[quote=@Theyra] As far as I can find. The first metal hammers were made of copper that was found and shaped in a hammer. Otherwise, casting it using stone or clay molds. I found that wooden tongs were a thing in the ancient past before metal tongs, so you could use those. This help or should I research more? [/quote] That does help! Or at least confirm a couple of things for me to hopefully make it work out IC. Whew. Thanks! [quote=@Wernher] If you mean bronze tools, then I'd say thats been around for a while. If iron though... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrous_metallurgy 'It is not known when or where the smelting of iron from ores began, but by the end of the 2nd millennium BC, iron was being produced from iron ores in the region from Greece to India,' As for metal production seems to go like Copper Bronze Meteoric iron Naitve/Telluric iron Iron ore [/quote] Hmm. Yeah, this does help! She might need to see if enough minute copper or such can be found to make a hammer to then handle iron with afterwards, or else she might need to cast something iron using raw heat and something like local iron sand from the mountains at first to get a first tool up and running to better work with iron and so forth thereafter. :hmm ------- Eliza is wanting to get into iron tools, basically, though in this area of the world people still live a rather sedentary hunter-gatherer neolithic type lifestyle. Their tools are straight-up stone age! But this is a more iron-rich area of Japan, and I don't want to push the initial rules on availible resources beyond what would be reasonable. There is also iron sand that could be smelted down into stuff, as the Japanese irl managed to eventually do, though currently Eliza isn't thinking about that sort of thing at this very moment and do I want her to come across it organically in due course (sooner, or later, either way). Stll, this all confirms that there is something to work with here! I did choose her a challenging starting area for a reason, but whew does it present some challenges in the process. Thank you both! :D [@Theyra][@Wernher]