Linseed oil is a drying oil
It seems like people are missing the point of what a drying oil is. As George says it's used in finishes. It's also used to make oil paint. Just ground pigments and linseed oil, nothing more. That's what has been used by artists for centuries. If you want to paint your tools then there are better things to use.
If you want to keep an unfinished metal in good condition, there are other things to use. There are many modern synthetics of which Boeshield is one. I use camelia oil because it's non toxic and has been used for this purpose for centuries in Japan. I've seen some threads where it's mentioned that it has cosmetic uses as well, but I know nothing about that.