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[Inatun]

So the caravan from the mountainhomes just made its first visit to our new fortress, and after I asked them for nothing but leather next year, they said that in return they'll pay double the normal price for war hammers next year when they visit. Now, I started with a dwarf maxed out in weaponsmithing and I have several veins of hematite, galena, and tons of marble, so I'll have no problem forging good silver or steel weapons, but which is more valuable?

I know that silver war hammers are more effective in battle than steel, but do the caravans follow that logic when determining worth? Should I focus on silver hammers or steel hammers?

[Loam]

Value is simply assigned to each material; a metal's effectiveness for various weapons is based on its material properties, which aren't factored in to its price. Silver has a value of 10, equal to that of iron; steel has a value of 30, equal to gold. Steel goods will always be worth more than silver goods of the same quality.

However, silver is much simpler and cheaper to produce, for a still pretty decent return. And steel can be used for things silver can't be (like armor) or shouldn't be (like edged weapons). And honestly, you'll be able to buy all the leather you want with a handful of high-quality silver war hammers. You could probably buy the whole caravan for a dozen. Trading steel is rather extravagant and unnecessary; and what else would you do with the silver?

On the other hands, if you have lots of iron and flux you'll probably never run out of steel either, even if you sell some to the caravans. Material scarcity doesn't really exist in DF the way it does in real life.

[delphonso]

Effectiveness and usefulness don't factor into price ever.

I'd agree with Loam here. Sell the silver, keep the steel. Steel has more uses and is a longer production chain. At high-demand prices, you can sell just three or four warhammers and take away most of the caravan. Leather is also exceptionally cheap.

[Inatun]

Got it, thanks for the advice.

[CyberianK]

Good idea is to keep the masterwork silver warhammers and sell the others or use them in weapon traps.

You can also smelt all lower quality ones of course but that usually requires either Magma Forge or a very plentiful supply of Coal/Coke.