Useful use for beeswax

[Patrick Moore]

I bought one of the original Dixie Cups of beeswax from Rivendell as long as 20 or 25 years ago, and could never find a real use for it: Loctite is easier and works perfectly for threads, I prefer the way the little squishable aluminum end caps look on cable ends, and Johnson's Paste Wax or the lotion I use on my leather chairs works better for my (Flite) saddles.

Long ago I mixed the wax with olive oil thinking that it might make a good leather dressing, tho' an excessively chi chi one (don't use edible products on your bicycle, I say), but it didn't work as well as the above.

I later for some reason mixed it with Vaseline, and then it sat for a decade or more.

Well! I've found a truly useful use for it! Butch Wax! 

Ever since I stopped wearing my hair in a pony tail about 5 years ago I've been having it cut to about 1/2" on top and whitewalls on the side, to last 8 weeks with minor trimming. But the top hair won't stay down until it's 1.5" long or so, and sleeping on it makes it look messy. Whence the desire for Butch Wax. No longer made, but a week or so ago I had an epiphany: use the beeswax + Vaseline mix for Butch Wax. It works quite well.

(No paraffin devotional candles In the Orthodox church, where paraffin is canonically limited to waxing chains. But the beeswax candle ends provide a never-ending supply of wax for secular purposes.)

Thought you'd like to know.

What do you use beeswax for, besides devotional candles? 

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[johnboy]

I rub it on slippery shoelaces that tend to loosen on their own. Also to “whip” the end of twine, thread, yarn or what to ease threading a needle. Rubbed on seat rails before clamping in a seatpost to eliminate creaking there....John P , Walnut Creek

[Jesse]

I make paw balm for my dogs with beeswax and coconut oil. 

I'm also about to wax some cotton trousers with 100% beeswax. 

[Patrick Moore]

I didn't think of any of these uses; very interesting indeed.

Did you (pl) buy the Dixie Cup wax long ago?

More Hints from Heloise, please.

I rub it on slippery shoelaces that tend to loosen on their own. Also to “whip” the end of twine, thread, yarn or what to ease threading a needle. Rubbed on seat rails before clamping in a seatpost to eliminate creaking there....John P , Walnut Creek

I make paw balm for my dogs with beeswax and coconut oil. 

I'm also about to wax some cotton trousers with 100% beeswax. 

[Benz, Sunnyvale, CA]

Patrick, is butch wax different from pomade?

I haven't had a super-short haircut since I was 12 or 13, when I got totally buzzed (shorter than crew cut), together with a friend, on a dare from another friend. Yeah, stupid things teens do…

I used beeswax to waterproof the Brompton bag that I made from Joann Fabric heavyweight cotton canvas. I was surprised at how much beeswax the fabric absorbed, once heated up with a hairdryer. It took almost a fist-sized amount and didn't even exhibit the sheen I've seen on commercially treated cotton (like on some Filsons), much less extrude a surface layer that would crack when the underlying fabric is flexed (as I had feared). It did bead and shed water like a duck, and that's all that I cared about.

[Eric Norris]

Pomade? I’m a Dapper Dan man, myself:

https://youtu.be/cwlTHH4htsE?t=5 

--Eric Norris
campyo...@me.com

Insta: @CampyOnlyGuy

YouTube: YouTube.com/CampyOnlyGuy 

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[Patrick Moore]

Butch Wax is quite a bit more waxy and far less greasy than pomade; it was made for the crew cuts popular in the '50s and early '60s, to make the hair stand up. But it works to keep 3/4" long hair down, too. Pomade was basically scented Vaseline.

I am old enough, and lived in places that were backward enough, to have used real pomade -- as an 11 year old boy in Bangalore in 1966, when I started getting fashion conscious and let my hair grow out to combable length (1.5") instead of the #2 guard buzz cuts my father would give my brother and I every 2 weeks in the bathtub. Bangalore in 1966 was like the US -- or better, Britain -- in 1950*, and you could still buy locally manufactured, florally-scented grease for your hair. I thought it was stylin'.

*Long before it became part of the Indian Silicon Valley it had been a British Indian Army cantonment town (3,000 feet above sea level, thus a bit cooler in the horrible hot and immediately pre-monsoon seasons); in 1966 it still had something of this flavor, rather mildewed.

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[Patrick Moore]

Sheesh. "And me."

[Tim]

Patrick, if there are no pictures of the hairdo it didn't happen!

[Patrick Moore]

This may have been back in Delhi, age 12. Bike content: I had a hot-rodded (and rodded-brake) Hero painted scarlet with AW hub. That was also stylin'.

On Fri, Jun 19, 2020 at 1:36 PM 'Tim' via RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Patrick, if there are no pictures of the hairdo it didn't happen!

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[Benz, Sunnyvale, CA]

On Friday, June 19, 2020 at 12:31:58 PM UTC-7, Patrick Moore wrote:

Butch Wax is quite a bit more waxy and far less greasy than pomade; it was made for the crew cuts popular in the '50s and early '60s, to make the hair stand up. But it works to keep 3/4" long hair down, too. Pomade was basically scented Vaseline.

I am old enough, and lived in places that were backward enough, to have used real pomade -- as an 11 year old boy in Bangalore in 1966, when I started getting fashion conscious and let my hair grow out to combable length (1.5") instead of the #2 guard buzz cuts my father would give my brother and I every 2 weeks in the bathtub. Bangalore in 1966 was like the US -- or better, Britain -- in 1950*, and you could still buy locally manufactured, florally-scented grease for your hair. I thought it was stylin'.

*Long before it became part of the Indian Silicon Valley it had been a British Indian Army cantonment town (3,000 feet above sea level, thus a bit cooler in the horrible hot and immediately pre-monsoon seasons); in 1966 it still had something of this flavor, rather mildewed.

Patrick, your story reminded me of an old classmate. We never kept in touch after school, and I don't even remember his name, but I remember his hair. It was medium-long, and nothing special, except he always used so much strong gel that it formed a rigid structure on his head. One time, it started raining when we were running a 2.4km loop during PE. Lo and behold, he came back soaked but with his hair almost intact. We were laughing that his time was so good because his gelled hair made a peak/brim that allowed his unfair advantage of being able to see where he was going in the torrential rain.

PS: After I typed out my story, I suddenly remembered the hair styling product Brylcreem (no, I never used it). It's not butch wax, nor pomade, but a quick look at its Wiki page indicated that it's an emulsion of water and mineral oil stabilized with beeswax. Yet another use for beeswax!

[Ray Varella]

For decades I have used beeswax on wooden tool handles and on wooden knife handles.
Having spent decades butchering meat, poultry and seafood, I found it to be the best treatment.
I gently warm the handle, rub with beeswax, gently warm again.
It’s ever so slightly tacky at first but burnishes nicely with the first use.

It’s really critical not to get wooden handles too wet lest they dry out and crack and split.

I used brylcream and Vo-5 under protest as a little kid.
My father used it on his hair.
Butch wax and the Glasspacks was a local band.


Ray

[Hetchins52]

I bought one of those lumps too. (Don't think the cup survived.) I keep some in the basement shop and some in the garage shop. 

If I'm building a wheel, I'll first drag the threaded ends across the wax to ease building and maybe give some thread locking, but more in hopes of keeping moisture from being forced into the junction of spoke and nipple threads as the wheel spins.

It's very good stuff for putting on any threaded fastener or hook that goes into wood. Much easier, even with a battery-powered, handheld drill.

David Lipsky

Berkeley, CA

[Craig Montgomery]

Touring a backroad in Central AZ. 2 day's ride from anywhere. Lost a filling. Had a chunk of Grant's Original Beeswax in my kit. Took out my trusty Swiss Army knife and heated up a pea-sized piece with the magnifying glass. Pushed it into the hole. Stayed there for a week and half till I could get to my dentist. He was duly impressed. 

Craig in Tucson

On Thursday, June 18, 2020 at 1:10:13 PM UTC-7, Patrick Moore wrote:

[Kent Peterson -- Eugene, Oregon]

OK, I think Craig just won this thread. His dentist isn't the only one who is impressed.

Red Green would approve. "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy."

Kent Peterson
Eugene, OR USA

[Patrick Moore]

+1

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[Ray Varella]

Hands down, Craig wins.
There’s nothing else to see here.

Ray

[Lyman Labry]

Oh man.  I agree.  Wish I’d had beeswax for a similar experience.

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[Craig Montgomery]

Hey, just another Day in the Life of Boy Blunder. If I hadn't  been chewing on that Jolly Roger while I was riding it wouldn't have happened! I've got another one about a pair of pliers, a lighter, and a needle but your wives will wonder why you fainted at the keyboard. 

Craig "Keep'em Comin'" in Tucson

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[Dorothy C]

I have recipe for a hand salve / lip balm. One ounce of grated beeswax, 1 ounce of jojoba oil and 2 ounces of red palm fruit oil. Warm gently in a double boiler until melted and stir together. You can add a few drops of essential oil like lavender, or chamomile. Store in a 4 ounce canning jar, or small lotion jar. Rub between hands to soften.
I was able to greatly reduce the inflammation and potential scarring from a grease burn on my hand by using some lavender infused balm for about a week after the burn had had time to cool.

[Jock Dewey]

Oh, how we miss Red Green. 

We could all use a good Red Green show right now.

Jock Dewey / Athens, GA

[David Hallerman]

I use beeswax for memory.

That is, back in the early days of BOB and iBOB, beeswax was my true "nature's loctite."

But like Patrick, I've found that real loctite works better.

So for me, whenever I look at the little box with my old beeswax in it, I remember the old days of the 1990s.

Dave
+++++
Hudson Valley NY

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[Eric Floden]

Well, there is a brand new Red Green podcast! Alas, it is not free...

http://www.redgreen.com/

EricF

Neither handy nor handsome

Vancouver BC

[RichS]

What a hilarious and useful post. I should start carrying bees wax on my long rides. Never tried Butch Wax but way back when, was a devoted Brylcreem and Vitalis user.

May try Patrick’s bees wax + Vaseline combo since I haven’t had a haircut since early March. Thanks all for the good suggestions!

Best,
Rich in ATL

[Rob Kristoff]

I find that it's also good for coating unpainted steel that likes to rust. In my case, the latest has been the spindle on my (external bearing) BB.

Rob

[Robert Tilley]

I remember we had Groom & Clean hair gel in the bathroom drawer when I grew up. I remember because my overworked Mom once accidentally grabbed that instead of the toothpaste when she brushed my teeth one day. I learned to brush my own teeth soon after.

Robert Tilley
San Diego, CA

Sent from my BlackBerry - the most secure mobile device

  Original Message  

Best,
Rich in ATL

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[Benz Ouyang, Sunnyvale, CA]

On Sunday, June 21, 2020 at 4:02:33 PM UTC-7, Craig Montgomery wrote:

Hey, just another Day in the Life of Boy Blunder. If I hadn't  been chewing on that Jolly Roger while I was riding it wouldn't have happened! I've got another one about a pair of pliers, a lighter, and a needle but your wives will wonder why you fainted at the keyboard.

At the risk of fainting at the keyboard, please do tell. 

[Craig Montgomery]

3 days later: Nah. It's a good story but it's about teeth (and needles and lighters and pliers) and not bikes or beeswax. So just let your mind go and have fun with it. 

Craig in Tucson

[johnboy]

My first beeswax was a puck about the size of what would come out of a Dixie cup. My mom got it for me for the odd small boat sewing I was doing. Still have most of that bit. More recently somebody tossed a block that’s 6x6x1 that I rescued ( read hoarded). Should probably pass that on....Nobody asked ,but I used to use “Score” hair cream. And no...John ,Walnut Creek

[franklyn]

Jan had a picture up somewhere showing him prepping all the Rene Herse crank arms with beeswax before shipping them out. Supposedly keeping that sheen on the arms longer.

Franklyn