A hammer tip you all probably know. If your hammers are rusting between use, fill up a plastic bus tub with a $5 bag of sand. I started with a bottle of motor oil, 5w30 but it was cataclysmic. 30 weight was better but I knew it wasnt catamount as its grimeyness wasn't an attractive proposition when seeking motivation to go outside. I switched to atf (automatic transmission fluid) and only used half a bottle. I mixed in the atf with a stick and I was done. By setting your hammers in this sand they'll get no moisture. If space is tight, you can use a 5 gallon bucket buts it's tougher.  A bus tub has plenty of room so when you put your hammers in the tub you can use a scoop to dump sand on the hammer head. Sand is even a nice way to keep the faces shiny. This literally works in the Atlantic's daily salt spray. ( And everything rusts here.)

All right, that's my cuss free idea.

( Except for the time all heck broke loose with 5w30, Ive never felt any slickness on handle. Sometimes my hands feel softer! )

Finally, it only works if you use mobil1. Quaker state leads to at's overheating  and sam's club car juice dried out.

Pig Mobil

 

Personally I’m more concerned about loose tool heads flying off an mushroomed tools shooting off shrapnel then I am rust on my smithing tools, 

I don’t bother cleaning off rust I just throw a couple coats of BLO on em once a year an call it good, an I only do that cause I have an open air smithy, rust comes right off with use in my experience

I don’t live next to an ocean though, but I do live in a very high humidity climate with monsoon type rains,

On tools that rust might be an issue I use LPS 3. It's expensive but penetrates, has rust converters and leaves a TOUGH wax film. I don't use it on much though, rust doesn't bother me as long as it isn't pitting, then a little BLO or an application of Trewax does it.

Frosty The Lucky.

Ballistol works for me, when I remember to use it.

On axes I use home-made paste wax after use. On hammers I don't mind a little bit of rust. I've found that yearly BLO (or less because I forget) keeps the rust away. Even next to the sea where the wind is always coming from. On (top) tools I don't do anything at all.

~Jobtiel

And if on topic,(though placement is accepted as errant) what is blo and lps 3?. Is it ok to hammer w very light rust? I'm only doing cable and I think tiny bits of rust show in etch after etching???( No flakes or chips just surface rust)

 

Was the mushroom part referring to water soaked wood or the stuff swelling from oil?

Many thanks for your replies

BLO is boiled linseed oil and LPS 3 is a rust inhibitor. No problem with hammering with light rust, it will shine up the hammer head and anvil. The mushrooming refers to the hammer head or struck end of struck tools like chisels or punches. 

Ok, thanks. I was worried you were warning me about wood rot mushrooming. Oil does shine the handles too. Tranny is an abbreviation for automatic transmission fluid, steel, sand and a wooden handle feels so organic Maybe posting this in my post is erroneously posting, but could I build up kastolite to cover 50-60 percent on door hole into about a 2x4 opening on the ends. Everyone has me worried about gas buildup, but folks have suggested firebrick that I got today.  Tx 

Obviously this would limit the size of what I could get in and out. I'd plan heights accordingly.

tx

Am I safe gas wise there's a 1" gap on each end. 

Tx