Blacksmithing is the new Build 42 forge skill: furnaces, anvils, charcoal and molten iron. It is the deepest crafting chain in the game and it leans on pottery, masonry and butchering. Torch work is the separate Welding skill. Updated for Build 42.21 Stable and 42.22 Pre-Release, November 2026.
The Indie Stone describes two tiers. The first is a primitive furnace and forge built from stones and clay, good for nails, tools and simple iron items. The second uses stone blocks and cement, a cast blacksmith anvil and a quenching bucket, and leads to steel.
Fan guides give the higher stations different names (smelting furnace, forge, advanced forge, blast furnace) and different skill requirements, so trust the build menu over any one list.
| Station | Materials | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primitive Furnace | 6 clay, 4 stones, 1 bucket of clay cement or concrete | All sources agree |
| Stone Anvil | 1 large stone, hammer | Masonry 2 (sources differ on which station needs it) |
| Primitive Forge | 10 stones, bucket of cement, the stone anvil |
You also need a large ceramic crucible fired in a kiln (see pottery) and crude tongs.
Charcoal is the main fuel. Dig a charcoal pit with a shovel, or build a burner from a metal drum and 4 stones; 2 logs, 3 large branches or 6 planks make 12 charcoal (game files).
A dome kiln (40 stone blocks) turns charcoal into coke, which steel recipes need. The Indie Stone has confirmed both the kiln and coke.
Melt scrap iron items in the furnace to get iron chunks, or smelt iron ore with 8 charcoal into an iron bloom, which you hammer at the forge for 12 iron chunks (game files).
| Scrap size | Example | Charcoal | Chunks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | Can opener | 1 | 1 |
| Medium | File, half bar | 3 | 2 |
| Medium-plus | Iron pipe | 4 | 3 |
| Large | Iron bar, axe head | 6 | 4 |
These yields come from one guide checked against the 42.21 scripts (one source).
The higher tiers need a cast blacksmith anvil. Carve a wooden mold (Carpentry 2, 4 planks), press it with 8 clay, fire it in the advanced kiln, then pour roughly 32 units of molten iron (about 16 half bars) with 10 charcoal.
The large bellows takes 2 planks, 2 nails, 2 medium handles and 1 piece of crude-tanned leather, so you need the hide and tanning chain from butchering first.
| Level | What opens up |
|---|---|
| 3 | Nails, tongs |
| 4 | Most tools |
| 6 | Weapon blades, helmets, metal body armour (with Tailoring 3) |
| 8 | Coat of plates (with Tailoring 4) |
| 10 | Swords, crowbar, machete blade |
PinDrop counts about 128 recipes. Several smithing magazines also teach recipes; their names come from a pre-release guide, so we have not listed them. XP follows the usual curve (32,775 to level 10) and the books run x3 to x16 (skill books). The Blacksmith occupation starts at +4; the Blacksmith Knowledge trait gives +2.
Opinion Level on cheap repeat crafts like iron quarters and half bars, and read the matching book first. Nails are the first thing worth making for real.
Not any more. Build 41 Metalworking is now Welding; Blacksmithing is the separate forge skill.
Mostly charcoal. Steel recipes use coke, made from charcoal in a dome kiln.
Melt scrap iron items in the furnace, or smelt iron ore into blooms.
A stone anvil from one large stone is enough for the primitive forge. The cast blacksmith anvil is for higher tiers.
Planks, nails, handles and crude-tanned leather, so you need to butcher and tan a hide first.
Repeat cheap crafts such as iron quarters and bars, and read the matching skill book.
Blacksmithing figures come from PinDrop, Supercraft (checked against the 42.21 scripts) and pzfans.com, with The Indie Stone's Cellar Door-doid post for the tiers. Station names and some requirements differ between guides. Sources: PinDrop: Blacksmithing · The Indie Stone: Cellar Door-doid · Supercraft: blacksmithing · pzfans: kilns · pzfans: forging overhaul. Your game is the final word: if it disagrees with us, tell us and we will fix the page.