Originally Posted by
79pmooney
I seem to remember that two of the purposes for which 3-in-1 oil was marketed were sewing machines and bicycle chains. I'm guessing sewing machine oils haven't changed much. (I'm speculating that there is less of a driving force for lighter, faster sewing machines. I haven't heard yet of grand tournaments where sewers compete every day for three weeks or so; winner determined by miles stitched. The machines taken apart and re-built nightly. I could be wrong, I don't keep close track of the sewing world.)
I got some fairly pricey fine oil for my refrigerator doors. Despite the cost, it seems very similar to 3-in-1.
Ben
3-in-1 oil was invented for
bicycle chains in 1894. The "3-in-1" stands for "cleans, lubricates and protects". It used a "
spindle oil" which is just a mineral oil originally used on spindles in cloth manufacturing. Probably not that different from modern bicycle oil based lubricants.