Petrolatum is closer to a wax

by JohnKDM, Thursday, June 12, 2025, 20:49 (14 days ago) @ Dave B

Than some other petro products. A simple mix of vaseline and beeswax works pretty well. Vary the ratio for stiffness.

OTOH, i once assisted two other men in trying to remove a stuck cleaning rod from a Shiloh 1874. The owner was using his 'regular' hard smokeless bullet lube. Two held the rifle while i endeavored to pull the stuck patch out. The bore was absolutely hard crusted with fowling.

My favorite is one of Paul Matthew's:

2 parts yellow beeswax
1 part Pure Neatsfoot Oil
1 part Murphy’s Oil Soap

(easy to make in 8-oz batches)

1) Melt 4 oz of beeswax in the microwave. Usually 6-8 minutes is about the right time.
2) Stir in 2 oz of Neatsfoot oil when beeswax is melted. Stir until the mixture is lumpfree.
3) Stir in 2 oz of Murphy’s Oil Soap, stirring continuously as the soap is added. Again, mix until there are no lumps.
4) Pour into storage containers as soon as batch is well mixed.

This can be remelted and used to pan lube.

My sharps and double have never fouled out using it using just a blow tube