The most complicated patch lube ever :

[DuncNZ]

I was at the range today and saw a guy using spit on his patches , that got me wondering what is in saliva which makes it better than water as a lube .Turns out it is the most complicated lube ever
This is what I found on Wikipedia

Produced in salivary glands, human saliva comprises 99.5% water, but also contains many important substances, including electrolytes, mucus, antibacterial compounds and various enzymes.[1]

• Water: 99.5%
• Electrolytes:
  • 2–21 mmol/L sodium (lower than blood plasma)
  • 10–36 mmol/L potassium (higher than plasma)
  • 1.2–2.8 mmol/L calcium (similar to plasma)
  • 0.08–0.5 mmol/L magnesium
  • 5–40 mmol/L chloride (lower than plasma)
  • 25 mmol/L bicarbonate (higher than plasma)
  • 1.4–39 mmol/L phosphate
  • Iodine (mmol/L concentration is usually higher than plasma, but dependent variable according to dietary iodine intake)
• Mucus (mucus in saliva mainly consists of mucopolysaccharides and glycoproteins)
• Antibacterial compounds (thiocyanate, hydrogen peroxide, and secretory immunoglobulin A)
• Epidermal growth factor (EGF)
• Various enzymes; most notably:
  • α-amylase (EC3.2.1.1), or ptyalin, secreted by the acinar cells of the parotid and submandibular glands, starts the digestion of starch before the food is even swallowed; it has a pH optimum of 7.4
  • Lingual lipase, which is secreted by the acinar cells of the sublingual gland; has a pH optimum around 4.0 so it is not activated until entering the acidic environment of the stomach
  • Kallikrein, an enzyme that proteolytically cleaves high-molecular-weight kininogen to produce bradykinin, which is a vasodilator; it is secreted by the acinar cells of all three major salivary glands
  • Antimicrobialenzymes that kill bacteria:
    • Lysozyme
    • Salivary lactoperoxidase
    • Lactoferrin[6]
    • Immunoglobulin A[6]
  • Proline-rich proteins (function in enamel formation, Ca2+-binding, microbe killing and lubrication)[6]
  • Minor enzymes including: salivary acid phosphatases A+B, N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine amidase, NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (quinone), superoxide dismutase, glutathione transferase, class 3 aldehyde dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, and tissue kallikrein (function unknown)[6]
• Cells: possibly as many as 8 million human and 500 million bacterial cells per mL. The presence of bacterial products (small organic acids, amines, and thiols) causes saliva to sometimes exhibit a foul odor.
• Opiorphin, a pain-killing substance found in human saliva
• Haptocorrin, a protein which binds to vitamin B12 to protect it against degradation in the stomach, before it binds to intrinsic factor.

How about that each shot kills millions of bacteria

 

[Whughett]

This man has a lot of time on his hands…….

 

[TreeMan]

Spit has been used to lube more than patches since the beginning of mankind. Just spit on it.

 

[Grenadier1758]

And in spite of all the ingredients in spit, it's the water and maybe a little of the mucus.

 

[DuncNZ]

This man has a lot of time on his hands…….

I have a wondering mind , or is that wandering mind ? I always want to know what? and why ?

 

[Whughett]

Actually an informative thread. Think of all the times one has swapped “spits” with a member of the opposite sex. Ewe. Disgusting.

 

[oldwood]

Has to be variations of the above blend. Early on, no matter what was in my spit, the patching material just tasted bad , even with a Canadian Lord Calvert chaser. Never could "hock up a Louie when really need a patch lube , so just switched to sheep fat, Old Zip from Dixie , then that pink stuff from Hohoba beans. Whatever that is.
Thanks Cutfinger for the spit formula enlightenment. My life is now complete. My son RIP , had a BS deg. in Bioscience , whatever that was. Luck to ya...............oldwood

 

[deerstalkert]

just never shoot someone using a spit patch! DNA airmail!

 

[DuncNZ]

Biological warfare

 

[hawkeye2]

We all learned at a quite young age that mother's saliva was the strongest cleaning agent known and it worked best when applied with a handkerchief.

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

Still not gonna use it.

 

[LME]

just never shoot someone using a spit patch! DNA airmail!

You may also get the Covid?

 

[mattwfreyer]

I never have tried just plain water on a patch to compare with spit. Anyone ever try to compare the two?

 

[ord sgt]

Add some juice from chewing tobacco to the saliva. Chew adds lubricity.

 

[azmntman]

CORRECT! Tobbacky spit will win competitions. However it really will matter what brand you chew, mainly based on the climatic conditions while shooting. As we know from extensive testing the cheaper brands like Grizzly will not preform as well in high humidity and hot conditions as will say a good soaking of Copenhagan.

Now when you think you have the brand down with the conditions ya gotta factor in new dip vs old (fresh will give a more of the sought after colors on the patch) as well as a heavy sopping or just dampned.

Leaf or snuff?

Spit patch dos have 345,981 different recipes. Find the right one for you! (as usual each gun likes a different variant....good luck)

 

[waksupi]

Add some juice from chewing tobacco to the saliva. Chew adds lubricity.

I kind of believe that. When I was still dipping Copenhagen, it seemed like i got better accuracy.

 

[azmntman]

I jut quit too. We'll see. That stuff up to $5.00 a can now!!

 

[ibud38]

I was at the range today and saw a guy using spit on his patches , that got me wondering what is in saliva which makes it better than water as a lube .Turns out it is the most complicated lube ever
This is what I found on Wikipedia

Produced in salivary glands, human saliva comprises 99.5% water, but also contains many important substances, including electrolytes, mucus, antibacterial compounds and various enzymes.[1]

• Water: 99.5%
• Electrolytes:
  • 2–21 mmol/L sodium (lower than blood plasma)
  • 10–36 mmol/L potassium (higher than plasma)
  • 1.2–2.8 mmol/L calcium (similar to plasma)
  • 0.08–0.5 mmol/L magnesium
  • 5–40 mmol/L chloride (lower than plasma)
  • 25 mmol/L bicarbonate (higher than plasma)
  • 1.4–39 mmol/L phosphate
  • Iodine (mmol/L concentration is usually higher than plasma, but dependent variable according to dietary iodine intake)
• Mucus (mucus in saliva mainly consists of mucopolysaccharides and glycoproteins)
• Antibacterial compounds (thiocyanate, hydrogen peroxide, and secretory immunoglobulin A)
• Epidermal growth factor (EGF)
• Various enzymes; most notably:
  • α-amylase (EC3.2.1.1), or ptyalin, secreted by the acinar cells of the parotid and submandibular glands, starts the digestion of starch before the food is even swallowed; it has a pH optimum of 7.4
  • Lingual lipase, which is secreted by the acinar cells of the sublingual gland; has a pH optimum around 4.0 so it is not activated until entering the acidic environment of the stomach
  • Kallikrein, an enzyme that proteolytically cleaves high-molecular-weight kininogen to produce bradykinin, which is a vasodilator; it is secreted by the acinar cells of all three major salivary glands
  • Antimicrobialenzymes that kill bacteria:
    • Lysozyme
    • Salivary lactoperoxidase
    • Lactoferrin[6]
    • Immunoglobulin A[6]
  • Proline-rich proteins (function in enamel formation, Ca2+-binding, microbe killing and lubrication)[6]
  • Minor enzymes including: salivary acid phosphatases A+B, N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine amidase, NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (quinone), superoxide dismutase, glutathione transferase, class 3 aldehyde dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, and tissue kallikrein (function unknown)[6]
• Cells: possibly as many as 8 million human and 500 million bacterial cells per mL. The presence of bacterial products (small organic acids, amines, and thiols) causes saliva to sometimes exhibit a foul odor.
• Opiorphin, a pain-killing substance found in human saliva
• Haptocorrin, a protein which binds to vitamin B12 to protect it against degradation in the stomach, before it binds to intrinsic factor.

How about that each shot kills millions of bacteria

Arrrrg were all gonna get Covid...

 

[ord sgt]

Beechnut in the red wrapper worked best for me. Another shooter that I know preferred Beechnut in the green wrapper. But whatever works for you is the best one.

 

[DuncNZ]

We all learned at a quite young age that mother's saliva was the strongest cleaning agent known and it worked best when applied with a handkerchief.

Always in public and usually in front of all your friends , mothers invented the headlock wrestling hold for just that purpose .