsop ??? YES Didnt the HBCo. purchase HUGE quantities of oil off of Russian, British, and American whalers that ran the west coast ??? YES. So, oil was not just available, in the west, it was MADE there..Seems FAIRLY reasonable it would have travelled from BOTH coasts to the interior..

While easy to render on either coast, you still have to haul it in barrels via mule or whatever you can. I would dare say that if I were a trader in 1825 and were inclined to haul any liquid to the Green River country, I think I would lean more towards something that would sell better...LIKE WHISKEY! Mtn. Men could always render bear tallow, but they couldn't as easily make sour mash! It just seems an awfully luxury to drag up the river. However, I would imagine that it would be quite common on either coast...after all, why shoot a bear just to render the tallow with all of that whale blubber laying around?

:results:

 

[Henry]

http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20000519.html

Castor is the french word for beaver but
the french word for castor oil is " huile de ricin "
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/casoil32.html

Years ago it was used in 2 stroke racing motorcycles
( how many people here remember 2 strokes motorcycles ?)

Henry

 

[robinghewitt]

I have a bottle of fresh sperm whale oil. It died of natural causes, honest it did. Can't seem to recollect where it came from, but it must have been hereabouts because you can't legally ship it across international boundaries on account of CITES :winking:

I tried it as a patch lube but I'm keeping the rest in case I get invaded by tree huggers. I reckon the effect would be like spraying holy water on Dracula :crackup:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Years ago it was used in 2 stroke racing motorcycles
( how many people here remember 2 strokes motorcycles ?)

Had an absolutely snotty 1972 Kawasaki 350 S2. 0 to 40 in one second. 40 to 55 in four more. :: By the time you got to 60 it was so squirrely it was time to find a back road before your arms went numb. Got about 25 mpg. :haha:

Man, I wish I still had her. What a city bike.

 

[pepperbelly]

I don't think castor oil was used in motorcycles. Are you thinking of Castrol motor oil by any chance?
Dad was a Honda motorcycle mechanic when I grew up and I worked on them until the business died in the mid '80s.
I still use castrol oil in my truck. I think Castrol made the 2 stroke oil for fuel mix. They made good racing oils.
Jim