Fixin' Wax

[Oldetexian]

I've seen a number of Youtube videos for different recipes for Fixin' Wax. They range fro half beeswax and half lard to more ingredients than I can count. Has anyone got a favorite recipe that they have made?

Also, has anyone used Fixin' Wax to seal their lock when hunting in rain or snow?

[Winter Hawk]

I'm afraid Fixin' Wax is a new one to me - are you talking about bullet/patch lube?

~Kees~

[Ohio Joe]

I've seen a number of Youtube videos for different recipes for Fixin' Wax. They range fro half beeswax and half lard to more ingredients than I can count. Has anyone got a favorite recipe that they have made?

Also, has anyone used Fixin' Wax to seal their lock when hunting in rain or snow?

Ingredients for Fixin’ Wax
2 parts tallow
1 part bees wax
shea butter (optional) – 1 tablespoon
essential oil (optional) – a few drops

https://survivalsherpa.wordpress.com/2014/02/27/a-simple-fixin-wax-recipe-for-fixin-stuff/

No reason a person couldn't use it as a patch lube if needed I would expect? And, if not to "runny" (which if leaving out the - (shea butter (optional) – 1 tablespoon,,, essential oil (optional) – a few drops),,, I see no reason you couldn't weather proof your lock...

Now I can't say as I've used this, but I'm always open to the home-made stuff. 

[Oldetexian]

Hey, Winterhawk. The best I can figure out is that Fixin' Wax is a "one product does all" concoction that was widely used in 18th & 19th centuries to waterproof, to soften leather, to work into wood and even as a rust inhibitor. Someone please correct me if I am off the mark.

The recipe posted by Ohio Joe was actually the one that sounds the best to me. From the videos the consistency of fixing' wax seems to be close to saddle soap, but I'll know more after I make up a batch. If it's any good I will share pictures and comments.

[Lonewolfe20]

I like mine on Ritz
Just kidding 

I’ll have to try this on some of the kids stuff
They unfortunately for them are my guinea kids I mean pigs!

The youngest has a pair of moccs I’m thinking of using this on

[Oldetexian]

Sounds perfect to me. Let me know how it works. I won't have a chance to make my batch until mid May since I will be traveling, but am looking forward to try it.

[Winter Hawk]

Thank you all for enlightening me!  See?  You CAN tach an old dog new tricks! 

~Kees~

P.s. I suggest making this a sticky so the recipe can be found easily!

[Oldetexian]

I originally "discovered" fixin' wax thru Youtube Bushcraft videos. The website shared by Ohio Joe, however, is excellent and is simple to follow. I definitely recommend it.

[Uncle Russ]

Mutton and Bees Wax have been used for years as a lube.
Many of us here are quite familiar with this combination!

I use it myself, use it quite often.....that is if I'm not playing or experimenting with some Gawdawful concoction that is guaranteed to be some "magic group tightner" that I have yet to find, at least so far.
Still yet, some lubes are preferred over others.
There are likely as many "secret lube recipes" as there are Muzzleloaders shooting these things, and I personally think that is a good thing.

Anyway, it was the other two ingredients that really caught my eye so I had to explore that a bit, out of curiosity.
Shea butter...sounds good, like something you might spread on a piece of toast, so here's what I found.
The shea tree grows naturally in the wild in the dry savannah belt of West Africa from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east, and onto the foothills of the Ethiopian highlands. It occurs in 21 countries across the African continent, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya and Guinea.

Shea butter is mainly used in the cosmetics industry for skin- and hair-related products (lip gloss, skin moisturizer creams and emulsions, and hair conditioners for dry and brittle hair).[12] It is also used by soap makers and massage oil manufacturers such as UNAVA, typically in small amounts, because it has plenty of unsaponifiables, and higher amounts result in softer soaps that have less cleaning abilities.
Does this kinda remind anyone of "Murphy's Oil"

Essential Oil....The name alone tells me I definitely need some.  simply because it is essential.
Essential oils are the highly concentrated version of the natural oils in plants.

Getting essential oils from plants is done with a process called distillation, most commonly distillation by steam or water, where many parts of the plants are being used, including the plant roots, leaves, stems, flowers, or bark.

After distillation, the outcome is a highly concentrated portion of essential oil, which will have the characteristic fragrance and properties of the plant from which it was extracted, and contain the true essence of the plant it came from. This includes the smell, but also the plant’s healing properties and other plant characteristics.


This is all terribly interesting and has me asking...."if we left these two items as "optional" as Joe suggested, and perhaps substitute a drop or three of Murphys, would we have a very similar product to "Fixin' Wax"...
I feel quite confident that we would have as good, if not a better lube than many products on the market being sold today as "The Best Lube Ever"! 
 

[Ohio Joe]

Russ, you're on to something there with the Murphy's Oil Soap I believe.

In reality, I don't know if it's even possible to ever get a close count of all the different marketed and home-made patch lubes out there,,, it's such a broad area.  I'm always rethinking my patch lubes and testing them, and in reality I pretty much get the same results with all of 'em.

The spit patch IMHO is the way to go for target shooting, however you do need a good patch lube for when you run out of spit on a hot day,,, as well as needing a patch lube for hunting as to not ever risk a rust ring where the patched ball may set in the bore of your rifle for a day(s), weeks, even months... Now this last part opens up another thought;

What did our ancestors use for a patch lube? I'm to the point where I'm beginning to think they used spit after their first shot, because I bet they walked or rode their horse to that local shoot after taking ol' Betsy down from above the fireplace mantle - and ol' Betsy was probably cleaned and reloaded before putting her back above the fire place mantle - and I bet she was'a loaded with a "grease patched ball" as not to risk the rust ring a spit patch can cause setting in a bore - over and over again. It wouldn't surprise me if all walks of lives back in the 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / and to this day - those who hunt seriously and know what they're doing with their smoke-pole,,, load with a lubed patch in that ol' meat get'er if'n it's gonna possibly set for any amount of time while loaded.

So, what does this have to do with today's patch lubes and potential patch lubes we may come up with???

Well, I'm thinking,,, are we looking in the right places for these patch lube idea's? What would our ancestors have had available to them without today's science of ingredients for potential patch lubes to use to make their lube? Who knows, some might of just used opossum fat and called it good, but they could only use what was available to them.

Now just speaking for myself, I've found spit to be really good for target shooting, and I've found spit on a lubed patch to be just as good and perhaps even a bit better. 

IMHO, finding or making a homemade patch lubes is just an extension of our hobby/sport we enjoy so much.