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Re: Ran out of cork grease? Here's some possible alternatives

Author: NOLA Ken
Date: 2023-02-11 01:57

Interesting article. When I returned to playing a few years ago I read the discussions about the problems with petroleum-based cork greases and decided to avoid that route. I tried lanolin from the drug store for awhile with great success, but the tube is larger than fits comfortably in my case and it tends to be a bit messy. I have been using that well-known Doc's product for several years but have become dissatisfied with it, as the corks seem to dry out between uses and I have to apply it every time I assemble a clarinet. No residual moisture or slipperiness seems to ever remain. Recently I tried Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm, since I had some laying around, and found it very satisfactory. It's ingredients are all organic, it's a bit slipperier than the Doc's stuff, and it seems to keep the cork a bit more moist in between sessions. It contains beeswax, coconut oil, sunflower seed oil, peppermint oil, lanolin, tocopherol (vitamin E or a relative), rosemary leaf extract, soybean oil, canola oil, and limonene. I've not noticed any tendency for it to go rancid, although some of those ingredients may have to potential to do so. I'm curious if anyone here can comment on any problems with any of those ingredients in terms of effecting the integrity of the cork or glue bond.

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