Why should iron rust? As a safety feature installed by the dwarfs. But if you know how to do it, you can recover the iron from rust (iron oxide).
Instead of coke and heat, in Glorantha this will doubtless require heat and a magic ritual, and it will require burning the Grower's children slowly, till they become a tool for the Maker. Of course elves make the best purifying black dust, at least according to that helpful iron mostali that charged you three tons of wood for the information.
Iron is common in Seshnela, where you can find it often as raw, unenchanted steel. As you get further away, it will be rarer and always enchanted, to make it last longer.
IMG, the Safelster Weaponmaker's guild developed a secret procedure to hammer a bronze alloy, so that you get enough resilience to craft the thin blades that are now the rage all around the Lake. Of course, rich or influential fellows have their blades in copper or aluminum. Or iron, but that is crass, and tempting a real warrior to take it from your dead body. This alloy is not useful for thicker blades, as the flexibility is lost, and it is not much harder than normal bronze.
A similar mix is used to craft interlockin plates. Many people have died trying to pry the secret from the Guilds, but their power is such that noone dares to fight them. The support of several monarchs and many secret societies compounds the trouble for many would be armourers. And as you need to use an especialized spell to accurately prepare the alloy, you need time to duplicate their feat.
In the RW armour and weapons lasted for a long time, passing as heirlooms, being modified to suit the new times and fighting styles, but often soldiering along for centuries. With magic to mend and repair them, besides plain work, and with the conservative fighting styles in Glorantha, keeping armouries is not hard.
So grab your grand-grandfather's sword, and your great uncle's chain hauberk, mended with distinctive brass links, and keep on the good fight.
Jose
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