Lanolin As Lube?

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

I was spit lubing patches.

Upon the advice of some folks here and elsewhere, I tore up an old pillow for the ticking. 

After cutting 30 or so patches (round, sized to the ball), I coated them with lanolin, then squeezed the excess out with paper towels.

I fired only one shot (fixin' to do more here in just a bit) and it seemed to work very well, and definitely loaded much more easily than the spit-lubed patches.

After shooting, I've been washing the bore and then applying lanolin, as well as rubbing it into the metal on the outside.  It gets into the metal very nicely and repels water better than anything I've encountered.  I use this stuff on my modern weapons, including my carry pistol - and talked to a man who used it all through Vietnam with not a single weapons malfunction.

Does anyone else use lanolin as a lube/protectant?  I have been very happy with the stuff.

It also resists washing off.

I figure I'm cleaning the bore a bit each time I load, too :D

Thoughts?

Thank you,

Josh 

[Otter]

I have almost no experience using it as a patch lubricant. That said lanolin is an ingredient in my most successfull cartridge rifle lubes. Seems to make it slick, stick to the bullets and lubricate too.  Only anhydrous lanolin is what I use. Hope this helps a bit, am making up a fresh batch of lube to try with my patches. Cleaning/pre-lubed patches can be made by just smearing a little lube on a patch stack 'em up, put 'em in a baggie and microwave them very briefly to melt the lube. Be careful the lube can overheat quickly in the nuker.

[alsask]

Hi Josh,

I used to use lanolin on my sizing dies for cartridge bullets.  Worked good so I could see it working as a patch lube.  I use plain old Crisco for patch lube and it works fine.  I know those little green bottles of tropical LSA oil that we used to get issued sure looked like Lanolin come to think of it

[Otter]

Alasak, Hadn't tired to use lanolin on bullets as sizing lube before but will now! There is a case sizing product, Imperial Sizing Wax, that is mostly lanolin and works great for case sizing and reforming duty.

[chuck w.]

Where do you buy lanolin?

[Otter]

Bought mine through flea bay. Be sure to get anhydrous lanolin. That kind is used for making hand lotion and such.

[bckskin2]

On E-Bay? I've never done buisness with them. Would a drug store have it?

[Otter]

Maybe. The only time I've found the anhydrous lanolin at a large chain drug store was in very small tubes. If you live near an old time drug store the pharmacist could probably help find it.

[flintboomer]

I can't say I know anything about using lanolin, most of my grease lubes are beeswax based, but when you need more ticking you can either find a source online and order it, or go to a store that sells material for sewing and buy a yard or so at a time. I usually pay around $4 for a yard and have learned that the natural white rather than the striped tends to be more consistant and stronger, but I have also shot a lot of the striped ticking.
If you like thin patching and can find it there is a flowered pillow ticking that is about .010 and is very strong. I have actually fired the thin ticking, gone out and picked it up, relubed it and shot it again with good results.