How to Craft Ironhand in The Forge

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Ironhand is forged at an Iron Anvil from 6 Iron Ingots, 2 Ash Handle Blanks, 1 Leather Grip Wrap and 4 Flux, burning roughly 12 Coal as fuel — and the recipe stays locked until your Forging skill reaches 20. Expect to spend about 380–520 coins if you buy the materials at a Trade Post, or 45–70 minutes of gathering if you farm them yourself. What you get back is a 1.2 kg one-handed forging hammer with 34 damage, 900 durability, and a +15% heat-retention bonus that quietly speeds up every craft you make afterward.

All figures below reflect the current live build of The Forge; recipes are re-tuned most patches, so confirm quantities in your in-game crafting journal before you commit a stack of ingots.

What Ironhand actually is

Ironhand is a Tier 2 smithing hammer — a tool first, a weapon second. It sits between the starter Iron Hammer and the late-game Steelhand, and it is the first hammer in the progression tree that carries a passive bonus rather than just higher damage.

The +15% heat retention is the real reason to build it. It lengthens the window between re-heats at the Forge Hearth, which cuts both fuel use and the number of times you risk overcooking a billet.

The Ironhand recipe, material by material

Per the in-game recipe panel, the two handle blanks are consumed as a pair: one becomes the haft, the second is your spare if the first cracks during fitting. Keep it — failed fittings are the most common reason players think they “lost” materials.

Crafting stations you need, and the order to build them

The recipe is station-gated, not just skill-gated. Building them out of order is the single most common reason players stall at Forging 18–19.

A Tier 1 Stone Anvil will not accept the recipe at all — the crafting journal simply greys it out. If you are short on Iron Ingots, upgrade the anvil before the hearth; the hearth upgrade only affects speed, while the anvil unlocks the craft.

Step-by-step: crafting Ironhand

1. Reach Forging 20 and place a Tier 2 Iron Anvil. Reason: the recipe is invisible below level 20 and greyed out without the anvil, so verify both before gathering anything.
2. Smelt 6 Iron Ingots. That means 12 Iron Ore and 6 Coal at a Stone Smelter. Reason: smelting in one batch keeps the hearth hot and saves roughly 20% of your total fuel.
3. Cut and season 2 Ash Handle Blanks. Saw them at a Sawbench, then let them season one in-game day. Reason: green blanks carry a −15% durability penalty and warp about one time in three.
4. Load 12 Coal into the Forge Hearth and pump the bellows to 1,100–1,200°C. Reason: below 1,000°C the iron tears instead of moving; above 1,250°C the billet scorches and loses its top durability tier permanently.
5. Fold and flux four times, adding one Flux per fold. Reason: flux pulls slag out of the weld. Skipping it produces inclusions that show up later as a hidden durability ceiling.
6. Shape the head at the Iron Anvil — about five strikes per heat cycle. Reason: the head leaves the working range after roughly five swings, and striking cold metal creates a cold shut that can halve durability.
7. Quench the head in the Quench Trough at 20–40°C. Reason: near-freezing water cracks the head outright; warm water hardens it without the shock.
8. Temper twice at 200°C, then fit the handle and leather wrap at the Workbench. Reason: tempering trades a little hardness for durability, which is what keeps a tool hammer alive past 900 swings.
9. Finish on the Grindstone. Reason: the finishing pass is what actually applies the final durability value — an unground Ironhand crafts at roughly 820, not 900.

Worked example. A player at Forging 22 with a stocked hearth can run the whole sequence in about 12 in-game minutes: 4 minutes smelting, 5 minutes forging and quenching, 3 minutes assembly and grinding. The same craft on a fresh save, including ore runs and seasoning time, is closer to an hour of real play.

Where to farm each material

What Ironhand costs to own

The craft itself runs 380–520 coins in bought materials. A finished Ironhand on the Trade Post typically lists for 900–1,400 coins, so crafting roughly halves your outlay if you value your gathering time at nothing.

Upkeep is where the numbers get interesting. Ironhand repairs in 300-durability chunks at 1 Iron Ingot plus 2 Flux — about 70 coins at market rates. That is 0.23 coins per durability point, or 0.23 coins per swing if you burn every point. Over the tool’s full 900-point lifespan that is roughly 210 coins of repair material on top of the build cost, putting total ownership near 600–730 coins. A Steelhand repairs at a comparable rate but has 1,400 base durability, so its cost per swing lands nearer 0.15 coins — one more reason not to over-invest in Ironhand if Steelhand is three levels away.

Should you craft it? A quick decision matrix

Durability, upkeep and the mistakes that cost you the most

• Overheating the billet. Anything past 1,250°C permanently caps durability at roughly 675 instead of 900. There is no fix short of re-crafting.
• Quenching in cold water. Below 20°C, expect a crack about one time in four. Warm the trough first.
• Skipping flux. Four folds without flux produces inclusions that shave 60–90 points off the final durability.
• Softwood handles. Ash is the intended wood. Pine or similar softwoods cost about 40% of the haft’s durability, and the haft is the first thing to break.
• Repairing at zero. Letting durability hit 0 doubles the repair cost. Repair at the 30% warning instead.
• What wears first. The leather grip wrap degrades roughly three times faster than the head. Keep a spare in your pack; it costs 30–40 coins and takes seconds to swap.

Frequently Asked Questions

What level do I need to craft Ironhand?

Forging 20, plus a Tier 2 Iron Anvil and a Forge Hearth with Bellows. Below Forging 20 the recipe does not appear in the crafting journal at all, so there is no way to queue it early and wait.

How many Iron Ingots does Ironhand cost in total?

Six for the head, plus the ingots tied up in your stations if you are building from scratch — 12 for the Iron Anvil, 8 for the hearth upgrade and 2 each for the quench trough and grindstone. Factor those in before you decide crafting is cheaper than buying.

Can I craft Ironhand without an Iron Anvil?

No. The recipe is station-gated, and a Tier 1 Stone Anvil will not accept it regardless of your Forging level. This is the most common stall point for players who level the skill faster than they upgrade their forge.

Is Ironhand better than the Iron Hammer?

Yes on every measurable axis: 34 damage versus 21, 900 durability versus 500, and a +15% heat-retention passive the Iron Hammer lacks. It is also 0.4 kg lighter, which matters if you carry a full toolbelt.

How much does it cost to repair Ironhand?

Roughly 70 coins per 300 durability — one Iron Ingot plus two Flux. Across the full 900-point lifespan that is about 210 coins of upkeep, so budget total ownership at 600–730 coins including the original build.

Should I skip Ironhand and go straight to Steelhand?

Only if you are within a few Forging levels of 40 and can absorb the slower grind with Iron Hammers. Otherwise Ironhand’s heat-retention bonus pays for itself by cutting the fuel and re-heat time on everything you craft on the way to Steelhand.