I first saw that in a Windy tapes years ago I think, and I'm sure many others have also through the years. probably has been mentioned more that once in the time that SH has been on line. Sometimes I don't even bother melting down the Vaseline, I just rub it along the barrel carefully. Any kind of plastic compatible oil that you could apply by the drop to the hinge barrel would work also. That is the only problem I could think of with the Vaseline trick, would it soften the plastic of the hinge over time?? Petroleum based lubes can do that to plastic.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee