Ballistol spray stash can

Ballistol stash can: a spray can that is not a spray can

A stash can lives or dies by one thing: it has to look exactly like the product it imitates. This one manages that easily, because it genuinely is a spray can. Red cap, white and green label, the familiar Ballistol logo with the slogan Altbewährt und unerreicht, and the plain Spray 400 ml marking along the bottom. Sitting in a toolbox, on a shed shelf or among the lubricants in the garage, it draws no second glance.

The can opens on a screw thread. That beats a clip-on lid: it will not spring open by itself and you can twist it firmly shut before putting it away. The space inside is obviously smaller than the can itself, so think keys, jewellery, a spare banknote, a USB stick or a small tin. Nothing that cannot take a knock belongs in there.

About Ballistol

Ballistol is not an invented brand. The universal oil was developed in Germany around 1904 by the chemist Helmut Klever, who built the name from the word ballistics and the Latin oleum, oil. The German Imperial Army adopted it in 1905 as an all-round product for metal, wood and leather. The oil is still made in Germany and the cans sit in countless workshops, which is exactly why this stash can attracts so little attention.

Before you order

These are original spray cans. They may show light dents, scratches and signs of use; that comes with the product and arguably makes the whole thing more convincing rather than less. Avalon Magic Plants stocks more stash products in the same vein, from tins to storage boxes.