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Why does nobody talk about anvils rusting in humid shops
I went to visit a buddy's forge out in Ohio last weekend and his anvil was totally covered in surface rust. He keeps it in an old barn that doesn't have any climate control and the summer humidity is brutal there. I told him to hit it with some boiled linseed oil but he said he just lets it patina over time. It got me thinking about how most blacksmiths ignore rust on their anvils unless it gets really bad. My own anvil lives in a heated garage so I never deal with this problem. Does anyone else just let their anvil get rusty or do you guys proactively oil it up?
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perez.christopher8d ago
Ha. Rust is free texture for hammer control.
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terryj458d ago
Nah, I gotta push back on that. Calling rust a "free texture" is like calling a wrecked car a free art project. Sure, you can look at it and find beauty in decay, but in practical terms, rust is just corrosion eating your metal. If you're working on a hammer, that texture is a sign of weakness, not character. A soft, pitted surface means your hammer won't transfer force the same way, and it'll just keep flaking and spreading. Why would you want that on a tool you rely on for precise work? Isn't the whole point of a hammer to be solid and reliable, not a ticking time bomb of metal fatigue?
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