Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/05/31/that-old-pocketwatch-you-own-might-be-lubricated-with-oil-extracted-from-a-dolphins-jaw.html
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guess that made it the go-to lubricant for dive watches…
[showing myself out, now]
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“This would explain the whale ghost who keeps following me around.”
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“Lubricity” is a fun word that makes perfect sense but I’ve never considered before.
More importantly, should I be using dolphin jaw oil to season my cast iron?
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oh, no! you didn’t…
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ISTR reading, perhaps even here on the boings, that NASA continued to use whale oils on spacecraft as lubricants as no other substitutes worked as well in space til quite recently.
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You get more miles between changes with synthetic porpoise oil.
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Many automatic watches (sewing machines too) from the mid-20th Century required sperm whale oil because it was an exceptional, stable lubricant with no known alternative.
Synthetic lubricants fortunately destroyed the market - but not before sperm whale oil ended up in automatic transmissions.
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It appears to be a myth. NASA sourced synthetic lubricants from a company called Nye who began life selling whale oil (also called ’train oil’). NASA did an audit in the 1990s and couldn’t find any evidence they used whale oils in any current programmes.
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Using oil from a dolphin’s jaw doesn’t seem like the best idea. Dolphins have notoriously squeaky jaws.
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But they do click very smoothly indeed. 
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Well, that is pleasing to know. Thanks! 
I’m curious whether the properties turned out to not be that exciting vs. synthetics once they were forced to investigate that route more seriously; or if the size of the catch required to keep lubricants on the market is fairly large; because (between ‘scientific’ whaling, countries that never agreed to or flout IWC regulations, and assorted traditional/cultural exemptions) it’s not like whaling stopped happening; and the population of thirsty pocket watches certainly isn’t as big as it used to be.
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Dr Karl (Science educator here in Australia) did a piece on whale oil noting its use in nukes.
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I use Nye 40-B synthetic clock oil for many purposes in fine gear work and it works a treat. Every tool chest should have small bottle.
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A well-fed, plump Huzza Porpoise will yield you one good gallon of good oil. But the fine and delicate fluid extracted from his jaws is exceedingly valuable. It is in request among jewellers and watchmakers.
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But for some reason Ahab thinks he deserves revenge on the whale.
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Whale the nukes?
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