I can’t comment on his choice as I have not used 3 in 1. I have however used Ballistol and Kroil for years with no problems. 3 in 1 has been around for a long time, I would suspect it is a good product.

 

I like Ballistol for my rifles because it doesn’t harm the wood.

I use synthetic car oil and/or grease for my SA pistols.

 

many many years ago, I used a drop or two of 3 in 1. today, and for a long time, I use ballistol, hoppe's, and froglube. 3 in 1 runs and freezes quicker.

 

I remember my dad using 3 in 1 to lubricate everything from a squeaky door hinge to my bicycle chain and sprocket. He used it to loosen up rusty bolts and nuts too. I used for many years for similar purposes. It is great. I never used it in a firearm. I suspect it would be OK, but I think it presents one problem. It does last long on a firearm it might tend to accumulate residue especially as it ages. I come from the school of keep your gun clean. So I clean it regularly and give it a fresh dab of Ballistol.

 

I have a copy of Sharpe's book "The Rifle in America" and somewhere in it, he comments that 3 in 1 oil is the worst lubricant for firearms. Can't recall if there was an explanation and if so, I can't recall what the explanation was and further, this is a seventy or eighty year old book. Things must have changed since then but in any event, I have never used a gun oil other then Hoppe's gun oil and I have never had a negative result. I'm seventy or eighty also.

My experience only, others may vary.

 

3 in 1 is right up there with LSA, for having a strong smell🙄
I use CLP and Rem oil for light oil and Gun Butter or gun grease where needed.

 

I have a personal policy .... gun products for guns, household products for the house, and automotive products for cars. Most people use way too much oil, or use the wrong oil on their firearms. It's not a piece of farm machinery or a wheel bearing. It's just a gun that needs a very fine film of oil .... not for lubrication but for rust prevention.

 

I agree in part...in your opinion, where does 3 in 1 oil lie in that? Inasmuch as it's a rust preventative and a lubricant.

 

I always have a can around. Good all purpose stuff for around the house, bikes, automotive stuff, tools and such.
I do not use it on my firearms.

 

3 in 1 is a Great light weight machine oil ...
It has been around for decades lubricating sewing machines and delicate moving parts .
What I Hate about gun oils is the Price they charge ...
Lucas Gun Oil ... smells , looks and feels like their ATF ... but costs considerably more .
I would rater have a Quart of 3 in 1 oil or Marvel Mystey Oil or Automatic Transmission Fluid that one of the high priced 1 oz. bottles of "gun" oil ...
3 in 1 has been on my bench for 50+ years and my mom and grand mother used it on their sewing machines before that .
It's good Light Weight Machine Oil ,
just use it in the right place !
Gary

 

Here is an interesting article I found about 3-in-1 oil:

G. W. Cole Co., “Three In One”

The “G” stands for George W. Cole who is credited with the invention of Three-In-One Oil. Together, with J. Noah H. Slee, they developed and marketed this one single mixture to acco…

baybottles.com

but I don't use it on my firearms.

 

That was interesting, thanks for sharing.

 

I have used it to wipe down the exterior of my firearms for over 65 years now.

 

And admit it, it turned them all into Glocks.

😉

 

I was hoping a thread about lubes would come along. They're so rare and informative.

 

I’m with Iowegan. Gun oil for guns and car oil for cars. That way you don’t get things you don’t need.
Having studied oils and hydraulic fluid in aerospace there is a far more misinformation in lubes than good information, thank the web world.

 

As stated by “sbird” 3 in 1 oil has a strong smell. Once I finally realized that I stopped using it on my hunting guns, I have since stopped using it all together on my firearms. I now use Lucas and / or Hoppies, very lightly.

 

Being a fudd and contrarian I freely admit to using 3 in 1 oil on my firearms for over 50 years and have never found a reason the switch. Now for my one caveat, I never use any oils on my firing pins. For that I have always used graphite powder. I also use 3in1 on door hinges and locks. It is a great lubricant.

 

Be careful. Graphite Powder becomes abrasive when combined with friction. We used to use graphite on the Scout's Pinewood Derby cars. The graphite would cause the wheels to turn slower with every pass down the track. We switched to Lucas Oil, which does not run, and stays are lubes where it is put.

 

3in1 has been around a long time and stood the test of time and is good stuff. I keep a can around but have not used it on my guns only because I have enough gun lube to last me a lifetime but I still buy more.

I like how the OP snuck the thread in the back door by not asking what the best gun lube is but what do you think of 3in1.

I'll tell my mothers 3in1 story. She went to the beach and got her Timex wet. It froze up with rust and she sat on the porch took it apart and scraped the rust off and put 3in1 on it. It ran good for some time after that. That's probably why I use it.

 

i know WD-40 is the worst , after that i never considered 3 in 1 , WD-40 is like "what can i use to rust my firearm over night the best" , i started using CLP and have not had any issues since , also Hoppes #9 for bore cleaning

 

Way back their was a local gunsmith, now deceased. He swore by WD-40. Many days we would spray our shotguns down after duck hunting. Most folks say that is crazy now. But it surely did work. Never had an issue with rust.
I also use it for tools. When they get wet from being in the rain, I spray of WD-40 works very well to prevent rust.

 

I have used 3 in 1 oil for my entire gun / shooting life and I an almost 76 years old.
Never had a problem with rust, (I live in south Florida) or freezing up when I grew up in upstate New York.
Shotguns, rifles, pistols and revolvers all get 3 in 1 oil. I don't like to over think or over engineer anything.
For me simple is better.

 

I kill snakes, refine them, and use snake oil on my guns.

People used to use whale oil on their guns and I have too. It's good stuff if you can find it anymore. Killing a whale is a lot of trouble to get just a bottle of whale oil.....

 

I kill snakes, refine them, and use snake oil on my guns.

People used to use whale oil on their guns and I have too. It's good stuff if you can find it anymore. Killing a whale is a lot of trouble to got just a bottle of whale oil.....

 

Thank you all for all the great information! I now have the information i need to make an educated decision. I will keep it to myself as not to offend anyone. Schrodingers Cat!!!

 

😂🤣😂

 

Generally speaking, I believe applicators are more important than hyped magic oils. Get the right amount of oil where it's needed.

 

Absolutely! When I lube (not clean and lube) a bicycle chain I use one of those oil needle applicators and lube only the areas in contact between the plates and links of the chain. I never oil the outside as it collects road dust. No mess, and long lasting chains. I use them on my firearms also.

As this is a gun forum aned not a bicycle forum, I will let folks know that lubrication discussions on firearms forums are child's play compared to the bicycle forums. With bicycles, they can get up to 20 pages in one night before the Mods have to lock the thread. It gets even worse and really circles the drain if it includes chain waxing...

 

Red 3in1 has castrol oil that stiffens. Blue 3in1 is 20w oil. I never use red 3in1 and use blue in the past. Now a days there's much better choices. I like synthetic lubes, they don't stiffens.

 

When I was a kid back in the 80’s, all I had to use for my 1982 Rem 1100 shotgun was 3-1 oil and wd-40. I shot the crap out of it and cleaned it after every use. Still shoots like new today. However, lube technology and metallurgy are so much more advanced these days, that I would not use those products on my firearms. I subscribe to Iowegan’s advice on this topic.

 

Twice a year, I pull all my guns out of the safe and give them a "once over" cleaning. I use several drops of oil on the exterior and I apply an oily patch to the bore. With the number of firearms I own, it takes a couple years to go through a small 2 1/4 oz bottle of Hoppe's #9 Gun Oil. In the overall scheme of things, that's pretty cheap insurance for rust prevention .... a few cents per gun per year. A 2 1/4 oz bottle is 3 bucks, so if you can't afford a couple bucks a year, maybe you need a new hobby. What I DON'T do is hose a bunch of oil in the action. Even Hoppe's will evaporate and leave a gummy mess if you apply too much.

I have not found a single firearm that has more than 25 lbs of tension on mating parts. So, lubrication is not an issue like a car engine or farm machinery. If you use excess oil, it will puddle, where it will dry up and cause problems. All you need is a small drop per part .... just enough where you can spread the oil on the part and it still feels dry. This will provide rust prevention, which is the primary goal for gun oil.

 

I will second that and add a little short story.

I took a coworker to the range one day and he brought his Kahr that had not been shot for something like 1 1/2 - 2 years. His father in law was holding on to it at the time. We could not get 2 rounds in a row to chamber without pushing on the back of the slide. He was ready to get rid of it, so I asked if I could borrow it to see if I could figure it out. The gun had been over oiled what must have been 4-5 times without removing the old residue. Not sure if it was dried oil or grease, but it took me 45 minutes to get the rails clean. After cleaning and applying the correct amount of gun oil (Hoppes if you care), it ran like a new gun. Cleaned it a final time and gave it back to him. Amazing what it does for a firearm to just clean and lubricate regularly.

I have neither the experience or the number of firearms that many of you do, but with 3 rifles and 8 pistols, I can get behind on shooting all of them regularly. Like Iowegan, I pick a day every 6 months to line them all up, clean off any residual dirt, dust or dried oil, and reapply either Hoppes or Balistol. It doesn't take very long to do when half of them have either not been shot or shot sparingly, and it's worth the time and effort to know thy will work when I want them to.

I have bought 4 cleaning kits in my life, regularly shooting for the past 9 years. I have spilled more gun oil than I have put on guns and I still have some in each of those kits.

 

This post made me feel guilty because as I was reading it I looked at my desk and the 3in1 was casually sitting there right next to the Hoppe’s and the Militec and the smelly ones, Clenzoil and Kroil. I don’t know what it’s doing there! I do use it on locks and hinges and as a honing oil but not on guns…

 

I like it for honing oil still too. I like the dripper top