Bullet Lubricant Wax

Waxes are used to lubricate everything from saws to drawer runners, leather worker's needles and threads, and suppositories and pessaries. This bullet lubricant wax is used to reduce friction between the bullet cartridge and gun barrel and to stop the build up of gunpowder residue.

Bullet lubricants are often made from a mix of beeswax and tallow (rendered animal fat from ruminants like sheep, goats and cows) or pig lard. Most historians agree that a bullet lubricant like this one played a role in the First War of Indian Independence of 1857, in what is commonly called the ‘greased cartridge affair’. In the context of colonially-occupied India, rumours arose that newly-issued bullet cartridges greased with beef tallow and pork lard has been supplied by the East India Company’s to their largely Hindu and Muslim soldiers, adding to existing discontent. This is thought to have been a catalyst for the violent struggle that ensued and led to the end of the East India Company and the beginnings of Indian independence.

Check out our blog post for a longer read about the weird and wonderful properties of waxes, including beeswax (the glandular produce of the humble honeybee), earth wax that is mined from seams in the ground and Renaissance wax that used to protect Barbara Hepworth’s monumental bronze sculptures.