I was talking to a smith the other day. He said when he uses a
high-grade steel ( higher than SK3 or SK(D?)11 ), the specific nature,
source and name of which he refuses to divulge, the finished, highly
polished product of a bar that has been beaten very many times leaks a
liquid that he has to wipe off every week or so. The "liquid" looked
to me oil or graphite. He said he doesn't know what it is or why it
keeps coming out of the steel. This seemed to ring a bell with me, but
I couldn't find any-thing on the Internet. Does any-one have any ideas?