diff --git a/base85.c b/base85.c
index 7b76542531b936..f2b9a24d5ec9f4 100644
--- a/base85.c
+++ b/base85.c
@@ -84,8 +84,6 @@ int decode_85(char *dst, const char *buffer, int len)
 
 void encode_85(char *buf, const unsigned char *data, int bytes)
 {
-	prep_base85();
-
 	say("encode 85");
 	while (bytes) {
 		unsigned acc = 0;