My 1st bayonet

Very nice 1943 F.W. Höller; it appears to be a nice, untouched, matching example. Please wipe it down with some Ballistol and that's all. It does not need to be taken apart and "super cleaned". Good score!!!
 
grimlin13 said:
If you don`t have any Ballistol, a light gun oil works. I use Rem oil and it costs less than Ballistol.
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I hate to start something on this forum, because this subject matter always generates great opinions and causes strong words, but I just can't resist, so here I go. Please don't kick me off of the forum over this but...........

Ballistol is a TERRIBLE thing to use on firearms and aluminum, because it forms a "harz" or resin on the item that is very hard, and very difficult to remove. My son is a German Master Gunmaker, and when we are in the company of his gunmaking friends, the conversation about Ballistol, usually comes up. They all start cussing, because Ballistol has such a good marketing department, and every German hunter slathers that stuff all over their guns and slings. After a few years, it forms into a yellowish resin, and is very hard to remove from the metal, and gums up the sandpaper when used on wood. It creeps down into the action, and gums up triggers and springs. After a few years, it actually makes leather brittle.

But the Ballistol marketing team says exactly the opposite, and market it as a non-resinating coating, and a leather softener. It is neither.

In the 1970s, they also marketed it as an aluminum preservative, and many motorcycle owners started putting it on their aluminum rims, carburetors and motor blocks. I can't tell you how many Bing carburetors and BMW /2 and /5 rims and hubs I've seen with a dirty yellow, almost unremovable, coating of resonated Ballistol I've seen over the years. My Avatar of the BMW R24 (not mine, but I do own one) should indicate that another of my hobbies is old BMW motorcycles.

But please, use anything but Ballistol on something you want to cherish. The only thing I used to use Ballistol for, was to clean my hunting dogs ears, and wipe his paws off with it when we went for a walk on a salted road in the winter. My son would scold me when he saw it on my workbench, until I told him what it is used for. Since my dog died a few months ago, all of the Ballistol went into the trash.

Please don't be too hard on me.
 
Possible other type of gun oil could be used by plain surface as is blade and scabbard it could be easily removed by alcohol. By similar bayonet as presented here, with old dark rust on pommel, there is nothing to do with gunoil there, it could be used a renwax for storage. The blade looks intact, what should be preserved is touching with bare hands.
 
I had been told that Ballistol was not what it is advertised to be. That it would build up over time with multiple applications. Plus, I am a cheap bastard and rem oil has always cost less.
 
What would be a good alternative then?
Something for long term storage that doesn't affect wood, bakelite, leather (if possible) or different metals.
Bonus points if it's odourless after a while.
Preferably also found in Europe.
 
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