Home Drake Well Foundation About OilHistory.com The Author Contact
 
Whale Oil
Whale Oil Versus the Others
Whale Oil Uses
The Size of the Sperm Whale
Sperm Whale Head Anatomy
Sperm Whale Oil
Whale Oil Barrel
Historic Prices
Whalemen in the Oilfields
Whaling Control
Cia. Ballenera del Norte S.A.
Bibliography

Whale Oil Uses

A few of the uses of sperm whale oil over the years were as follows:

 

illuminant (lamps) including railroad signal lamps until replaced by Galena Signal Oil from a Franklin, Pa., refinery

 

candles (first made from sperm head oil in 1750+ in Newport by Jacob Rodriguez Rivera)

 

watch oil (at $5.00 per ounce in 1957!)

 

additives in motor oils

 

automatic transmission fluid

 

lubricant for delicate high altitude instruments

 

glycerine

 

cosmetics ("imparts a rich glossy sheen")

 

rust-proofing compounds

 

chemical fibers

 

detergent

 

vitamins

 

glaze (on photographs)

 

70+ pharmaceutical compounds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A

1957 article in the Peruvian Times summed up a lot of uses for whale oil.  One was: "It has a high film strength and loosens a rusted nut on a bolt in seconds".  The oil doesn't dry out or turn rancid.  Sperm oil lubricates textile fibers to prevent unraveling when they are twisted into threads.  There were hundreds more of seemingly small but important uses.

Profile of an adult male sperm whale.  A sperm whale having a length of 45 feet is near to the upper limit for the species.  The head makes up almost one-third of the length, disregarding the tail.
 

 
© 2004, Samuel T. Pees
all rights reserved