3-in-1 oil was formulated in 1894 by George W Cole. 20+ years ago I had acquired an older Lufkin 0"-1" micrometer on which the thimble could hardly be turned it was stuck up with old grimy oil. I carefully managed to get it apart & cleaned it up with acetone. Then just to see what it would do I oiled it with
3-in-1. From that time to this it has not had a drop of any other oil applied. To this day it still has as smooth a motion & as sweet a feel as any micrometer I used in my 35+ years as a machinist. Not bad for an approximately 125 year old product.
3-in-1 was given its name because it "Cleaned, Lubricated & Protected" against rust, the "Original" CLP if you will. A lot of these old products did their job while many ff the newer ones are answers to non-existent problems with Fancy Names & matching Fancy Price Tags.
