Alternatives to protecting steel armor?

[Gaius Colletti]

Thank you all for the replies, Ballistol had me at "Protects metals and LEATHER" though, and I already ordered a bottle. Thank you Medicus Matt, although I found the bit about wool soaked with lanolin oil kept in scabbards very interesting, and I might try that someday, but that the fact that ballistol leaves a slippery surface and binds with whatever you put it on instead of just rubbing off an evaporating like mineral oil does tipped the scale.

Thank you all again, and please continue the discussion about appropriate time period solutions or modern ones

[Medicus matt]

Some surviving sword scabbards from the C5th have fleece inside them, which could have acted as a reservoir for lanolin (ref the Sutton Hoo sword). .

....and some were lined with fur, and some weren't lined with anything at all.

As I study and make scabbards, I've mused on this a lot. The lining might have been there to help keep the blade oiled, but the fact that substances other than sheepskin (not fleece) were used make it more likely that it was there to ensure a firm but free fit in the scabbard. Bear in mind that any sheepskin that hasn't been cleaned to remove some of it's lanolin will also contain sweat salts from the animal which will actually attack the iron of the blade and increase damage from corrosion.

Thinking about it some more, if the lining were heavily oiled, wouldn't any moisture present on the surface of the blade when it was pushed into the scabbard have sat on the surface of the wool, speeding up the corrosion rather than impeding it?

BTW, so far the lining for the Sutton Hoo Mound 1 scabbard remains, I think, unidentified(despite statements on the Sutton Hoo and British Museum websites). It's long and straight and looks too thin to be wool, might be animal fur (I've seen it described as being similar to beaver). The odd thing about it is that it's set in the scabbard so that the hairs run perpendicular to the length of the blade, not parallel to it.

Sorry for going off topic a bit.

[Cheyenne]

As a recipient of one of Matts scabbards, the use of wool felting on the inside of the scabbard works wonders when inpregnated with liquid lanolin. It doesn't leave a greasy slippery layer on the blade either. When I purchased the blade of the sword, it did have some blemishes, I removed these then treated the blade with lanolin. It has preserved it beautifully and each time the sword is drawn, it coats the blade again..

Magic

[Crispvs]

"and Crispus I believe said he used pig fat?"

That is correct. I have used pig fat on my helmet for well over ten years and have never found any problems with it. Only a very thin (virtually invisible) layer is needed and I have never noticed any smell. Neither is it greasy, if spread thinly enough. However, I found that it did not work for my body armour as my cloak, weapons and arms rubbed most of the fat off in no time at all. I would imagine that this would apply to other animal fats as well, including goose fat, which I have often heard people advocating.

I have never tried to use lanolin. Would it adhere somehow to armour in a way fat would not?

Also, has anyone tried to use Pliny's reported solutions to rust. Acetate, gypsum and vegetable pitch might seem strange to us, but he lived in a world which did not have WD40 and whilst he might not have been accurate in his knowledge of medicine, he was certainly very well read and well informed about many other things. I see no reason to disbelieve his information without testing it first. As has already been mentioned, he had the military command experience normal for someone of his rank and if he felt well enough informed on military matters to write a work on the throwing of javelins, then it is not unreasonable to expect that he might know about other things which would concern soldiers. Also, as someone with an intensive interest in minerals, it is not unreasonable to think he might know something about common solutions to problems to be found in a common mineral which degrades faster than most other minerals.

Crispvs

[LVCIAN FIDELIS]

For keeping my Iron weapons and armor (or steel for that matter) polished I use a Wood Ash and water for the polish. Wipe clean and dry after!

Then coat with 50/50 bees wax melted in olive oil. This is a medieval recipe.
Once the wax drys buff to high shine.

The wax will prevent water damage. I need to do this with my helmet about once every couple of months.

But in a pinch, Remington makes a gun oil wipe (like a wet wipe) that can get me through till I have time for the polish and oil.

Phil