I know I am not the first to discover this, but I was so thrilled...
I hand forge a lot of copper. I forge iron / steel, as a demo smith, also. (Red Top State Park, Ga) ...My dry hands ....I dip my hammer handles in the slack to wet, and the kids ask "why?" Well, So I have a good comfortable grip." I shape my own handles to suit me, and I find that my weak point is my comfort factor on the grip of the hammer. Dry handle/dry hands mean more muscle grip than is necessary, and it gets old, and painful.Quickly. Ya'll following me, here?
Long story short, I pounded some evergreen stems on the anvil, and rubbed my palm over it.
FIRM no slip grip, rosin flux and anti rust on the anvil, copper forged smoothly,(lubricant) as well as a bright finish. (duh factor here, rosin flux...) And, it smells nice.
I thought I would pass along this personal discovery of what I am sure is an old technique..
Merry Christmas to Ya'll, And hey, Remember the Peace part. ~Dave