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What is Murthy's soap and Witch Hazel?
- Thread starter Boer
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Murphy Oil Soap is an oil based liquid soap which is an all purpose cleaner and is mild enough to use on wood floors. Witch hazel is an herbal extract that is a mild cleansing astringent used for skin care. You can find both of these products at Walmart, or the Murphy Oil Soap at almost any hardware store and the witch hazel at almost any drug store.
WRussell said:
I just looked at mine and according to the label it only contains 14% alcohol. It is a distilled extract so there is probably some water in it and it doesn't say anything about water of the amount of actual witch hazel extract. However, I don't think it matters. No matter what the percentages are, it still works.
Is the witch hazel so it doesn't freeze? I've made the moose milk before. I was told if you don't want it to freeze add rubbing alchohol.
The last batch I made I used a dollar store wood soap. It's worked out fine. Would any old cutting oil work as well? MY receipe said NAPA only, just wondering. :hmm:
The last batch I made I used a dollar store wood soap. It's worked out fine. Would any old cutting oil work as well? MY receipe said NAPA only, just wondering. :hmm:
Murphy's Oil Soap is a liquid detergent, but not like a dishwashing variety. It is a vegetable based soft soap. More like saddle soap, if you can find that. It is used to clean and protect wood paneling and furniture. Pine-Sol may work as a substitute, but I never fully tested that variation. (It works, but I don't know about potential rusting or rust protection qualities).
The Witch Hazel is an extract of a low-canopy tree hereabouts. What I have found it does is prevent the soaps and alcohol in the lube from causing the oils to bead up - giving uneven smears of lube. The Witch Hazel helps and keeps it smeared or coating evenly. It also adds some vegetable oils to the lube.
I believe it was Superflint that posted a lube recipe with witch-hazel in it and I wanted to know "why that?", so I made some with and without. It makes a noticable difference, especially whan cold. I smeared lubes on metal and glass to see how well they coated.
The Witch Hazel is an extract of a low-canopy tree hereabouts. What I have found it does is prevent the soaps and alcohol in the lube from causing the oils to bead up - giving uneven smears of lube. The Witch Hazel helps and keeps it smeared or coating evenly. It also adds some vegetable oils to the lube.
I believe it was Superflint that posted a lube recipe with witch-hazel in it and I wanted to know "why that?", so I made some with and without. It makes a noticable difference, especially whan cold. I smeared lubes on metal and glass to see how well they coated.
The NAPA cutting oil is water soluable. I get around that with castor oil, but that doesn't dissolve in water unless first dissolved in alcohol. :hmm: That's why my lube has both water and alcohol.
The last Witch Hazel I bought came in a pint container. It claims to be 86% witch hazel and 14% alcohol. It is made by Cumberland Swan in Smyrna, TN. This came from the local Red China Mart, but I'm sure you can find it or something just like it at a local drug store. Maybe even down under.
Hi I have found the piece on black soap very interesting, but it is definitely not common in Southern Africa. Personally I have never seen it in South Africa or neighbouring countries like Zimbabwe and Namibia. Animal fats (hippo was often killed for this purpose) with lye was often used to make soap. If lye was not available from other sources it was obtained from "Asbos"or Ashbush. We do have soap plants like the "seepplant" or soap plant "ubhubhubhu" in Zulu. Perhaps somebody else knows it.
Cheers
Cheers
Sounds like you're in an ideal position to try some different materials for patch lubes. I wanted to work one up from castor oil so here's how I set about it.
Rust - I smeared 15 different likely substances on bare steel to see if they caused rust. Glycerin draws rust like a magnet. Beeswax and some oil soaps prevent it better than some gun oils.
Smear - does it spread evenly? Is the bore coated completely? I smeared test batches on glass and metal to see how it coated and stuck.
Protection - does it prevent rust? I smeared a sheet of bare steel and then fired off blackpowder on it, then hosed it off and waited. This seperates the good lubes from the great lubes.
Cleanup - does it keep the fouling soft? Does it clean off and not build-up itself? Tallow has a bad characteristic of becoming very hard and waxy in the cold (not a problem for you I imagine) and is hard to wash away; trapping fouling with it. Water and a little soap are the ideal blackpowder solvent, so if you can work that into the mix you can be assured loading will remain easy.
Accuracy - does my gun like it? This is the final and a very important test. Each rifle is a bit different and some have a fussy streak.
Gather up anything you've heard used as a lube that is available to you and give it a try. You can work with an oil that is soluable (i.e. cutting oil in water, castor oil in alcohol (which is then water soluable), or stick to a "pure" lube like rendered animal grease. Our native bears seem to have been designed with a rifle lube in mind; but supply can be limited and some spoilage may occur.
Good places to start are any "household" compounds used to protect high carbon knives from rust or as a lubricant for the hinges of bullet moulds made from steel.
Rust - I smeared 15 different likely substances on bare steel to see if they caused rust. Glycerin draws rust like a magnet. Beeswax and some oil soaps prevent it better than some gun oils.
Smear - does it spread evenly? Is the bore coated completely? I smeared test batches on glass and metal to see how it coated and stuck.
Protection - does it prevent rust? I smeared a sheet of bare steel and then fired off blackpowder on it, then hosed it off and waited. This seperates the good lubes from the great lubes.
Cleanup - does it keep the fouling soft? Does it clean off and not build-up itself? Tallow has a bad characteristic of becoming very hard and waxy in the cold (not a problem for you I imagine) and is hard to wash away; trapping fouling with it. Water and a little soap are the ideal blackpowder solvent, so if you can work that into the mix you can be assured loading will remain easy.
Accuracy - does my gun like it? This is the final and a very important test. Each rifle is a bit different and some have a fussy streak.
Gather up anything you've heard used as a lube that is available to you and give it a try. You can work with an oil that is soluable (i.e. cutting oil in water, castor oil in alcohol (which is then water soluable), or stick to a "pure" lube like rendered animal grease. Our native bears seem to have been designed with a rifle lube in mind; but supply can be limited and some spoilage may occur.
Good places to start are any "household" compounds used to protect high carbon knives from rust or as a lubricant for the hinges of bullet moulds made from steel.
Musketman
Thank you for the generous offer. I guess our import laws would not be a problem. I have imported various things, mostly books from the USA with little problems. However the total cost of shipping is so high that I believe it would not be worth while sending this on its own. I will look around and see if I can find something comparable locally. I will let you know.
Thank you for the generous offer. I guess our import laws would not be a problem. I have imported various things, mostly books from the USA with little problems. However the total cost of shipping is so high that I believe it would not be worth while sending this on its own. I will look around and see if I can find something comparable locally. I will let you know.
