Sweet Oil

[Byron]

I have been told the Mountain men used Olive Oil aka Sweet Oil to swab their barrels to prevent rust before a though claening.If this is correct,where would they have access to it and how high would have been their cost? Thanks, Byron

 

[M-Cameron]

my guess is they probably bought it where they bought their other supplies...general store perhaps.

i couldnt tell you how much it would have cost though...

 

[Byron]

Thanks,Byron

 

[alsask]

After cleaning I use gun oil. I would not bother with any vegatable oils, or animal oil. They go rancid after a few months. Before shooting, after being in storage, I wipe the bore clean.

 

[ontarget]

I would imagine the old timers would use whatever rust preventer they had access to. including rendered animal fats.

 

[Jaymo]

Whale Oil.

 

[colonelhogan44]

I use olive oil exclusively in my BP guns.

 

[GCBurner]

Sperm Whale Oil was the oil of choice for fine mechanisms, clocks, and gun locks during the 19th century, because it didn't go rancid, didn't congeal in cold weather, and it didn't gum up with age. Dixie Gun Works carried it, a long time back, but I think the anti-whaling laws have done away with it nowadays. There is a synthetic oil substitute available.

 

[Don McDowell]

Jojoba oil works for a lot of things that spermwhale oil was used for.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Ned Roberts in the Muzzle Loading Cap Lock Rifle mentions rendered bear oil as one of the best. I don't recall his remarks if any on sperm whale oil.

 

[StrawHat]

Tallow was another preservative used to clean and protect the bore.

 

[Don McDowell]

Ned Roberts in the Muzzle Loading Cap Lock Rifle mentions rendered bear oil as one of the best. I don't recall his remarks if any on sperm whale oil.

Page 259 , he says that fine bear oil is not available everywhere, but spermwhale oil is more available and a good alternative.
He also mentions skunk oil as being a great favorite as it was available everywhere.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Thanks Don.

 

[Don McDowell]

Ubetcha,

 

[PapaG]

Still have 3 cans of sperm oil I got at friendship in '66. Used it on patching in the winter for hunting (with a milk carton disc between powder and patched ball.

 

[GCBurner]

Still have 3 cans of sperm oil I got at friendship in '66. Used it on patching in the winter for hunting (with a milk carton disc between powder and patched ball.

Hang on to it, then, and whatever you do, don't try to sell it.
http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2004/jun04/noaa04-r150.html

 

[Sol]

I'm surprised the state won the case, I'm sure that oil was harvested long before he was born and whaling was against the law. Must be no grandfathering for sperm oil.

Does that mean you can't sell a mount of an endangered or extinct animal that was mounted before any conservatory laws?

 

[GCBurner]

I'm surprised the state won the case, I'm sure that oil was harvested long before he was born and whaling was against the law. Must be no grandfathering for sperm oil.

Does that mean you can't sell a mount of an endangered or extinct animal that was mounted before any conservatory laws?

Only if you've got lawyers and lots of money. There was a case recently involving a collage piece of art including eagle feathers harvested before the 1950s. It was by a well-known artist, and the IRS wanted to appraise it for over $1million for estate tax purposes, but the estate argued that it was worth $0, because it would be illegal to sell it by EPA regulations (EPA confiscated it), so in effect it had no market value at all. I think they're still wrangling about it in court, at big bucks per hour.

 

[swathdiver]

There was an article in Muzzleloader last year about sperm whale oil and a comparison to jojoba. The jojoba was a big disappointment but plain ole saliva worked as well as whale oil.

Isn't bore butter mostly olive oil? No bears around here, lambs either it seems, so my mutton tallow came from Dixie.

 

[the Black Spot]

I use mink tallow

 

[Slamfire]

I would be very surprised if anyone used olive oil as a lubricant or a rust preventative. The stuff degrades, probably has water in it.

 

[colonelhogan44]

I use olive oil exclusively in my BP guns.

Be surprised. I've had nothing but great experiences using olive oil as a lubricant and a protectant on my BP firearms.

YMMV, as always.

 

[GCBurner]

Olive oil congeals and solidifies when it gets cold, and eventually becomes rancid and starts to smell bad with exposure to air, heat and light. It's great in salad dressings, and you can take advantage of its property of solidifying by putting some in a plastic tub in the refrigerator, where it will turn into a healthy solid spread you can use in place of butter or margarine on your toast.

 

[colonelhogan44]

Luckily it never gets cold in California.

 

[Patocazador]

Luckily it never gets cold in California.

Mark Twain: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."