department were rejected due to perceived toxicity issues.
After a bit of research I was able to come up with a solution. The Lubriplate company makes an oil (Type FMO-AW) that was originally designed for high speed food machinery. It has good anti-wear properties (those machines have lots of sliding parts which operate at high speed) and excellent corrosion inhibitors (food is wet and often acidic.) Most importantly, because those machines are in contact with the food that you and I consume the oil has to have very low toxicity. FMO-AW is even Kosher!
The icing on the cake for this agency was that it’s available in a wide range of viscosities so they could precisely match the oil to their environment. Even the purchasing agents were happy, because the stuff is available in five-gallon pails – easy to reorder and making the cost per use ridiculously low.
Miracle oils
Remember what I said about snake oil? There are many products that are sold to the shooting public on the basis of ‘secret’ formulas and ‘revolutionary’ ingredients. Many of them are hyped with vague references to Special Forces and other elite units (“in use with Navy Seals!”), implying that they alone are responsible for success on the battlefield.
Don’t buy it. And don’t buy those products. All oils, gun oils included, are made from well known and understood ingredients. A lone inventor, working in his garage, isn’t going to come up with a new compound not already known to lubrication engineers (who are called tribologists.)
Oils are generally crafted from a petroleum base, or a synthetic petroleum base, that has been augmented by any number of additives. Additives give the oil its ability to reduce corrosion, resist high temperatures, lessen wear at high pressures, aid in pouring, reduce oxidation, keep dirt in suspension, and many other things.
When a lubrication scientist wants to formulate a new oil, he or she looks at the job that needs to be done, picks the correct base stock, and adds in the appropriate additives in the appropriate quantities. It’s really not all that hard, and manufacturers have lubricants crafted for speciality uses all the time – some of those being companies marketing to gun owners.
Here’s the important thing to understand: the qualities of the base stocks are well known, as are the additives and their benefits. Many additives have been in use for many decades, and their effects and any interactions are very well understood. As tribologists have told me, there are very few (if any) proprietary or heretofore unknown ingredients in the lubrication business.
Given all that, what are the chances that our garage inventor is going to discover a new and revolutionary lubricant or additive, one which has somehow eluded everyone else? I’d say slim to none, but the snake oil salesmen would have you believe it happens all the time.
Let’s be clear: there are no new, revolutionary lubricant products made for firearms. The ingredients are readily available to any engineer; specific combinations of base stocks and additives might be unique, but it’s all been tried before – if not necessarily on firearms. Just remember, any legitimate gun lube is going to be made up of readily available components, perhaps blended especially for the requirement, but will not be a miracle.
Stick with what works. Leave the snake oil to the people who use it best: weight loss supplement makers.
One caveat: avoid chlorine!
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
