3 in 1 oil cans

[Moses Yoder]

We used 3 in 1 household oil for about everything. It used to be in a little metal can. I decided to look for one on ebay that would be from the '70s or so, like we used to have, and pricing is all over the place. It looks like it costs about $10 to get an empty vintage can if you count shipping. I find the different designs interesting, wondering if anyone here collects oil cans and if there is a site that dates the different styles. Ya, I know; oil cans. Crazy. What's next?

[Raymond Fries]

Sorry I cannot help you with a site but just wanted to tell about the can I remember when I was a little boy. I was always fascinated by the one my grandfather used. It was kind of a brassy color. Looking at it from the side the base was like a half of a sphere with a flat bottom and it had a long slender spout coming up the middle which was part of the cap that unscrewed to fill it. I was always fascinated by the little tinking noise it made when he pushed on the bottom to dispense a drop of oil.

Thanks for the flashback Moses...

[David Weaver]

My dad's got maybe 500 oil cans, they're always at the local auction cheap in bulk boxes with other junk. He used to get 3 in 1 at hardware, but went to just using the oil in the cans that are at auction.

As far as what he's collected, it goes from tiny cans to pennsy (railroad) cans several feet long.

Completed auctions on eBay is the best way to determine price.

[Al Launier]

Are these the type(s) you are referring to: ( / http://www.ebay.com/itm/vintage-3-in-1-cans-two-handy-oil-cans-one-spray-rare-/311036860800?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item486b3dd980 ) . These were the old standbys. I recall my mother having a can (tall one in pictur) for her sewing machine. Nostalgia indeed!

[Moses Yoder]

The one on the right is the one I remember, yes. I think that may be a slightly earlier version though, the ones I am seeing have "household oil" under the 3 in 1.


Are these the type(s) you are referring to: ( / http://www.ebay.com/itm/vintage-3-in-1-cans-two-handy-oil-cans-one-spray-rare-/311036860800?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item486b3dd980 ) . These were the old standbys. I recall my mother having a can (tall one in pictur) for her sewing machine. Nostalgia indeed!

[David C. Roseman]

A few days ago, I needed some lightweight oil, and pulled out a 3-in-1 tin like the short one in Al's link. Hadn't used it in years. I think it may originally have been my father-in-law's. Still half full of oil, so it's got a few more years to go before I put it on eBay and cash in big. Who knew it would be a collector's item.

Maybe one day it will end up on the wall at a Cracker Barrel. :)

David