Old Gun Oils
What type of oils were used in the 1800's to lube and protect guns before petroleum based lubes became common?
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Rendered animal fats.
Whales were hunted almost to extinction for their blubber, a source of oil for lamps for a couple of hundred years. The same oil could be used to wipe knives & guns in daily use, & any animal fat could be used for long term protection.
Neal0 -
I think Bear grease and pig lard were the most popular 0 -
I bet that lard would be right after a few days in the sun, wouldn't have to shoot anybody, just wave the gun under their nose and the smell would take them out. Thanks guys. 0 -
Whale Oil taken to the extreme..
There's a minute (compared to total animal bulk) amount of oil in the head of marine mammals, that is used to measure pressures upon diving.
It's called spermaticetti.
Very hard to get back in the day. Used in fine machinery, such as lubeing time pieces, and firearms (if one could get it).
However, as prior posts indicate, it was not likely encountered in the U.S. 'outback' of bygone years. Joe0 -
As late the pre WWII era, Sperm Oil must have still been obtainable in reasonable quantities. Here is Hatcher's recipe for a firearms lubricants taken from his Textbook Of Pistols And Revolvers , 1935 edition:
6 parts Amyl Acetate (which is similar to banana oil and used as a flavoring agent and a solvent).
19 parts Acetone
19 parts Turpentine
58 parts Sperm Oil
28 parts Pratt's Astral oil (this was a trade mark for a double refined kerosene).
Hatcher maintained that the above comprised the finest firearms lubricant and preservative that he had ever used and had been in wide spread use with sportsman and in gun clubs for many decades.
Using current availability as our guide:
Turpentine...No problem.
Double refined kerosene...Sure.
Acetone...Easy.
Banana oil...You should be able to track some down.
Sperm Oil? I can't say that I've seen it at the Home Depot or at Lowes lately!0 -
I have a pint can of sperm oil I got as residue of a collection I appraised last year, much of the stuff dating from the '30s & '40s. 0 -
Is it still good?
W.D.0 -
Mark's reply made me think about Hatcher's Notebook, which I think is required reading if you are interested in guns.
Hatcher tells us that the old version of Hoppe's No. 9 Nitro Powder Solvent had amyl acetate as an ingredient and that was what gave it the distinct aroma that most people liked so much. I think amyl acetate is now a restricted chemical. oh well...
I agree that various animal fats were used to lubricate and clean weapons in the 1800's prior to hydrocarbon-based lubes. However, I believe that it was sometimes mixed with bees wax. I believe this because this compound is still a very effective anti-rust compound. I believe that the best "natural" or "organic" lubricant and corrosion inhibitor such as this is a mixture of lanolin and beeswax (1:1 mix or experiment). It is also the best stuff to use for black powder guns today for lube and for patches because when black powder burns in the presence of hydrocarbon-based oils and greases, it forms a nasty, sticky, asphaltine compound that causes bp guns to clog up after a few shots are fired. Not so with the lanolin/beeswax compound.
EDIT--EDIT
Now, if you want to compare the old organic compound lubricants with the most modern technology specialty gun lubes of today and we rule out black powder and antique-style guns, then we have to choose the modern specialty lubes.0 -
I still have some sperm whale oil bought in the '50s-60s from Dixie Gun works.
They had a formula for flint and percussion bullet lube comprising 50% each sperm oil and beeswax.
As I recall it was tacky and didn't harden.0 -
This was a very interesting topic. A little research showed that Sperm Whale oil was in fact still legally available and sold in the USA up until 1972 when the Endangered Species Act cut off the availability of Sperm Oil in the USA. While still legal to own, use and to possess it is in fact illegal to sell Sperm Whale oil here in the USA and the Endangered Species Act allows up to a $20,000 fine for doing so. A little deeper digging shows that in areas where the oil is legal to sell typical prices are in the $40-$50 per ounce range. 0
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