Hi, i have a question that crosses my mind from a long time how they did prevented the iron from rusting?
Putting aside the fact that from what i understand the iron/steel of medieval times was closer to our cast iron than steel, and i know as a fact (meaning books write about this) that iron have stronger corrosion resistance due to higher carbon percentage and different molecular structure, and putting aside the ''hot bluing'' or quenching in oil that gives that black finish how did they prevent corrosion?
I don't think they tempered armor for example so it was all about maintenace? Oil and polishing? Or there were some alchemy-like stuff involved?
Thank you in advance
Putting aside the fact that from what i understand the iron/steel of medieval times was closer to our cast iron than steel, and i know as a fact (meaning books write about this) that iron have stronger corrosion resistance due to higher carbon percentage and different molecular structure, and putting aside the ''hot bluing'' or quenching in oil that gives that black finish how did they prevent corrosion?
I don't think they tempered armor for example so it was all about maintenace? Oil and polishing? Or there were some alchemy-like stuff involved?
Thank you in advance