Has anyone tried using Camellia (Tsubaki) oil as lubricant?

[der123chang]

Hi all, recently I've been having a hard time twisting my Yard-O-Led Viceroy Grand barrel into the section completely. I read on various posts that using silicone grease such as Dow Corning Molykote as lubricant is recommended for Fountain Pens.

Unfortunately I don't have any pure silicone grease. What I DO have, is a bottle of Japanese Pure Cammellia Oil (100% Tsubaki Oil) that I use to clean and maintain knives. It is applied on high carbon steel knives, katana etc during maintenance to prevent rust and corrosion, and is marketed as safe for ceramics, plastics and rubber (From distributor sites: 包丁、鉈、ナイフなど、刃物なら何にでも使える刃物専用の保存用油で、 無味、無臭、不乾燥性です。 またセラミックやプラスチック、ゴムなどに付着しても影響が無いので...) so I actually tried it as an alternative to provide some lubrication to the threads on the barrel and section, as well as its o-ring.

My question is has anyone found alternative non-silicone lubricants like Tsubaki Oil that potentially can be used without issue? Is it even a good idea to use it in the first place to lube a pen or should I just get some silicone grease asap?

 

[Claes]

Camellia oil is a good rust protector, and a light lubricator.

A grease, however, is intended to lubricate and to stay in place.

 

Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden

 

 

[der123chang]

It's not a heavy duty lubricant, that's for sure. I haven't found any discussions about use it on pens though so I was a bit worried whether it could affect pens with resin barrels/sections.

 

I have a few resin pens that have slightly squeaky threads that could benefit from a small amount of lubricants so if stuff like Camellia oil works, I can probably put off purchasing a tube of silicone lube.

[Claes]

This is an interesteing area!

 

If you look at eBay, you will for example find Helicoid grease, with or without PTFE (a.k.a teflon), and with/without lithium. Also, it can be had in several grades of damping. The main use for this is to lubricate the focusing helix in camera lenses; by selecting a certain grade, you decide how much force will be needed to operate the focusing helix.

 

Unfortunately, their effect on pen materials are not publicized, they are sold in (for us) giant containers at uncomfortable prices.

 

In case you want to learn more, see: https://www.nyelubricants.com/

 

Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden

[Claes]

@der123chang

 

>worried whether it could affect pens with resin barrels/sections

 

To make the thing a bit more complicated: all resins are not born equal.

Some are precious, others are not.

 

Honda formerly used a silicon grease manufactured by the Japanese company Shin-Etsu for sensitive areas:

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2019/09/26/hondas-secret-weapon-squeaks-door-leaks-shin-etsu

 

[Ron Z]

Please don't do that.  This is a case where using a product because it is expedient (you have it) instead of getting the right material could cause damage to the pen.  It might not be immediate, but could cause problems down the road.  With few exceptions, I don't use petroleum products with pens unless  I know that they won't come in contact with plastics of any kind, or hard rubber.  A case where I might use it is lubricating the metal threads on the piston in a pen like the Conklin Nozac, and then a very limited amount.

 

The Molykote 111 is a pure silicone grease intended for use with 0-rings.  Dow-Corning says that it is safe for "most" plastics, which is a case of leaving room for unknown exceptions.  Talking with a chemistry professor about  it after showing the application data and MSDS to him, his comment is that it is pretty inert stuff, and safe for pens.  I've been using it for over a decade, more like 15 years with no problems.  It is readily available and fairly reasonably priced.  A  common problem when lubrication is used, even with silicone grease, is applying way too much. More is not better - small bit  goes a long way.

 

An alternative would be silicone grease from a scuba/dive shop. 

[der123chang]

Thanks for the input and info Claes & Ron, I went ahead and ordered a tube of molykote lube. I also found some helicoid grease for sale where I live, but it was twice as expensive as the molykote and therefore decided to go with the tried and tested molykote 111. I'd feel like (bleep) if any damage were to occur in the off chance that the specific resin and tsubaki oil don't play nice with one another.

I actually looked into it on the manufacturer site, and the tsubaki/camellia oil includes mineral oil, camellia seed oil, triethylhexanoin and yellow 204. So better safe than sorry I guess.