Ballistol

[liko]

Just got a visit from the ever-popular brown van. This was a 16-oz can of Ballistol lube. It works really well, but the smell... Smells like... It's undescribable, just not incredibly pleasant IMO. I can definitely learn to live with it, but it would be even better if the smell subsided after some time out of the can.

[sam the man..]

Dude, sounds like you have a BIG lube job coming your way.. What do you use the Ballistol for?

Sam

have spydies will travel

[liko]

Mostly for my knives, but if it passes the O-ring test (soak a rubber and a polyurethane O-ring in the lube to be tested. If the O-rings don't expand, shrink, dissolve, or otherwise change in texture or rigidity, the lube passes), I'll probably use it for my paintball marker. I have a problem with condensation in the marker sometimes, so it would be a plus that Ballistol mixes with small amounts of water and still remains slick. I figured that shipping would be the same for both the 1.1 oz bottle and the 16-oz can, so it makes more sense to get the larger can. It is a lot of the stuff, though. I may find other uses for it, but not where the smell of the undiluted stuff is an issue. I bought it because it's what Spyderco uses at the factory. It does work well; almost too well. My Native lightweight, after cleaning out the pivot and lock and putting this lube on, is easy to flick open. I'm thinking of sending it back to Golden and asking that the lock spring be stiffened. All my other EDCs, given the same treatment, are smooth as a buttered baby's behind when opening.

[judge]

Hey, didn´t know Spyderco is using Ballistol as their standard lubricating/conserving agent.
I use Ballistol for years (it&#180;s THE standard weapons lubrication stuff in Germany/Austria/Switzerland for ages), and it works ok. It seems to be quite uncommon in the US. You&#180;ll get used to the smell. (I used Ballistol privately on my Steyr Stg 58/FN-FAL clone while being in the Austrian army cause they handed out a crappy Army issue weapon oil. A weapons seargent inspecting our guns looked at mine, took a sniff, smiled and asked: &quot;You&#180;re a hunter?&quot; - that smell&#180;s the secret callsign of the hunter&#180;s guild <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> )
Any Spyderco rep here that could explain why Spyderco selected Ballistol, as opposed to other common US lubes brands? I&#180;d be interested.

Edited by - judge on 2/21/2002 7:17:51 AM

[liko]

It works. It's thin enough to get into all the tiny crevices between blade and handle with just a couple of drops on the tang, but still protects well. It also mixes with water and still stays slick. The water will evaporate, leaving the lube in place. Most of the lubes over here are either too thick to get into the pivot without disassembling the knife, evaporate too quickly, are petroleum-based, which will eventually start to eat FRN, or gum up, which is a pain to clean. Spyderco has said in an older thread that they use Ballistol, but they've also given their blessing to White Lightning, which is designed for folding knives and tools. Haven't tried that yet. I was also considering Hoppes #9 gun oil and Gold Cup airgun oil, which are both good lubes that won't eat polymers, but Gold cup requires reoiling more often than most (designed for paintball markers, which need to be torn down anyway after a day of play for cleaning). For those of you interested in Ballistol, there are a couple of online stores in the U.S. that carry it. I got mine from wisementrading.com for $5.50 (16-oz can, no sprayer) plus shipping, so it worked out to about $10 per can.

And as for the smell, after about a couple of days, most of the unpleasant aspect of the smell dissipated, leaving it smelling not unlike lemon oil.

[liko]

Balistol is the best lube I have used

A SPYDERCO <img src="spyder.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> knife is the most expensive and least effective screwdriver you will ever buy. However, we do have the blade strecher if we can get the solar power thingie to work <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

Edited by - spyderh} {lic on 2/21/2002 12:21:53 PM