Multi-use Kit Item

Always interested in what others carry in their kits and always adding and improving my own. For a long time now I've been carrying an item in my kit that I rarely see others list. It is a small container of mineral oil. This stuff is so versatile IMO it should be in any and all kits. Easily obtained at any drug store this substance can be used for everything from a laxative to a way to lubricate and protect you knives, to lubing your firearms. I use it for all that, and as a fire-starter and fuel. Instead of carrying Vaseline impregnated cotton balls (thereby making the cotton balls useless for anything else) I carry cotton balls and use the mineral oil on it. (I show it in a video poster below). This works with cattail duff as well. It can be used as lamp oil as well. Great stuff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJv-n...ature=youtu.be

edz

Thanks for a great post,thats really good info for everyone.

Your voice is spot on for Heath Ledger playing the Joker. Awesome.

God tip on the rest.

Food grade mineral oil is good stuff. I have a bottle sitting on my shop bench for knives. I don't carry it to the field, though. The advantage of PJ cotton balls over mineral oil is the PJ can be used for chapped lips, chafing, etc. While mineral oil can as well the PJ will stay in place longer because of it's viscosity. You know the saying, if it works for you then it works for me. Good post!

Good video. Thanks.

Thanks for the heads up.

I'm a big fan of Carmex, lip balm...in the little jar, have been for years.

Lot less messy than say a container of liquid, can coat your cotton balls, even tissue or TP, (sometimes I carry just the mini packs of tissue and use for TP) and used like cotton balls w/PJ,...... along with the medical uses.....have used it on scraps, bites, itchy stuff.

As the main ingredient is bees wax, catches a spark well.

A small roll of bailing wire! You can repair things with it, make fishing hooks, tie off tarps, make temporary fasteners for a back pack flap, make a new handle for your tin can cooker, on and on. I keep a roll of about 10 feet in my backpack, and have used it for many things, and the list is almost endless! Your leatherman tool is very handy for fabricating things from bailing wire!

FWIW, it might be of interest to those of us who are fans of Red Elk that he advocates putting a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a small bottle of honey in his "run kit." He is also a fan of the water socks, magnifying lenses, box cutter knives, and high power slingshots. Pretty smart -- for a shaman :) Ranger Rick lists about 7 or 8 uses, IIRC, for maalox. More than that for fiberglass tent poles. Multipurpose is as multipurpose does.

You mean Army Ranger Rick? There was that little issue with the National Wildlife Federation.

Careful now Rick. His spies will send him an email so that when he comes down from the mountain ski trip he can log on and excoriate you for bringing that up. Ciao.

I just wanted to make certain he wasn't talkin' about the raccoon.

http://www.nwf.org/~/media/Content/L...219&h=219&as=1

Nice vid! Can anyone tell me if mineral oil remains liquid/pourable in very cold temps? Normally I'm not out on the coldest days but it would be nice to have as extra insurance. The coldest I can ever remember it getting here is a bit below -35 F. Will the stuff pour at that temp?

The MSDS sheets for mineral oil do not list the freezing point, but do list the flash point.

Found this on multiple sources. -

Quote:

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30C(-22F) is listed as the freezing point for mineral oil. Due to viscosity (how thick the fluid is, basically), however, it's lowest useful temperature is considered to be 10C (50F).

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http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Freezing_t...al_heating_oil

While it will stay warmer packed in something, I imagine that it would be useful even when thick - frozen not as much.

There are a lot of mineral oils on the market with different blends and viscosities just like there are a lot of motor oils. So the pour points and freezing points will depend on the specific type of mineral oil. Most USP food grade mineral oils, the kind you would pick up at CVS or similar stores, is listed with a pour point at 20F and well below down to -21F so the freeze point would be below that. Although you'll see a lot of references to a freeze point of 22F (-30C) across the internet I don't happen to believe that number based on manufacturer's pour points.

So I don't have a freeze point number for you unfortunately. And I don't have any way to test oil to that temperature. I can only suggest you purchase some and set it outside when the air temp gets down that cold and see how it works. It's going to be dependent upon the specific oil you purchase.

http://www.sonneborn.com/literature/...prop_chart.pdf

https://www.hollandchemicals.com/static.asp?path=3249

I fill and pack food grade mineral oil in empty 1/2 oz eye drop bottles.Handy for lube & fire.

Not to mention that mineral oil is killer if you're constipated.
I'll go away now....

Potasium Permaganate I keep in my first aid kit, water purifying, any type fungus, douche, chemical fire when mixed with glycerin or anti freeze. In the thread earlier that vaseline is only useful for fireballs, I have used vaseline for gun grease, chapped lips,burns, fire starter, wind burn. If you have a cartridge mix the gun powder with vaseline into paste apply to string for fuse, apply to cord for wick.