I have experimented with bullet lubricants for 40 years. The development of Alox 50-50 showed the possibility of finding a still better lubricant. I am a chemist and this is the cause of big problems. I can visualize numerous ways to create bullet lube ingredients which MIGHT work better. Most I have tested have not worked, but some have and might have advantages except no one will use them. Why, because no one is going to pay 10 or 100 times the cost of a current stick of lube for MAYBE a little improvement.
A lot of things are possible to make, however I did not have to make them myself, I bought many of them out of a catalog. However the prices would stop your heart, custom synthesis is expensive. So what do we do for our lubricants? We parasitize off of industry! We would not have Alox if it were just used as a bullet lube, or we could have it for $50 a stick. Industry uses it by the ton, so we can get a few pounds for our bullets. Face it, we are small potatoes. I was at the airport last weekend talking to a jet mechanic. Aircraft tend to use some of the most advanced technology. The wheel bearing lube they use is a totally synthetic lithium base lube. Neat stuff it is a semi-soilid rub it and it becomes a liquid, stop rubbing it solidifies. It does not bleed or dry out, extreme temperature stability -65 to +350 F, not your typical NAPA auto product. Wow, I have to try this in my beeswax/lithium grease lube. Eighty dollars for a little tub! What was it I said about cost? I may have to rethink this. Aviation is small potatoes too. Fortunately the choices for lube ingredients today are growing. The industry of making candles has become a big business. Ingredients are available to make better candles, many have possible uses in bullet lubricants. Oil bleeding is a big problem for candle makers. So Vybar additives are offered at five bucks a pound to bind oils. If you want to incorporate an oil in a lube and don't want it to bleed into the powder this may be the solution. The push for “natural ingredients” to satisfy the tie-dyed t-shirt crowd has caused the production of soy wax for candles. Soy wax is on my test list, it may be a good replacement for Crisco or tallow. Soy wax is stable and does not get rancid, a big advantage. Unnoticed by the naturalists, making soy wax requires a high pressure hydrogen reactor with nickel catalyst. Soybean oil may be natural, but soy wax is an industrial product, please don't tell them. I am using beeswax/jojoba oil lube in most of my shooting. It is two natural products, not beholden to big industry or chemical synthesis. The more I think about this, the more I like it. I may have to get me one of those t-shirts. Steve
