homemade scented blackpowder lube!

[Busyhands94]

i apologize if this isn't the most "manly" blackpowder lube recipe, but after testing it out i figure it's worth posting for those interested. the main reason i wanted to try a scent is to help my mother out, she loves to shoot my .50 flintlock, and is like Annie Oakley out there! however, she doesn't like how the blackpowder lube on my patches smells, and i thought i should do something about that. this recipe can be altered for any woman or girl in your life that often accompanies you to the shooting range. after all, you want to make sure everyone is having a fun time out there and gets hooked on blackpowder.

i have just started making my own blackpowder lube. i use Crisco, paraffin, and some vegetable oil. it makes a good lube that seems to work better than plain old Crisco. i have noticed my fouling is a bit softer too! i recently got my mother hooked on blackpowder and she didn't like how the patches i use are heavily scented with peppermint oil or whatever goes into wonder lube. i don't mind it too bad, it's actually nice smelling. i want to try the pine scented ones though, that might be interesting!

anyway, my mom was annoyed at how they were scented, so i thought i would try and so something about that being the good sport i am.

so, my lube recipe.
2 parts Crisco shortening
1 part paraffin
a little bit of vegetable oil
and something to scent it if you want.

i have made three batches of it so far. the first batch i added maple extract. it turned out smelling like Christmas! the second batch i went without any scent. the last batch i made i was thinking about how my mom and how she didn't prefer the spearmint oil extract. so, i went to my local hippy friend and she let me take a look at whet she had as far as essential oils. i picked out some lavender oil. i added a few drops to my lube batch, and then made about 50 lubed patches out of some scrap cotton fabric. i put a few drops in the bag and kneaded it until the lube saturated the patches. i took them out, and sure enough i had scented patches. they even had a neat little floral design on them! i showed them to her, and she loved them automatically! she thought they were incredibly neat and smelled good! i returned the lavender oil to my friend, and told her what i used it for. and even she thought it was neat even though they weren't a gun person!

so, i now have some nicely scented patches as well as a big tub of lavender scented lube. i tested it out today in my indoor shooting range. I loaded up the good ol' Super Companion, put some of my bullet grease on the chambers, and then let some lead fly. after i fired all five shots i discovered my range smelled positively floral! haha!

i realized that you can really make it smell like anything you want it to! i might try pine oil next, or maybe a splash of Irish whiskey or pipe tobacco, maybe something a little bit more manly smelling. i am thinking about using a citronella candle to see if i can make lube that will repel mosquitoes and bugs! that might be really cool!

anyway, i hope you all found this interesting. anybody who want to use my lube recipe is more than welcome to it, just be safe when working with hot oils and molten fat and shoot safely. don't add anything water based or you will have a volcano of molten lube. and above all make sure you have some fun out there. blackpowder shooting is fun for all ages and genders. just make sure your shooting partner knows guns safety.

Stay safe and God bless America!!!
Levi Hawken Dabney.

 

[Mike1234567]

Err... umm... *sigh*... not quite sure how to say this but... this just doesn't seem quite right.

ETA: On second thought; If we're talking about bacon or grilled beef-steak scented lube... well alrighty then!!

 

[Busyhands94]

it does seem a little off, however female shooters might like it. there are lady-gunners too. okay, i promise i will try and make a more manly scented lube. I'll post it when i get around to making it.

come to think of it i did try bacon grease as lube once, i fired off a few cylinders of shot out in the range. someone came out to get me and as soon as the door opened i heard "what the heck's going on out here Levi? are you cooking breakfast?"
i replied "why yes... yes i am"

so bacon grease worked quite well! i bet i could probably substitute it for shortening in a lube recipe! next time we get some bacon i will be sure to save the grease so i can let y'all know how it turns out.

the problem with bacon scented lube is when i am out shooting i get a lil'mighty hungry smelling that bacon. like i said i haven't tried bacon grease in a lube recipe, just the grease itself and that worked fine, it was a bit too soft though.

~Hawken

 

[Mike1234567]

Well... don't feel bad about it. Even some burly hot-rodders running nitromethane add scent to their fuel tanks.

Girly Scents for Racing Fuel

 

[Busyhands94]

really? that's kinda interesting!

 

[Busyhands94]

alright, just cooked up another batch of lube! i used the fat from some burgers i grilled last night, thickened with some paraffin! seems to be good enough for my purposes. I'll give you guys an update on how well it works! and hopefully i will get a now gun this week!

 

[Mike1234567]

Hmm... the scent of roses with hamburger overtones. Must be nice.

 

[robhof]

Bacon grease has a lot of salt in it, might soften fowling and smell good, but will leave a corrosive residue. Check Ebay for scented oils, I've gotten fir, evergreen, and northern pine before for Xmas scents in oil burners and lamps, a few drops in vege oil will scent up the house.

 

[Busyhands94]

good point, i only have stainless revolvers so i didn't think that would be a problem given i clean it immediately afterward. i think i will buy some pine extract, i can't get over how good pine smells! it reminds me of my days as a young lad, running around the forest shooting stuff! i would love more than anything to smell a forest everytime i pull the trigger! hehe!

 

[bigfatdave]

I've been toying with the idea of picking up a BP revolver as a toy for a while now.
Have you tried peppermint oil?

 

[junkman_01]

Levi(Busyhands94) wrote:

it reminds me of my days as a young lad, running around the forest shooting stuff!

You are still a young lad. You are only 17-18 years old!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvSdpcSkG6g

 

[Busyhands94]

i meant when i was 8 or 10, when i was really young! I'd always go out to the forest near my house and shoot! it was quite fun!

 

[dprice3844444]

try apple cider vinegar as a scent

 

[Mike1234567]

I don't know if this stuff would serve your needs but... Organic Minty Fresh Lube

 

[Busyhands94]

that does look interesting, I might have to try some!

 

[bonza]

A guy on another forum I frequent tried this too. He found 'Leather' & 'Tobacco' scented oils made quite popular 'manly-smelling' lubes. Another poster noted though that some oils can be corrosive (I think licorice was one), so be careful with your choices.

 

[Noz]

One of my "cowboy" friends uses his wife's bathroom scented candles as a part of his bullet lube.

Catches a lot of flack about his girly bullets.

 

[[email protected]]

I use liquid smoke

 

[BCRider]

What a neat idea!

Now who the hell makes Kentucky Bourbon essential oil....

The bacon fat idea to replace some of the Crisco is a nice touch as well. As for salt in the bacon fat all I can say is SO WHAT!. We're shooting black powder which leaves behind moisture gathering salts already. That's why it's so important to clean the guns that evening. A bit of bacon grease salt isn't going to add enough to that issue to matter.

 

[dprice3844444]

if you hunt,use a strong apple scent.deer love apples

 

[Busyhands94]

or... this may sound a little strange but i could add some doe urine to it, that might attract bucks from miles!!! that might just be a million dollar idea! although I don't want to pay $20 for a bottle of urine, that's kinda strange...

 

[Wolfebyte]

4 or... this may sound a little strange but i could add some doe urine to it, that might attract bucks from miles!!! that might just be a million dollar idea! although I don't want to pay $20 for a bottle of urine, that's kinda strange...

don't think I'd be handling them after that.. urine on your fingers, wiped on your pants leg.. just saying..

 

[Busyhands94]

hmmmm... good point. maybe just as chamber grease in a revolving carbine. that way one could just use a Popsicle stick to smear it on there.

 

[Busyhands94]

i just made some scented lube that smells like the local forest! i used some pine needles, some lemon balm, some bay leaves, and some bay bark. i stuck it in a jar and poured some alcohol over it. let that sit overnight, then strained it through some cheesecloth. then i just added it to my regular Crisco and paraffin lube recipe, it smells pretty good!

 

[Gatofeo]

I like your idea of using lavender.
I usually grow lavender in a big, terra cotta pot on the patio each summer. Didn't this year. Just plain forgot to pick some up. It's an annual, so you have to get a new plant each year.

Lavender is a very ancient scent, and not entirely a feminine scent.
Many of the hair tonics and bracers offered by frontier barbers, after a shave or haircut, were lavender scented. Read that years ago, in an old True West magazine.
I was surprised to learn that it was a common scent with cowboys. Fresh off the cattle drive, and paid, they'd get a bath, new duds or their old clothes washed. A haircut and shave followed.
The final ritual was a good splashing of some scent, often lavender.

When I was in Paris, many street corners had Frenchies selling little pillows stuffed with lavender. France is noted for its lavender. These pillows were for men or women to put in their clothes dresser. There, it's apparently considered a unisex scent.

Lavender is one of the few things I've planted that deer won't eat. In the evening, with an upwind breeze, you get a nice scent of lavender to accompany your appreciation of a desert sunset.

So, I don't think lavender would be out of place for a black powder lubricant scent.

You may also wish to try anise oil, for a licorice scent. Don't know if it would attract or repel bugs, though.
I'm a licorice-holic. If a woman ever puts the marriage-bite on this ol' desert cat -- while wearing licorice perfume -- this bachelor of 56 years would be a goner!
Good thing no one makes it. It oughta be illegal ...