I knew that there was something missing from my childhood memories and associations about firearms for years and years, but I didn't know what it was.
When I cleaned a gun and put it away, there was always something missing, something that was not quite right.
I was never quite satisfied.
Then my wife asked me to fix a door latch that needed a drop of oil. In the tool shed, there was an old can of 3-In-One oil, and when I smelled it, I suddenly knew what I had been missing so badly.
This was the smell from my childhood that I associate with fine mechanisms such as fishing reels, firearms, etc.. - That distinctive, metallic odor of 3-In-One oil.
As an experiment, I wiped down a Mauser that didn't really need it, just to experience the smell. It brought back some really great memories of watching my uncle clean his treasured Remington 1100, back when I wasn't old enough for school yet.
Of all things! 3-In One oil.
That "precision mechanism" smell
Moderators: Bullseye, Moderators
charlesb, "odors" also are big players when it comes to childhood memories for me as well. I often used 3 in 1 oil on various projects growing up and remember simpler times whenever I get whiff. Along those
same lines, one of my most favorite was the smell in the air when firing my grandfather's Marlin model 80. I still have the gun, but haven't shot it in 15 years or more.
same lines, one of my most favorite was the smell in the air when firing my grandfather's Marlin model 80. I still have the gun, but haven't shot it in 15 years or more.
