Thanks Frankenstein, that's super helpful info! I hadn't thought of the detergents effect there - I'll be sure not to use any modern motor oil formulations.
How about cleaning & inspecting the chain with a pencil & drippingsa little bar chain & sprocket oil? Would that be less durable or more durable do you think?
Could be a good idea but bar and chain is so so sticky... Like it just glues itself and everything like and dirt and other crap to it, it needs to be though since the chain spins like crazy. Mind you that the oil was designed to go on and stay even at very hot temperatures, if you've touched freshly buzzed wood you'll notice how hot it is even when it's snowing outside. I know it's almost like motor oil since they have lighter oils and heavier ones for summer or winter use. I don't know for sure about that oil but in an engine the idea is that once the oil is at running temps it takes on a certain consistency whether it's summer or winter type. The real idea is that the thickness is proper from a cold start, so that you don't get lack of proper lube flow while the engine is warming up. Again I don't know of that is the same idea behind bar oil but I still wouldn't do it simply because it's too sticky. The redemption on a chainsaw is it's virtually all tossed into the environment never to return, along with any drudge it picked up on the way...
That stuff might not come off easily from a chain on a bike, but then neither will dirt and even larger grit that would otherwise be too large to stick would stick with bar lube. I don't like the idea of sand just simply sticking to my chain at all..
I pick wax since it flakes off well and doesn't retain dirt. There is a thin coating still on the chain after it flakes off and the wax that gets inside the rollers never seems to disappear, I've broken down a link or 2 just to see and after months there's still a solid blip of wax in the open space in the roller.
I can also touch the chain and get absolutely nothing on myself or clothes. It is wax after all.
Graphite would be pretty ideal, it is very chemically stable. I think it would be on par with a wax based Teflon containing lube. I know that it's often used as lock lubrication since it's dry and doesn't react with metals easily if at all at normal outdoor temperatures. It won't gum up either. It's got the advantage of being found in pencils just about anywhere and is dirt cheap, a razor blade can make incredibly fine dust that would probably be small enough to make it into any chain and go further and work itself into the microscopic pores and help make a mirror like surface of graphite that would also be pretty durable at the surface against wear.
Now for my experience I once tried putting graphite dust in my skate bearings and it didn't seem to improve anything, it made it worse, but to be fair bearings operate nothing like chains and my skate bearings have much smaller clearances than any chain would reasonably have in its internals.
I figured if I searched with Google I could find more about Graphite lubes but it would seem you need to have a very clean surface for actual results to be apparent. I think you should research the idea further if you want to pursue it as the conclusions on other sites aren't very... Conclusive?
Only other downside of Graphite is its very messy, it gets on anything and everything and cleaning it off can get really frustrating. Teflon as been used and I would assume proven to work when used with a wax or oil lube on chains. It's also not nearly as bad a stain to clean and that's if you can even see it. It's also pliable so as a lubricant it forms to the surface, Graphite must crush to the surface as it isn't all that flexible, just brittle and crunchy.
Just my thoughts I guess.. I can't say that it certainly won't work, but I know what does or has worked for me.