Legend has it that old tyme muzzleloaders used whale oil for their patched ball lube and that it is the best for that purpose. The legend may have some validity as modern lubes, petroleum based, just seem incompatible with black powder residue, making reloading difficult and accuracy poor. If ever I find a small quantity I will try it for that purpose but I don't plan on melting down a whale to get a couple ounces. Tried Jojoba oil but it wasn't too effective. Now I use nasty smelling Ballistol which works well.
As late as 1972 the limited slip differential that GM put on cars and light trucks seemed to have a high failure rate. Twice I had to replace mine in new cars within the first year. The problem was the parts waiting for assembly probably acquired some rust on their working surface which caused the failure. But the replacement parts came in nice and clean and were bathed in whale oil which seemed to end the problems. Can't say what happened after that because I got fed up with GM and haven't been back since.
