'Eco-friendly' alternative to 3in1 oil?
- Thread starter jackorion
- Start date
How about using whetstones or diamond stones? No oil at all, just water.
Or this.
road.cc
Or this.
Green Oil EcoSpray Lube
Credible alternative to heavy-duty PTFE lubes, albeit pricier than some
I recommend Balilistol as well, it is very versatile, food safe and works very well to make leather supple and increase the water resistance.
https://ballistol.co.uk/products/ballistol-universal-oil?variant=39852136333494
https://ballistol.co.uk/products/ballistol-universal-oil?variant=39852136333494
Unsure if that really can be recommended.
Since we issued that in the army we lost every war.
Since we issued that in the army we lost every war.
Unless you are getting through gallons of the stuff, to be honest I think life is a bit too short to worry about the fact that 3in1 oil is petroleum based. It's not as if you are burning it anyhow, and given the volume of oil that is extracted and refined every year, i'd wager that the embodied energy within the little 3in1 oil can is likely significantly less than that within so called 'eco' alternatives. Hence, you may be making a greener choice by sticking with the 3in1....
Yes, but no as well.
That's an easy stance to take - it's only a little thing and makes no difference, so don't bother.
And because of that nothing changes.
Yes, individually it may make no difference, but if we all took that position then nothing changes.
Yes, there are bigger crimes out there.
But if one person makes that change it may inspire someone else, and so on. And eventually those who make these products will have to change when sales dry up.
Think of it like driving a car. You're stuck in traffic and getting fed up. There's a car that wants to pull out from the left. You could think, 'sod it, I've waited long enough and I'm not letting anyone in'. But have you noticed that when you do allow that driver to pull out that within a few hundred yards they reciprocate and let someone else out, and so on? Your small act of kindness to one person has cascaded on and made a third, and possibly a fourth, fifth, and so on, person happy.
That small act of yours made a difference.
And so one person deciding to no longer use a small tin of 3-in-1 oil may have a bigger effect.
I have moved from oil stones many years ago, but about 4 years ago I came across a load of very good quality oil stones, that were sticky and smooth.
I set a old pan of soap water on a fire, and boiled most of the oil out and scrubbed them a lot, and repeat again. They came up very good, and now I use them with just water. They work very well
I set a old pan of soap water on a fire, and boiled most of the oil out and scrubbed them a lot, and repeat again. They came up very good, and now I use them with just water. They work very well
Indeed, we need everyone to be imperfect by only doing small things (like this) rather than the minority of people being perfectly green.
I do get your point, but in my view that over simplifies how society works. Some people who are already passionate about a subject, cause etc will be happy to be led by others that think similarly, and will make a change simply upon the ethics or perceived ethics of a scenario. Most people however will not make a change unless it makes sense to them and their own beliefs. I have worked in sustainability for my whole career and do frequently find that the relentless push for sustainability/environmentally sound practices by the passionate few so frequently misses the fundamental point that the wider masses do not yet think the same as that minority do. Yes, that doesn't mean that great efforts must be made to bring societies' thinking and values around to the correct path, but that's a very long term goal.
Rapid and immediate improvements are made by acknowledging that most people have different priorities and values, and amending approaches accordingly such that 'going green' etc makes sense to the majority without overly impacting how they go about their day to day lives. OK, I have moved a little away from the can of 3in1 oil discussed by the OP, but i do think the same is true - of course everyone is able to (and ought to) make green choices in their lives, but it is critical that first, the wider picture is considered. Frequently things sold/pushed as eco conscious choices and practices are actually more damaging to the environment - environmental credentials are rightly a powerful commercial marketing tool.
Before we blindly snap up everything sold as 'green' and feel better about ourselves for doing so, we need to take the time to think through the full lifecycle and implications of that choice to understand whether it is a truly environmentally better practice. And if - after this critical analysis - it transpires that at present it is actually not the better environmental choice, we then weigh up whether the opting for the choice regardless sends a sufficient message to society that the influence it would have down the line would outweigh the additional environmental impact it would have at present. My personal view is that a 100ml tin of 3in1 oil to lubricate a sharpening stone would not stack up against this test....
...sort of off topic, but petroleum jelly is a natural substance. It has been used for a least hundreds of years and probably thousands.
It was known to Marco Polo (baku oil, iirc ) it was known to the native Americans from around the tar pits.
The original oil well drillers found the stuff building up at the top of their drill fittings, and found that it was both an emolient and an excellent small wound healer.
It's good stuff.
3 in 1 oil is of Victorian origin. It was advertised to clean, lubricate and protect bike chains, without coming off as grease on clothing.
Again, it's all 'natural' even if the naphtha is extracted from peat or coal originally.
I understand and do take on board all the environmental issues of using coal and oil, but the origins of both of those are every bit as natural as the trees growing now.
It was known to Marco Polo (baku oil, iirc ) it was known to the native Americans from around the tar pits.
The original oil well drillers found the stuff building up at the top of their drill fittings, and found that it was both an emolient and an excellent small wound healer.
It's good stuff.
3 in 1 oil is of Victorian origin. It was advertised to clean, lubricate and protect bike chains, without coming off as grease on clothing.
Again, it's all 'natural' even if the naphtha is extracted from peat or coal originally.
I understand and do take on board all the environmental issues of using coal and oil, but the origins of both of those are every bit as natural as the trees growing now.
It's only because you weren't using it properly...
I take care of the wide assortment of wood carving gouges, adzes and crooked knives as many of them were quite expensive. As in $50 - $100 each. I abandoned all stones and plates in favor of 3M silicon carbide fine automotive finishing sand papers. The papers can be used water-wet to carry away the swarf or dry which is a very simple and effective approach.
My usual range begins with 600 or 800 and finishes with 1500 grit ( measured nominal 3 micrometer). Scanning Electron Microscope pictures show there's no value in going beyond this to finer grits.
But, each to their own. In the past 10+ years, I've found no reason to search for more effective abrasives.
My usual range begins with 600 or 800 and finishes with 1500 grit ( measured nominal 3 micrometer). Scanning Electron Microscope pictures show there's no value in going beyond this to finer grits.
But, each to their own. In the past 10+ years, I've found no reason to search for more effective abrasives.
