Smithing Guide

 

Introduction

Smithing is the art of turning mined ores into useful metal objects. There are two parts to smithing: smelting and forging. Smelting means using a furnace to convert your ores into metal bars. Forging means hammering metal bars on an anvil to make weapons, pieces of armour, dart tips and more.

Beginner Lumbridge Advisor If you are just starting out in Smithing, you may want to pay a visit to Roddeck the Advisor located in the building just east of the Lumbridge General Store. You can also contact him by clicking the '?' button next to the logout button. To get started, the Lumbridge General Store can offer you a free hammer.
 

Smelting

To smelt an ore, you must 'use' it with a furnace (See image in box). Simply click on the primary ore in your inventory, and then click on the furnace. You will see your character smelting them in the furnace, and as a result, a metal bar will be deposited in your inventory.

Smelting Furnace
Location Information
Al-Kharid Has a furnace relatively close to a bank - convenient in the free world.
Falador Convenient to use if you have just been mining in the Dwarven Mine. Relatively close to a bank and available to free players.
Lumbridge Subsequent to an update as part of the Evolution of Combat, Lumbridge now has a bank chest just south-west of the furnace which is the closest in the free world to a bank. Although other furnaces are fewer steps away from the bank, Lumbridge furnace also has anvils nearby. This can be a convenient choice for players who wish to smith ores into finished products, as the bank, furnace, and anvils are all in relatively close proximity. This spot is of course available to free players and is also often used for placing and sharing Portable forges.
Wilderness Eastern Ruins at level 28 wilderness, see world map(s) for exact location. Can be used to smelt ores while mining in the nearby Hobgoblin mine.
Burgh de Rott Members only, requires In Aid of the Myreque quest. Not far from the bank.
Dorgesh-Kaan Members only. This furnace is for crafting only (jewellery, glass and moulding silver). It cannot be used for smithing of any kind, not even to smelt gold or silver into bars.
East Ardougne Members only. Close to two banks and convenient.
Edgeville Members only. One of the most convenient bank-furnace cities in game. This furnace can only be accessed after you complete at least one difficulty of the Varrock Tasks. You do not need to be wearing a piece of the Varrock Armour to use this furnace; however, since wearing a piece of the Varrock Armour gives you a chance to smelt two bars at once (see Smithing Aides section below), it is recommended that you do wear it if available.
Enakhra's Temple Members only. An odd location. Teleport there using a charged Camulet after the Enakhra's Lament quest. Teleport banking would avoid the desert effect, but ... nobody uses this furnace.
Entrana Members only. Mostly used by players crafting glass. Bank via ship back to Draynor or transfer ship to Pest Control island.
Keldagrim Members only. The Blast Furnace minigame requires only half the usual amount of coal for steel, mithril, adamant and rune smelting, and smelts iron with 100% success. The full amount of experience is still earned. Players under 60 Smithing must pay a fee to use it. Inconvenient to bank, but two shops are available. Please refer to our Blast Furnace Guide for more information.
Lost City Members only. Lost City quest required. A bit far from the bank and not heavily used.
Neitiznot Members only. One of the most convenient bank-furnace cities in game. Must complete Fremennik Trials quest to use. One-click bank just next door.
Piscatoris Members only. Swan Song quest required. Conveniently located between bank and mining rocks outside gate; also offers an iron plate press.
Port Phasmatys Members only. One of the most convenient bank-furnace cities in game. Wearing Ghostspeak amulet speeds banking but is not required (just right-click to quick bank). Ghosts Ahoy quest is helpful (for obtaining Ectophial transport), but not required. Costs 2 ecto-tokens to enter the city before completing the quest.
Rellekka Members only. Must complete Fremennik Trials quest to use. Bank via ship to other islands such as Miscellania/Etceteria or Neitiznot/Jatizso.
Shilo Village Members only. Must have completed the Shilo Village quest and pay 20gp to use it every time. However, it is one of the closest furnaces to a bank.
Tyras Camp Members only. Must do part of Regicide quest to reach this remote location. Despite the charter ship, probably the least used furnace ever.
TzHaar Members only. Located under Karamja volcano. Bank north of the furnace. Gold and silver rocks near bank and outside entrance.

Upon clicking on a furnace, a menu will appear asking which type of bars you want to make and how many; it's auto-set to make-all. Your other options are: custom, 1, 5 and 10.

Smelting Interface

All ores except iron, silver, gold, blurite, and bane must be smelted with a secondary ore to produce a metal bar. Tin and copper are used together to make bronze. The making of steel, mithril, adamant, rune, and elemental bars require the addition of coal.

Metal Ore Plus Produces Level Exp Notes
Copper ore
1 Copper
Tin ore
1 Tin
Bronze Bar
1 Bronze
1 6.2 Click on either ore to use with the furnace. It automatically uses the other ore.
Blurite ore
1 Blurite
Nothing Blurite Bar
1 Blurite
8 8 Must complete Knights Sword quest.
Iron Ore
1 Iron
Nothing Iron Bar
1 Iron
15 12.5 Only 50% chance of getting a bar on each attempt, at 15 Smithing. The chance increases by 1% for every Smithing level gained after 15, up to 80% at level 45 Smithing. See below for ways to improve the odds.
Elemental Ore
1 Elemental
Coal
4 Coal
Elemental Bar
1 Elemental
20 7.5 Must complete Elemental Workshop quest. Can only be smithed using the special furnace and anvils in the Elemental Workshop.
Silver Ore
1 Silver
Nothing Silver Bar
1 Silver
20 13.7 Used in crafting and several quests.
Iron ore
1 Iron
Coal
2 Coal
Smithing Steel Bar
1 Steel
30 17.5 Click on iron ore. It automatically uses the coal.
Gold Ore
1 Gold
Nothing Smithing Gold Bar
1 Gold
40 22.5 Used in crafting and some quests. Goldsmithing gauntlets (from Family Crest quest) earn 56.2 exp per ore smelted.
Mith Ore
1 Mithril
Coal
4 Coal
Mith Bar
1 Mithril
50 30 Click on mithril ore. It automatically uses the coal.
Addy Ore
1 Adamant
Coal
6 Coal
Addy Bar
1 Adamant
70 37.5 Click on adamantite ore. It automatically uses the coal.
Bane Ore
1 Bane
Nothing Bane Bar
1 Bane
77 50 Must complete Ritual of the Mahjarrat quest. Can only be smithed once tuned to a certain item with the Tune Bane Ore spell - See the Lunar Magicks guide.
Rune Ore
1 Runite
Coal
8 Coal
Rune Bar
1 Rune
85 50 Click on runite ore. It automatically uses the coal.

If you have the proper ingredients and are not smelting iron, you will have a 100% chance of getting a bar from your effort. The ONLY exception is when you are smelting iron ores. These have a 50% chance of conversion, as they have a chance of being impure. Every level after 15 smithing until 45 smithing will add to your success rate. Each level earns you an additional 1% chance of success. At level 45, you have an 80% chance of success. However, using the Superheat spell, wearing a Ring of forging (members) or using the Blast Furnace offers 100% success in smelting iron. All three methods still earn the full smelting experience. The Ring of forging is described further in the Helpful Hints section.

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Forging

Once you have metal bars, they can be smithed into different objects - weapons, pieces of armour, dart tips and more. To do this, you will need a hammer and metal bars in your inventory. You can also use a hammer on your toolbelt, or an equipped Golden hammer to save inventory space. Then, you will need to find an anvil - see the image below. Anvils can be found in many cities (usually those that don't have furnaces), but Varrock is popular for smithing bars in lots, since there are 3 anvils there, all near the teleport location and banks. Note: All furnace and anvil locations are shown on the world map(s).

Free to play (F2P) anvils include: Doric's, Draynor Sewer, Dwarven Mines, Lumbridge, Thurgo's, Varrock (east and west), and Wilderness Ruins (west of Bandit Camp).
Members (P2P) anvils include: West Ardougne, Burthorpe, Hemenster, Jatizso, Miscellania, Nardah, Port Khazard, Rellekka, Seers' Village, Tai Bwo Wannai Village, Void Knights Outpost (Pest Control), Yanille, and Wilderness Pirates' Hideout.

Varrock west is the closest to a bank for F2P, while Seers Village and Yanille are preferred for P2P.

Hammer Anvil
Hammer Anvil

Click on the metal in your inventory, and then click on the anvil. A menu of objects you can smith will pop up. Click on the object you want to smith and an information box listing the requirements, materials, and the value of the item will be displayed. To craft the item, you simply need to set the slider to the number you wish to make and press the smith button.

hammering awway Smithing Menu pic

If you do not currently have the level or materials to make an item it will appear darkened in the list of items.

You receive smithing experience per bar that you forge into an object. You can use the Low Alchemy and High Alchemy Spells to convert your final objects into gold pieces. The low alch value is the same amount you would get from selling the item to a General Store with none in stock, and the high alchemy value equals the amount you'd earn selling the item to a specialty shop (such as a Sword Shop or Armour Shop) at normal stock level. Of course you can also sell smithed items to other players or through the Grand Exchange.

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Smithing Tables

Below is a link to the smithing tables for each smithable metal. They will tell you the level you can smith each object, the experience points earned, and equipped stat information:

Smithing Tables

In addition to these metals, there are several types of special metals that can be smithed, as seen in the table below.

Image Item Level Exp Notes
blurite bolts Unfinished bolts (10) 13 17 xp Used for fletching (see below.)
blurite limbs Crossbow limbs
Image Item Level Exp Bars Notes
gold bowl Gold bowl 50 30 xp 2 Legends quest.
Gold helmet Gold helmet 3 Between a Rock... quest.
Furnace Forging
Image Item Level Exp Notes
Smithing Cannonball Cannonball 35 25.6 xp Requires Dwarf Cannon quest and Ammo mould. Makes 4 per bar. Profitable to sell, but a bit slow to make. Note that xp is reduced from the usual 37.5 for steel.
Iron Press (Piscatoris)
iron sheet Iron sheet 45 20 xp Requires Swan Song quest. Currently must be made singly, clicking a bar and the press each time. Can be sold to NPC Frank Caranos for 20 gp each. Note that xp is reduced from the usual 25 for iron.

There are yet other types of smithing as well, from Barbarian Smithing to armour made in Player Owned Ports - see below for details.

Image Spear/Hasta Metal Type Required Wood Smithing Level Experience Gain
Bronze spearBronze hasta Bronze Normal 5 25 xp
Iron spearIron hasta Iron Oak 20 50 xp
Steel spearSteel hasta Steel Willow 35 75 xp
Mithril spearMithril hasta Mithril Maple 55 100 xp
Adamant spearAdamant hasta Adamant Yew 75 125 xp
Rune spearRune hasta Rune Magic 90 150 xp
Item Level Exp Notes
armour stand
Armour Stand
68
88
99
25 xp Skill Hall. Requires level 28 construction, 2 oak planks, a hammer, a saw, and a matching platebody, skirt, and full helm. Building a Mithril, Adamant, or Rune armour stand earns construction xp (135, 150, or 165). If removed, you get the armour back.
Rusty sword
Repair Rusty Sword
- 25 xp Workshop Whetstone Repair Bench. May reward you with a bronze, iron, steel, black, or mithril sword or longsword.
damaged armour
Repair Damaged Armour
- 25 xp Workshop Armour Repair Bench. May reward you with a bronze, iron, steel, black, or mithril platebody.
broken armour
Repair Broken Armour
- 25 xp Workshop Armour Repair Bench. May reward you with a bronze, iron, steel, black, or mithril platelegs.
broken armour
Repair Barrows Armour
- 25 xp Workshop Armour Repair Bench. There is still a fee for this, but it is reduced based on your smithing level. Your discount is half of your level. At 50 smithing you would get 25% off the usual cost, so a 10,000 gp repair would cost 7500 gp. At 99 smithing the discount is nearly 50%, so a 10,000 gp repair would cost 5000 gp!
 

Dragon shield parts can be obtained as monster drops or from other players.

Dragon Shield Smithing
Item Level Exp Notes
dragon sq shield
Dragon Square Shield
60 75 xp If you are lucky enough to get a left shield half as a monster drop, you'll need to purchase the right shield half at the Legends Guild shop for 750,000 gp. Use the halves (and a hammer) at an anvil. Requires Legends quest to wield.
dragonfire shield
Dragonfire Shield
90 2000 xp The extremely rare draconic visage is only dropped by high level dragons and wyverns. It should be smithed with an anti-dragon shield to create the powerful dragonfire shield. Use the items (and a hammer) at an anvil.
 

Godsword shards can be obtained from monster drops within the God Wars Dungeon or purchased from other players.

Godsword Smithing
Item Level Exp Notes
Godsword blade
Godsword Blade
80 200 xp* In order to smith the Godsword blade you must obtain all three shards of the godsword. To smith the blade you must join two parts together and then smith the last shard to it. The godsword blade can then be added to one of four inter changeable hilts to complete the godsword.

*You gain 100 smithing exp for each stage of smithing the godsword blade.


Advanced Spirit Shields: You can attach sigils to your Blessed Spirit Shield(please see the Prayer Guide for more information on blessing and the shields abilities) on a hammer and an anvil.

Spirit Shield Smithing
Item Level Exp Notes
Blessed Spirit Shield
Blessed Spirit Shield
90 Prayer and 85 Smithing 1800 xp In order to smith any of the four advanced Spirit Shields you must have your basic Spirit Shield blessed, then bring it to an anvil and a hammer with the sigil you desire. Please see the Prayer Guide for information on the shield's abilities and blessing.

Dragon Platebody: You can smith the three pieces of the dragon platebody together using a Blast fusion hammer, a special hammer obtained from a Blast Furnace Dwarf at the Dragonkin Forge in the Ancient Cavern for a cost of 1,000,000gp.

Dragon Platebody Smithing
Item Level Exp Notes
Dragon Platebody
Dragon Platebody
92 Smithing 2000 xp To smith a Dragon Platebody, you must bring all three pieces (lump, slice, and shard) to the Dragonkin Forge with a Blast fusion hammer. These are obtained from killing Tormented Demons, as well as a reward from While Guthix Sleeps. You must also have completed While Guthix Sleeps.
 

Bane items: You can smith bane bolts or bane arrows after the Ritual of the Mahjarrat quest. First tune a bane ore to either Abyssal demons, Basilisks, Dragons or Wallasalki using the Tune Bane Ore lunar spell. The bar must then be smelted in a furnace, and then can be smithed at the anvil in Kethsi. To reach Kethsi, first go to the DIR fairy ring, and then to the AKS fairy ring.

Bane Smithing
Item Level Exp Notes

Bane arrowtips
80 Smithing 62.5 xp 50 arrowtips are made per bar. They must then be added to headless arrows using the Fletching skill to create bane arrows. These will do additional damage against the creature that they are tuned to.

Bane bolts (unf)
82 Smithing 62.5 xp 50 unfinished bolts are made per bar. They must then be feathered using the Fletching skill to create finished bane bolts. These will do additional damage against the creature that they are tuned to.
 

Tetsu armour: After sufficient progress has been made in the Player Owned Ports minigame, players with 90 Smithing can make Tetsu armour from plates, a high level voyage reward. Superior Tetsu armour is not tradeable but has higher stats and can be repaired. Standard Tetsu armour cannot be repaired and will degrade into nothing. Smithing experience is gained for each item made, see the item entries or the Player Owned Ports guide for more information.

Tetsu Armour
Pic Name Plates required Experience
Tetsu helm Tetsu helm 30 10,000xp
Tetsu body Tetsu body 80 30,000xp
Tetsu legs Tetsu legs 50 20,000xp
Superior tetsu helm Superior tetsu helm 40 10,000xp
Superior tetsu body Superior tetsu body 100 30,000xp
Superior tetsu legs Superior tetsu legs 60 20,000xp

Malevolent armour: Malevolent armour is made from malevolent energy and reinforcing plate. Malevolent energy is found in the Barrows - Rise of the Six minigame. Initially it is (unstable), but it transforms into a stable version one it leaves the Barrows dungeon normally (i.e. not by dying or teleporting out). Reinforcing plate is bought from Saro in west Keldagrim for 500,000gp a piece. Malevolent armour cannot be repaired and will degrade into nothing (with the exception of the malevolent kiteshield, which cannot be made, but can be repaired by Bob in Lumbridge for a fee of up to 1,500,000gp or on an armour stand). Smithing experience is gained for each item made.

Malevolent armour
Pic Name Level Malevolent energy required Reinforcing plate required Experience
Malevolent helm Malevolent helm 91 14 1 500xp
Malevolent greaves Malevolent greaves 92 28 2 1,000xp
Malevolent cuirass Malevolent cuirass 93 42 3 1,500xp

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Experience Table

For quick reference, here is a list of the smelting and smithing experience for each basic type of metal bar. (An unsuccessful iron smelt earns zero xp.)

Metal
Ore
Smelting
Experience
Forging
Experience
Total Smithing
Experience
Bronze 6.2 12.5 18.7
Iron 12.5 25 37.5
Steel 17.5 37.5 55
Mithril 30 50 80
Adamant 37.5 62.5 100
Rune 50 75 125

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Smithing and Fletching (members only)

While the Smithing skill is mainly intended to create armour and weapons for melee fighters, it is also useful for rangers via the Fletching skill. Members can use Smithing to create various items used in Fletching to make ranged weapons and ammunition. For example, they can smith a metal bar (bronze to rune) into 5 throwing knives (member-only ranged weapon). Or, they can smith a metal bar (bronze to rune) into 15 arrowheads or 10 dart tips (dart tips available only after the completion of the Tourist Trap quest). Use the Smithing tables to see the level needed to make these items. These arrowheads and dart tips could then be made into arrows or darts by using the Fletching skill (check the Fletching guide for more details and the needed levels).

Members who have completed the Zogre Flesh Eaters quest can use metal nails to fletch brutal arrows at the appropriate levels.

Additionally, the Smithing skill can be used with Fletching to make crossbows and bolts. Members can make crossbow limbs from a metal bar (bronze to rune), which they can transform into a crossbow using fletching. They can also make 10 unfeathered bolts from a metal bar (bronze to rune), then add feathers in order to be able to use them as crossbow ammunition. Moreover, these bolts can have gem-based bolt tips added, and they can also be enchanted for additional damage and effects. Please note that blurite-based crossbows and bolts can only be made after the completion of the Knights Sword quest and that the silver bolts are made using the Crafting skill. Check the Smithing tables and the Fletching guide for more details and the needed levels to make these items. Finally, do not forget that members can smith a mithril grapple from a mithril bar at level 59 Smithing and add it to a mithril bolt to make a tool useful to take some agility shortcuts.

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Smithing Aids

There are several different types of aids and bonuses for the Smithing skill, as summarized below.

Pic Name How to Obtain Use
Varrock_Armour_1 Varrock Armour 1 Obtained by completing the easy tasks of the Varrock Tasks. Gives a 5% chance to smelt 2 ores at once at the Edgeville furnace, up to and including steel bars.
Varrock Armour 2 Varrock Armour 2 Obtained by completing the medium tasks of the Varrock Tasks. Gives a 5% chance to smelt 2 ores at once at the Edgeville furnace, up to and including mithril bars.
Varrock Armour 3 Varrock Armour 3 Obtained by completing the hard tasks of the Varrock Tasks. Gives a 5% chance to smelt 2 ores at once at the Edgeville furnace, up to and including adamant bars.
Diary Varrock 4 Varrock armour 4 Obtained by completing the hard tasks of the Varrock Tasks. Gives a 5% chance to smelt 2 ores at once at the Edgeville furnace, up to and including adamant bars.
Smithing Ring Forging Ring of Forging Obtained by enchanting a Ruby Ring. Gives 100% success rate when smelting iron, lasts for 140 bars.
Goldsmithing gauntlets Goldsmithing Gauntlets Obtained by getting Avan to enchant your family gauntlets from the Family Crest quest. Gives extra smithing XP when smelting gold.
Scroll of Efficiency Obtained as a reward from Dungeoneering It costs 20,000 tokens and you must also have at least level 55 dungeoneering and level 55 smithing to use. Gives a permanent smithing benefit. When you smith an item that requires three or more bars to create, there is a chance that you will retain a bar. More details on the items database page.
Coal bag Obtained as a reward from Dungeoneering It costs 4,000 tokens and you must also have at least level 35 dungeoneering and level 35 mining to use. Can hold up to 27 pieces of coal. When superheating or smelting, coal in the bag will be used before coal in your inventory.
Pic Name of item Level Increase Information
Dwarven Stout Dwarven Stout +1 Can be purchased at many pubs across Runescape, obtained from spawns, or brewed from Hammerstone Hops using the Cooking skill. This item is tradeable on the Grand Exchange in mugs or kegs.
Dwarven Stout Dwarven Stout(m) +2 Mature dwarven stout is an occasional result from brewing Hammerstone Hops using the Cooking skill. Odds of obtaining it can be increased by using The Stuff from the Trouble Brewing minigame. This item is tradeable on the Grand Exchange in mugs or kegs.
Spicy stew Spicy Stew -6 to +6 (Random) Made by using Orange spice on a Stew. For more information on making Stews, please visit the Cooking Guide. This item is not tradeable.
Pic Name Experience Increase Information
Volatile clay hammer Volatile clay hammer 2.2x Obtained at random from the Volatile tool. Disintegrates after the charge of the tool falls to 0%, or after the tool has been reassigned ten times.
Sacred clay hammer Sacred clay hammer 2x Obtained by choosing the transform option on the Morphic proto-tool. Disintegrates after the charge of the tool falls to 0%.

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Smithing Minigames (members only)

For those who would like a little variety in their smithing training or those who would like to save on coal, the Artisan's Workshop and the Blast Furnace are two smithing minigames worth a try.

Blast Furnace (members only)

The Blast Furnace is a large smelting machine located in East Keldagrim in the basement of the factory. There are anvils to smith at in the basement as well. What makes the Blast Furnace valuable is that it only requires half the normal amount of coal to smelt any given bar. So, for example, a steel bar usually requires two coal per iron ore. At the Blast Furnace you would only need one coal per iron ore. To run such a large machine it takes a group effort from a number of different players, be it pedalling the bicycle to operate the conveyor belt, adding coke to the stove, operating the air pump, or monitoring the temperature gauge. It is possible to solo this minigame but if you're having a hard time try going to world 58, the designated Blast Furnace minigame world. Please refer to our Blast Furnace minigame guide for more information.

Artisan's Workshop

If you want to try out some different training methods visiting the Artisan's Workshop brings a number of options. Located in the south-east corner of Falador next to the mining guild, the dwarven artisans in the workshop offer a variety of training methods for smithers of all levels. Among these training methods are cart track production, smithing dwarven burial armour, helping out in the cannon repair shop, and smithing ceremonial swords. Depending on your smithing level some training methods may be better suited than others. Additionally, performing small repairs to parts that break in the workshop will net you some experience as well.

Note: Cart track production and some aspects of dwarven burial armour are available to non-members.

Training: To train in this area it is necessary to provide all of your own ores and coal. The bars made at all other furnaces in Runescape cannot be used - you must bring your ore and coal to the workshop and smelt special ingots. All the smithing techniques require ingots which vary in quality from I through IV. The higher quality ingot you want to make, the more ore and coal it will take. You can store up to 4000 ores and 8000 coal in the large furnace in the centre of the Artisan's Workshop, and you can convert ore and coal to ingots or vice-versa at any time. Something to note is that you do not get to keep any of the products of your training. However, for each ingot you train with you will also get more smithing experience than if you had smelted and smithed the equivalent in normal bars.

Rewards: Training in the Artisan's Workshop will gain you respect from the dwarven tutors. The more time you spend there and the better you become at smithing the more respect you will earn. Once you have reached certain levels of respect you can 'turn it in' for rewards. These rewards include bonuses to training in the workshop, ceremonial sword plans and a couple decorating options for your dwarven multicannon. Check out our Artisan's Workshop guide for more information.

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Smelting Urns

Urns collect metal scraps while you are smelting which can eventually be teleported away for free experience once it is filled. There are four different smelting urns. Each urn requires a different crafting level to make and will give a different amount of experience when you fill it up and teleport it away. Smelting higher level bars will fill the urn faster than lower level bars, but the experience for teleporting the urn away is the same regardless of what fills it up. Please view our Urns Section in the Crafting Guide for more detailed information on Urns.

Before you can start filling an urn, you need to activate it with a fire rune. Adding the rune requires the same crafting level as making the urn. You can have up to ten non-empty urns in your bank at once. This includes partially filled urns, completely filled urns and anything in between. You can check the level of your urn by right-clicking the urn in your inventory and choosing the Check-level option. It will also give you a message once it is 1/4 full, 1/2 full, 3/4 full and completely full.

Pic Name Crafting level to make Smithing xp Charged from...
Cracked smelting urn Cracked smelting urn 2 40 All bars level 1 and below
Fragile smelting urn Fragile smelting urn 16 62.5 All bars level 20 and below
Smelting urn Smelting urn 35 150 All bars level 50 and below
Strong smelting urn Strong smelting urn 49 250 All bars level 85 and below

Note: Smithing bars will NOT fill urns. Neither will smelting gold and silver ore, or smelting bars at the Blast Furnace or Artisan's Workshop. However, making cannonballs WILL fill urns.

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Helpful Hints

  • The ring of forging is a members' ring that allows the wearer to smelt 140 iron ores (5 loads) without failing. See the Crafting guide for details on how to make a ruby ring, and use the Magic level 49 "Enchant level 3 Jewelry" spell (5 Fire runes and 1 Cosmic rune) to enchant it. The ring dissolves after you have smelted 140 iron ores. The ore count is attached to the player, not to the ring. Wear a ring of forging, and right-click to operate it. A message in the chat window will say how many more iron ore can be smelted before a ring is consumed.
  • Goldsmithing gauntlets (from Family Crest quest) earn 56.2 exp per ore smelted. Some players use this for levelling, especially using the Arzinian gold mine available after the Between a Rock... quest. A nearby dwarf will deposit your load of gold in the bank for you, but charges several gold ores. If you wear an activated ring of charos (from the Garden of Tranquility quest), you can charm him to reduce the fee. Note that you must keep one inventory slot open for removing your gold helmet to leave the mine, unless you choose a workaround such as logging out, etc.
  • If smelting large numbers of ores into bars, select a furnace near a bank. (You will, no doubt, have the ore you bought/mined in your bank.) Top choices for smelting are Al Kharid, Neitiznot (members) and Port Phasmatys (members), due to the proximity of the furnace to the bank. Falador's west bank is a close 4th choice, down-rated by the typical crowds. Run the ores to the furnace, then deposit the bars back in the bank.
  • If smithing large numbers of bars, select an anvil near a bank, such as west Varrock, Seers' Village (members), or Yanille (members).
  • Steel nails are used for several quests, but what good are the other nails? Members who have completed the Zogre Flesh Eaters quest can use them to fletch brutal arrows. Members can also use them for Construction.
  • Elemental ores are made in the special Elemental Workshop furnace. (You can only wield or make a magic shield after you finish the Elemental Workshop quest.)
  • Dart tips can only be made by members who have completed the Tourist Trap quest.
  • Pickaxes can only be made by members who have completed the Perils of Ice Mountain quest.
  • Iron sheets can only be made by members who have completed the Swan Song quest. These are made on a press which requires log fuel, and earn only 20 xp per bar (instead of the usual 25 xp for iron forging). They can be sold to Frank for 20gp each.
  • Varrock Armour will allow you to smith two bars at one time. This also allows you to smith more iron bars per ring of forging. This has a 5% chance of occurring.
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Financial Considerations

Basics
Once, in the history of RuneScape, smithing was a means of making money fast. However, it was always a very costly process to advance quickly. You can be sure that numerous high level smiths mined almost all the ores they smithed, but this is a difficult process requiring doubly dedicated people.

As a result, the buying of ores and/or bars is a common process of obtaining the needed raw materials. In this case, questions emerge: Should I smith steel or iron? How much will it cost? How many bars will I need? The Smithing Calculator on this site will help you decide how much. Regarding what to smith, read on.

Details
The mining rate of ores above iron (mithril, adamant, rune) excludes them from being viable options for smithing on a large scale. (Large scale meaning hundreds of thousands of experience points.) These ores are rarely found in sufficient quantities, take longer to mine, and spawn slowly. Therefore, mass smithing is generally done using iron ore - smithing steel or iron bars.

Rings of Forging have made smithing, in some ways, easier than before, but mass smithing is still a money-lost operation. How much you lose depends on your cost of materials. Let's start at the end - the payoff. The most money can be made by using the High Alchemy spell on the finished item. The best option is to make plate bodies, as they use 5 bars (saving you time) and yield the most money per bar. Iron plate bodies "alch" for 336 gp, while steel plate bodies alch for 1200 gp. Experience points are also a payoff. Since the magic experience will be the same for either steel or iron, it will not be considered in this discussion. Iron plate gives 125 xp, while steel gives 187.5 xp (for Smithing only.)

Iron or Steel
At first glance, it seems obvious that steel is a better choice. Indeed, steel has a much higher payoff. However, steel also has a much higher cost of materials. Using the Ring of Forging, each iron plate alched (while wielding a fire staff) requires:

  • 1 nature rune
  • 5 iron ore
  • 5/140 Ring of forging

Steel plate, on the other hand, requires:

  • 1 nature rune
  • 5 iron ore
  • 10 coal

Another analysis examines how much experience is earned (for both smelting and smithing) for the number of ores used.

Metal Ore Number of ores used Total Smithing Experience (Smelting and Forging) Experience per ore used
Bronze 2 18.7 9.35
Iron 1 (and 1/140 ring of forging) 37.5 37.5
Steel 3 55 18.3
Mithril 5 80 16
Adamant 7 100 14.28
Rune 9 125 13.8

Discounting the cost of the ring of forging, iron is the clear winner in experience per ore. The results do not change when using the Keldagrim Blast Furnace, where the number of coal used is halved (and a Ring of forging is unnecessary). Halving the number of coal brings rune, adamant, mithril and steel to between 25 and 28xp per ore ... but iron still wins out at 37.5xp per ore.

As you see, the decision as to which metal to smith and the cost to do so is complex. However, the Smithing Planner tool might be of help in forming your decision. Please note that on average, free players will need 10 iron ore to smith iron platebodies instead of 5, as the ring of forging is for members only. Alternatively, members can use smithing to make arrow heads, then either sell them or fletch them to make arrows. You can sell the arrows for profit or use them for ranging. However, because you will be smithing these one bar at a time rather than five at a time for plate bodies, it will take more time.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What about Black items? "Black" does not exist as ore or bars and thus cannot be smithed. Black items are only available in stores, as monster drops or occasional finds (Digsite and Treasure Trails).

How can I trim my armour? Trimmed and gold-trimmed items cannot be smithed - these are available as Treasure Trails rewards only. NOBODY can "trim" your armour for you, so don't fall for this old scam. Keep in mind that trimmed, gold-trimmed, god and gilded armour all have the exact same stat effects as their plain counterparts - there are no added effects for these types of decorative armour.

I can mine granite, so can I smith a granite shield, helm, body or legs? No, sorry.

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Request Assistance

If you find yourself a few levels short of making an item, or want to safely offer your skills to another player, the request assistance option will allow you to do so. Simply right click the player who has the skills that you need and request their assistance. If they accept, a pair of hands will appear in your bottom right corner, and you can smith whatever items they can. You keep the items, but they get the experience.

There are a few restrictions to requesting assistance in Smithing:

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Skill mastery and Beyond

Cape of Achievement

Once you have mastered the skill and reached level 99 you may want to buy a Smithing cape from Thurgo the dwarf, south of Rimmington near the Ice Cave dungeon. If you already have another 99 skill, or obtain another one while wearing the cape (unless you have it keepsaked), it will become a Smithing cape (t).

Please refer to the Achievement Capes guide for more details.

Smithing Cape

After obtaining 99 Smithing it becomes possible to obtain a Molten shard randomly, which can be combined with other shards from the other artisan skills (Construction, Cooking, Crafting, Firemaking, Fletching, Herblore, Runecrafting) to create an artisan's cape and artisan's helm. The cape has the same stats as a trimmed skill cape and the helm is purely cosmetic.

True Smithing Mastery

Achieving 99 is the ultimate goal for many players, however the skill does not stop there. For players wanting to show off their dedication to a skill it is possible to obtain "True Mastery" by obtaining "120 Smithing" which is 104,273,167 XP. The Smithing master cape can then be purchased from Thurgo the dwarf, south of Rimmington near the Ice Cave dungeon.

Smithing master cape

It is worth noting that beyond level 99 there is no additional content for Smithing as the level increases are invisible so training the skill gets no faster. To work out your theoretical Smithing level check out our XP table.

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Credits

Original Guide By: Eeeeediot and misplacedme

Thanks to: Adamskii, Adam007, agamotto, Albosky, alex333, Aurhora, bluehooloovo, Cowman_133, Daigotsu, dargonhuman, Darkdude98, Daynuh, diederik22, Doelpaal, DroolMAN, essiw, Ezeeipancake, Fudgy999, ghostman, Ginger_Warrior, Griffin_3542, ho3f3l, Howlin1, idunedain, inferno_char, Jaffy1, jeff d, jimmy_jim, Jimmyw3000, Juhniz, Kill_Life, knittinqueen, Lady_Shahdie, Lansal, Lood333, lucas, mchainmail, mucco, None2None, Octarine, ooielandr, peche, pokemama, quantumkik, rctechs rc, SaidinWoT, sam_gwydion, saruman44, SerpentEye, Shasta_Sms, sheepdean, Speedyshel, spikerkid, Sy_Accursed, Thatguyphil, Tonyjr, tortilliachp, tryto, ventuzz, wallyweams, Warriormonkx, wioneo, Xerock, Zaaps1

Last Updated by: Arceus

Last Updated on: 28-Jun-2015


RuneScape 2007
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