mink oil

NorthFork said:

While I'm not convinced TOW mink oil (more like a grease) has any measurable amount of mink anything in it, I use it and thunk it's a great lube for those who don't want to bother with making their own patch lube. I've never noticed any foul odors either.

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So what is your secret source of information? They describe it as a grease. All rendered animal fats have a temperature point where they go from liquid to grease form. TOTW could decide to sue you for slander if you can't prove that statement. This forum's users push their product. I'll bet they can back up their claim (see below)
According to TOTW website:
"Not a liquid, Mink Oil Tallow is actually a soft grease, the tallow rendered from mink fat. Also used as a leather balm, do not confuse our pure Mink Oil tallow with the synthetic blends sometimes sold at shoe stores as Mink Oil Brand leather waterproofing. They are entirely different!

Certain animal fats have far better lubricity than vegetable oils, petroleum, or synthetic lubricants. Best of all, they stay soft and useful in sub-zero temperatures. Many of the modern miracle-wonder lubes freeze solid at low temperatures, and become impossible to load.

Old time shooters prepared their own patch lubricants and bullet lubricants. Sperm Whale Oil was a favorite (now illegal). Bear Oil (rendered bear tallow) was another good choice (now restricted). Beef tallow works okay, in warm weather. Mink Oil is our best choice."

Trapper's Mink Oil is excellent quality, pure and clean with no aroma, and very slippery.

Black powder cartridge shooters may prefer to harden it with beeswax, but it works well as-is. Long range shooters report cleaner bores after several shots.

1Longbow said:

Anyone use mink oil for a cast bullet lube?

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If you are talking about cast bullets intended for a muzzle loader, .....Yes it could be used.
Cartridge destine bullets would need a lube to be much stiffer, and are something we can't discuss.
For years when I shot conicals I used the CVA lube in a squeeze tube I't messy but works just fine, it's also far less stiff than mink oil.. I was primarily using T/C maxi balls.

Beeswax and olive oil makes a good lube, you can adjust the consistency by controlling the amount of beeswax. It's relatively cheap, non greasy and messy, has a pleasant smell, is edible and lasts for decades.

Has a smell for sure but its definitely the best lube ive used in my squirrel rifle

marsh trapper said:

Has a smell for sure but its definitely the best lube ive used in my squirrel rifle

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Best lube in my squirrel rifle has always been spit.
Everyone has their favorite lube, except for those who haven't found it yet.

Griz44Mag said:

So what is your secret source of information? They describe it as a grease. All rendered animal fats have a temperature point where they go from liquid to grease form. TOTW could decide to sue you for slander if you can't prove that statement. This forum's users push their product. I'll bet they can back up their claim (see below)
According to TOTW website:
"Not a liquid, Mink Oil Tallow is actually a soft grease, the tallow rendered from mink fat. Also used as a leather balm, do not confuse our pure Mink Oil tallow with the synthetic blends sometimes sold at shoe stores as Mink Oil Brand leather waterproofing. They are entirely different!

Certain animal fats have far better lubricity than vegetable oils, petroleum, or synthetic lubricants. Best of all, they stay soft and useful in sub-zero temperatures. Many of the modern miracle-wonder lubes freeze solid at low temperatures, and become impossible to load.

Old time shooters prepared their own patch lubricants and bullet lubricants. Sperm Whale Oil was a favorite (now illegal). Bear Oil (rendered bear tallow) was another good choice (now restricted). Beef tallow works okay, in warm weather. Mink Oil is our best choice."

Trapper's Mink Oil is excellent quality, pure and clean with no aroma, and very slippery.

Black powder cartridge shooters may prefer to harden it with beeswax, but it works well as-is. Long range shooters report cleaner bores after several shots.

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Some of you folks on this forum need to lighten up a bit! All I said was that I'm not convinced the stuff is 100% pure mink oil. Pure mink oil is expensive. More expensive then what they sell that tin for. I use it and I like it whatever it is. Sue me for slander, what a laugh. There are more armchair internet lawyers then you can shake a stick at and their opinions on the law are only that.

People on the web look for stuff to argue about. It is easy when you are anonymous and know it all. The model airplane forums are the same.
I looked mink oil up. and it is more expensive. One site had it for $122/gallon. Is there a difference between mink oil and mink oil tallow? That might be where the difference is. I would think oil would have to stay liquid in a gallon jug, and tallow would get thick with temperature.

EC121 said:

People on the web look for stuff to argue about. It is easy when you are anonymous and know it all. The model airplane forums are the same.
I looked mink oil up. and it is more expensive. One site had it for $122/gallon. Is there a difference between mink oil and mink oil tallow? That might be where the difference is. I would think oil would have to stay liquid in a gallon jug, and tallow would get thick with temperature.

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Bingo, give the man a ribbon.
Oh, and yes, some folks like to dribble slander without having any real knowledge or information about what they are discussing.

Griz44Mag said:

Bingo, give the man a ribbon.
Oh, and yes, some folks like to dribble slander without having any real knowledge or information about what they are discussing.

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Well I see you are referring to me again. You keep using the word slander. You don't know what you are talking about. The correct word you should be using is libel. And stating ones opinion on the makeup of a substance is neither slander (the spoken form of defamation), nor libel (the written form of defamation). There is a strict legal definition of defamation. If you choose to accuse me of defamation, then at least know which type it is.

The average retail cost of 100% pure mink oil is $10-$15 per 4 ounces currently. TOW sells their patch lube in 8oz tins for $6.99. Do the math. Law allows great latitude in product descriptions (save medical devices, drugs, etc) and the law allows great latitude in free speech. I'll say it again, WHATEVER THE SUBSTANCE IS IN TOW MINK OIL LUBE, IT'S GREAT STUFF. I just don't believe that it is 100% pure rendered mink anything. Does it contain mink something? I'm sure it does. The main point is that it is great stuff regardless.

NorthFork said:

Well I see you are referring to me again. You keep using the word slander. You don't know what you are talking about. The correct word you should be using is libel. And stating ones opinion on the makeup of a substance is neither slander (the spoken form of defamation), nor libel (the written form of defamation). There is a strict legal definition of defamation. If you choose to accuse me of defamation, then at least know which type it is.

The average retail cost of 100% pure mink oil is $10-$15 per 4 ounces currently. TOW sells their patch lube in 8oz tins for $6.99. Do the math. Law allows great latitude in product descriptions (save medical devices, drugs, etc) and the law allows great latitude in free speech. I'll say it again, WHATEVER THE SUBSTANCE IS IN TOW MINK OIL LUBE, IT'S GREAT STUFF. I just don't believe that it is 100% pure rendered mink anything. Does it contain mink something? I'm sure it does. The main point is that it is great stuff regardless.

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Not a lawyer, but I don't think libel, slander or defamation can apply when people are using aliases.
If either of you can cite some case law I'd sure be interested in seeing it.

As for the mink oil, I think you guys are squabbling over the differences between rendering and refinement.
100% oil can be pressed, rendered or refined and gives different products, all are 100%.
Process affects the price.

Mink oil is very popular among black powder shooters, so much so that track of the wolf sells it.

Now if I could just find some beaver tail oil.

Here's something to move folks who want to move beyond the yammering and finger pointing.

A bud is a career food scientist, using his degrees in food chemistry and food engineering to try inventing the next turkey baloney or some such. He's also a dedicated muzzlestuffer and fan of TOW mink tallow. He's convinced that it's an emulsified product made from at least a couple of other oils or waxes in addition to mink oil. Hasn't put it to the chemistry test, but he's got a countertop emulsifying machine for making things such as the cold cream folks smear on their faces from water, wax and fats or oils. He can combine some pretty amazing things you'd never mix on a stovetop to produce just about any "texture" and stiffness you want. He's basing his "cold cream" assessment on its temperature stability in particular. It just doesn't act like a tallow as the weather heats and cools.

Kinda far from how our forebears would have done anything, but it's hard to argue with results. Once you'd settled on ingredients and balanced them for the texture you wanted, the actual emulsifying would be pretty darned easy and cheap. I've quizzed him repeatedly on what he thought was in the TOW tallow, and he won't voice a guess, even as he smiles and gets a gleam in his eye. Purty inneresting, because when he gets like that I've learned the mad scientist is at work in his basement.

From what I understand, mink’s oil is obtained by gently wringing the live mink over a pot. Enough oil is expressed but the animal is not killed, and in fact the process to them is akin to visiting the chiropractor for humans, they quite enjoy it.

BrownBear said:

He's convinced that it's an emulsified product .

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He's probably right.
My guess is an emulsion naturally forms from the extraction process using steam and water as opposed to using nasty chemicals. Further refinement would be necessary to remove the water emulsion and return it to an oil. naturally a combination of
It's also notable that mink oil is a combination of 20 different fatty acids with oleic being the most prevalent.

Carbon 6 said:

Not a lawyer, but I don't think libel, slander or defamation can apply when people are using aliases.
If either of you can cite some case law I'd sure be interested in seeing it.

As for the mink oil, I think you guys are squabbling over the differences between rendering and refinement.
100% oil can be pressed, rendered or refined and gives different products, all are 100%.
Process affects the price.

Mink oil is very popular among black powder shooters, so much so that track of the wolf sells it.

Now if I could just find some beaver tail oil.

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No, you are correct for the most part. No one is truly anonymous online. Suit can be brought against someone posting online but do you know the reason why defamation suits are rarely brought to court (and then when they are, rarely won)? Defamation is VERY hard to prove. Also in order to bring a defamation suit, the complainant must bring prove the he/she suffered undue hardship or monetary loss due to the slander or libel.

As for the quabbling over what's it in the product, Brownbears post about his friends theory is very likely accurate.

Also this is not the first time anyone on this forum has 'dared' question the contents of the mink oil tin. Do a search and see for yourself. 'Nobody' knows and if they do they are not saying. Yet it remains a popular seller for TOW and rightfully so.

without a doubt, tow's mink oil has beeswax in it. When i bought a jar years ago, it had that smokey beeswax smell to it. It works good for me at the time but the smell was just not my favorite.

Love Mink oil in all seasons. Have not noticed aroma. Gets a bit soft when it’s in the 90s so I prelube my linen patches before heading to range and keep them in an old plastic 35mm film canister when it gets too warm.

I use it and it works for me. I could give a rat's a** what's in it nor how it smells. What works well for me may not be yer cup o' tea!

Smokey Plainsman said:

From what I understand, mink’s oil is obtained by gently wringing the live mink over a pot. Enough oil is expressed but the animal is not killed, and in fact the process to them is akin to visiting the chiropractor for humans, they quite enjoy it.

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LOL, no Smokey. That's likely the milking from the scent glands! And they do have a scent very akin to an unaltered ferret.
(My sister raised both commercially about 40 years ago.)

NorthFork said:

Well I see you are referring to me again.

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Odd how you can go the the depths of looking up the SDS on WD40 and do the research to find out how each ingredient behaves and what it is used for just so you can counter a statement by the OP of that thread, BUT you will make an accusation on another supplier's product that you have have no facts or proofs that what you believe may or may not be the truth.

NorthFork said:

I'll say it again, WHATEVER THE SUBSTANCE IS IN TOW MINK OIL LUBE, IT'S GREAT STUFF.

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We do agree that the product sold by TOTW is a very good product for what it is sold for - lube.

I think it was EC121 that stated he saw Mink oil for $122 a gallon, that's .95 cents an ounce.
So that same 95 cents and ounce would place TOTW tin (8 oz) at $7.06. Looks pretty close to me.
And if you bought it in 55 gallon barrels, bet the price would drop considerably. I do not see a price disparity.
Just because someone advertises a product at 10 times what it's worth does not mean it is worth that.

Regardless how it is made, I really like the stuff and it has many fans for sure. I have a fresh tin ready to go and if anything to me it smells just a bit “meaty”, like a very very mild bacon’s fat.

Griz44Mag said:

Odd how you can go the the depths of looking up the SDS on WD40 and do the research to find out how each ingredient behaves and what it is used for just so you can counter a statement by the OP of that thread, BUT you will make an accusation on another supplier's product that you have have no facts or proofs that what you believe may or may not be the truth.



We do agree that the product sold by TOTW is a very good product for what it is sold for - lube.

I think it was EC121 that stated he saw Mink oil for $122 a gallon, that's .95 cents an ounce.
So that same 95 cents and ounce would place TOTW tin (8 oz) at $7.06. Looks pretty close to me.
And if you bought it in 55 gallon barrels, bet the price would drop considerably. I do not see a price disparity.
Just because someone advertises a product at 10 times what it's worth does not mean it is worth that.

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Took 30 seconds on Google for the wd-40 sds. It wasn't to counter the OPs post. It was to dispel the misinformation in that thread that wd-40 contained water. I don't know why you are acting the way you are over my original comment on my doubts as to the % content of the TOW product but it's getting silly. I suggest you do a search on this forum for TOW mink oil. I'm not the only one who has questioned what is in the product. There is another gentleman in this very thread who has a story concerning the possible ingredients and yet you are not hounding him. Most everyone (including me) says no matter what it is, the lube works great yet apparently this is not good enough for you. TOW does not make the sds for their lube readily available for the public. I don't care that much to go "into the depths looking for it".