Hello,
I was wondering if there was a method to prevent rust on armor or blades (something like bluing on firearms) in or before the 5th century AD in Europe?

Romans used tinning. Indians used galvanising.

The Ballateare sword scabbard survived (800 A.D.) well enough for researchers to determine that it was consisted of textile, wood slats, and a leather covering.
The only web link I have is vague, and tends to get "broken". A photo of it is at the Manx National Heritage website, archeology, Vikings section.


http://www.gov.im/mnh/collections/archaeology/vikings/
http://www.gov.im/mnh/collections/archaeology...esword.xml

I've read about a Viking period sword that was coated in lineseed oil. More information about this sword can be found here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Historic-HornAntlerBone/message/556
Which refers to this sword: http://www.frojel.com/cgi-bin/viewimage.cgi?/...ord222.jpg

Other then that, the mentioned lanolin in fleece lining helps protect the metal. It also helps keeping out the moist b.t.w. I've also personally made a knife scabbard lined with wool, and applied fat to the wool before assembling the scabbard. Simply by drawing and reinserting the knife, the knife gets a bit of fat applied to it, which seems to work quite well. No evidence if that was done though.

Hello all!

George Hill wrote:

A thin coat of oil would do the job. I'm told that the Vikings made the insides of the scabbards lined with oiled soaked fur. Does anyone here have a source on the oiled fur scabbard story?

Hi George! :)

I just read about this in Ancient Weapons in Britain by Logan Thompson. Apparently a few Germanic swords of the Migration Period show traces of wool still adhering to the blade, as well as leather and wood.

This is what the author stated:

Logan Thompson wrote:

The scabbard was cushioned with an inner lining of sheep wool intended to secure the blade a little more firmly and which provided the added benefit of rust prevention by virtue of its lanolin content. Traces of such wool are sometimes noted on sword blades, in addition to fragments of leather and wood.

(I assume the author is talking about Germanic swords of the Migration Period because it was in the chapter about that time period, but he could be talking more generally.)

I hope this helped!

Stay safe!

Hello again!

Geoff Wood wrote:

Do you mean wool? Someone (may have been H Ellis Davidson talking about Anglo Saxon scabbards) referred to traces of fleece lining scabbards. Lanolin present in unwashed fleece would act as a rust delaying coating.

You're right, Geoff, Hilda Ellis Davidson does indeed describe various scabbards with wool or sheepskin as at least part of the lining.

Here's what she said about this in The Sword in Anglo Saxon England:

H. R. Ellis Davidson wrote:

A good example is the scabbard of the sixth-century sword from Klein-Huningen, which was covered with fine leather, parts of which survived, and was lined with leather inside. At the foot was a space of about 3.8 cm below the sword-point, and here traces of wool were found, as though the space was stuffed with wool or the point rested in a pocket of woollen material. Other examples of scabbards with traces of woollen lining have been found in Anglo-Saxon graves at Holborough, Finglesham, and Harrold, Bedfordshire. At Holborough and Finglesham sheepskin was probably used, and this is paralleled by a scabbard found in a Frankish grave at Orsoy, which had an inner lining of sheepskin with the fleece on the inside, coming in direct contact with the blade. Detailed examination of this showed that the direction of the hairs was towards the mouthpiece to facilitate the easy removal of the blade from the scabbard. It seems possible that the lanolin present in sheeps' wool would help to protect the blade from rust.

I figured I would elaborate on what Geoff said, and post the relevant excerpt from Davidson.

Stay safe!