WD40...for what it's worth..

[ironglows]

  I heard of the guys of the Legion Riders club, located in our post..speaking about another rider who says he uses nothin but WD40 on his chains.  They doubted the wisdom of this.  Chances are they were apparently correct.
  Recalling such a discussion on GBO, here's an info spot on the product. (12 min video)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__zkFEKmZdw

[nw_hunter]

I did a test using WD40 and other products several years ago when I was really into Muzzle loaders. Nothing creates rust like black powder after fired. I used several of the highest rated lubes on the market. Including ATF and Kroil Oil. I now only use WD40. They all stink, but it's less stinky, and it works. I quit buying gun oil years ago. I do like Kroil for penetrating oil.

PS.......That Bear needs to stick to preventing forest fires

[Dee]

Try using "olive oil". Ths really old timers referred to it as "sweet oil".

[ironglows]

Try using "olive oil". Ths really old timers referred to it as "sweet oil".

  Correct..that's about all our forefathers from the pilgrims to the Billy Yank and Johnny Reb had for gun oil..although I suspect some of the mountain men used a bit of Buffalo tallow when no sweet oil was available...  

[Bob Riebe]

https://www.cherrybalmz.com/history-of-gun-lubricants-cfze

Sperm Whale oil holds a revered, legendary status in the minds of many shooters, especially older gunsmiths. And this is not without reason. It was incredibly durable, worked in a very wide range of temperatures, could go on thin, had a tendency to stay clean, didn't absorb water, and had a strong tendency to stay adhered to metallic surfaces it was placed on. It has reached a near mythical status in some circles today, which has only been reinforced by the 1972 whaling ban. Almost nobody under 50 years old has used it or even seen it, and what is heard about it from knowledgeable people is almost hard to believe, spoken of in often reverential tones. For these and other reasons, those few who have their irreplaceable, dwindling stocks of Sperm Whale oil tend to horde it with extreme prejudice

It's arguable that, had we not had access to this lubricant, not only may the advent of self-loading semi and fully-automatic weapons have been pushed back decades, but possibly the entire industrial revolution would have been as well. It's hard to overstate the profound importance of whaling to the US economy throughout the entire 19th century - it was foundational. It literally lubricated the entire industrial revolution, and whale products were in a stunning array of industrial and consumer items. In today's dollars, the value of the whaling fleet in 1846 alone was equivalent to a third of a trillion dollars, in a much smaller overall economy.

[Lloyd Smale]

i use 0w30 mobile one for oiling about everything including my guns.

[ironglows]

Curiously, I looked this up about 2 weeks before this thread came up.  According to what I found, whale oil worked very well for the task.  However, in comparison to sweet oil, whale oil is rather costly, so it was not in wide general use and not the issue for armies.
   
    According to what I read, although whale oil from whale fat in general was used for Betty lamps and other uses, whale oil of the fine grade used for gun oil, only comes from the bulbous nose of the Sperm Whale.

  At least that is what my brief research brought forth.

   BTW:  Sweet Oil is an old remedy for ear ache, being as it breaks down hardened wax.  Some still use it today, and it is generally available at  drug stores for that reason.

[oldandslow]

I don't use any of that knockoff mobile stuff. I use genuine Mobil. As for WD-40 I consider it good stuff although not as a lubricant. I lost count long ago of all the stuck nuts and bolts it had helped me remove. It's a fairly good drilling and tapping fluid for steel too.

[Bob Riebe]

IG, oddly, you started this WD40 thread exactly 1 month after the last one was started.
Deja Vu.

[ironglows]

IG, oddly, you started this WD40 thread exactly 1 month after the last one was started.
Deja Vu.

   ..Must be a reason...