Mineral Oil is the best

I've used Ballistol for many things but never seriously considered it as a lubricant. Is there any data, other than the miracle claims on the mfr's website, about how it performs in that role?
 
Thank you so much.

So with mineral oil as a rust preventer, where do you all suggest I store my carbon steel knives to avoid the light rust?

Thank you,

John
 
Is there any data, other than the miracle claims on the mfr's website, about how it performs in that role?
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I’ve use it as a lubricant, I don’t have any data, just some experience. I have this old German made text lung I use to calibrate and check out the functions of the ventilators I work on. We used to have WD-40 on hand in the shop, I don’t like using it because of the high pressure O2 I work with but I would apply some to the post and spring of the test lung. I would have to reapply about once or twice a month to keep the thing from squeaking, makes it hard to find leaks in the liquidic systems.

I knew that ballistol was used in medical applications in Germany but never submitted to the FDA in this country, I figured on a test lung it had to be better than oil so I gave it a shot, mixed at the 1:10 ratio with water. I’ve reapplied it twice in 7 years.

My daughter has Cerebral Palsy so when we take her to the Alafia River Rendezvous we have a wagon that she used to ride in when she was younger, It was a regular Town and Country wood wagon that I modified with wooden wheels and sides. It squeaked like the dickens, I used heavy grease and it worked fine, every year I reapplied the grease, sometimes bacon grease or whatever was on hand. The squeak was terrible if I didn’t. About 6 years ago I had a bottle of the 1:10 ballistol, for cleaning my flintlock, so l applied it. I’ve never had to reapply any thing to those wheels and we use this wagon for yard and garden stuff all year long, often leaving it outside for weeks on end.

Ballisol’s weakest point is the heat generated in some parts of firearms. Mostly it works well but if the gun gets very hot it looses much of its lubricating properties, it’s never been a problem in the black powder stuff I shoot or the 44/40 or .45 colt but I have this information from a buddy who shoots modern calibers in semi and full auto mode.

You really can't beat the simplicity and availability of mineral oil but I just thought some of you may be interested in this old coal oil technology that came out of the early years of the last century. I go though about a quart of it a year, none of my knives or other tools, including a band saw I keep on the back porch have rust, nor my outboard engine even though it's usually caked with salt when we pull the boat out of the Florida Bay.
 
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Ballistol is alcohol and mineral oil, or so I have heard.
 
Thanks, Husnel. I will be sure not to use Ballistol if I ever get a BP Gatling gun. (I've had good luck w/ it on flintlocks, though!) ;)
 
rmfnla said:
Mineral oil all the way!

As previously noted, a little does go a long way. Mine came in a big bottle so I picked up one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350123041890

to make my life easier.
BTW, mineral oil also works great for dressing and sealing a wooden cutting
board, especially after sanding.
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OK, after getting kinda annoyed by the tufglide smell, i just threw out the

liquid out of the 1/2 oz bottle.Then i cleaned out the bottle, the tip thingy,

and the end cap. Then i scratch off the sticker on the bottle with my Key

Sergent (:thumbup:) then poured mineral oil in the bottle. :thumbup:

It looks exactly like the one from the quoted ebay bottle but with a red end

cap. :thumbup:

P.S. no smell!
 
my kershaw zign had some minute rust spots on it, and i jsut broke it down, and wiped it (firmly) with mineral oil, and they are gone now, i love mineral oil.
 
Well guys I went to the store yesterday and looked at some mineral oil and baby oil like was discussed. The mineral oil is obviously mineral oil and the ingredients in the baby oil is mineral oil and fragrance. Only thing I noticed about the baby oil is it seemed like it was a bit thinner than the mineral oil. Being as i'm using it for my the joints on my folders I went with the thicker mineral oil. So hopefully it will stay in place longer.
I also went with this oil thanks to you guys suggestions after I tried tuff glide on my paramilitary and it made much harder to open.
 
I bought a bottle of mineral oil today. I found it with the laxatives at Wal-Mart. Surprise. Looking forward to giving it a try, and, like I said, it should keep those knives nice and regular!
 
I couldn't agree more Capt. Carl

I started using it on all my knives in 2005 after The Deacon (Paul Beretta) recommended it to me on the Spyderco forum. I've never looked back.

Heck I even tried Militec 1 and didn't think too much of it at all. Even did the entire "heat up" thing as recommended and didn't think it was so "smooth" like everyone said.

-
powernoodle,

There must be something else in WD-40 also that makes it get sticky and gummy after a while. Mineral oil on its own does not do that. I hate WD-40 for lubing just about anything.

Mineral oil = Teh Stuff!
 
I have a Kershaw ZT 0200 with a somewhat stiff action. I didn't want to loosen the pivot, so I put some mineral oil (been using it since I first read this thread) on a q-tip and forced it into the pivot: action was very smooth. I then found a bottle of Miltec-1 in my Sig pistol box and decided to give it a try. I cleaned the pivot with hot water and soap, heated the pivot with a blow dryer, and applied plenty of Miltec-1. So far, the Miltec-1 is not nearly as smooth as the mineral oil was, I will give it another application then decide if it's mineral oil for all of my folders (it's already on all of my carbon blades, and wood handled knives).

P.S. I have 4 of those needle oilers in the mail, they will be great for many things, thanks!
 
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