I only asked.... - Roger Dyke
By Roger Dyke
My email to Neville McMillan:
Paraffin-based lubricant is recommended by DMM for their camming devices. One of mine has gone stiff so I would like to try it. Am I likely to already have some under another name?
roger dyke
Neville's reply:
Roger,
Now that you have all this super-dooper high-tech climbing gear, you clearly need to know how to look after it! What you need is a copy of the BMC Booklet: "CARE AND MAINTENANCE - equipment standards - equipment wear and failure - routine checks and care". This is (I quote) "an essential reference for anyone owning or using mountaineering and climbing equipment"; clearly, you should not be without a copy. It is available from the BMC Office for £4 to BMC members (£6 to non-members), and will answer ALL your questions, including the ones you haven't yet asked.
It just so happens that I have a copy of this invaluable reference work. Indeed I have several copies, one of which I would be prepared to sell to you (on behalf of the BMC) for the special low price of £4, so that you could read the WHOLE of the section on care and maintenance of camming devices. I do not want to let out too much information, since it would spoil your enjoyment when you come to read your own copy, which I am sure you will. However, the aforementioned section does recommend "an aerosol lubricant such as GT85 or WD40". I have used WD40 in the past, but GT85 (from cycle shops such as Bikes 'n Gear, King Street, Knutsford) is cleaner to use. The solvent evaporates leaving behind a PTFE film, or so the manufacturer says, so you don't have to wipe away the surplus to stop your gear getting greasy and dirty. Unfortunately it costs more than the price of the booklet, which is obviously much better value for money! However, if you were to buy the booklet from me, I could let you have two quick squirts of GT85 for free!
Cheers,
Neville
OK, I'll buy that.
I had been wondering who had persuaded Tony Blair he needed new Nuclear Power Stations: I can make a shrewd guess now.
[Neville used to be with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority]
