Orcs can pretty much start with steel simply by burning trees for ash; butchering animals, and converting their meat into blood, and using their bones with said blood and ash to make bloodsteel.
2 Ash, 1 Stack of Bones = 1 Ironbone.
1 Ash, 1 Ironbone, 5 Units of Blood = 1 Bloodsteel.
5 Units of Blood = 1 stack of meat.
3 Ash = 3 logs or other objects.
1 Sword/Axe cost 9 bars.
Thats burning 27 logs/items, 9 stacks of bones and 9 stacks of meat, and takes 55 worksteps. (27x burning ash, 9x extracting blood, 9x ironbone making, 9x bloodsteel making, 1x forge.) + fuel.
The blood could have given 50 units of drinks, the ash/wood could have been used to make fuel or furniture or fertilizer, the 9 stacks of meat would have been eaten/cooked and traded, and the 9 stacks of bones would have made... a lot of bone ammo. At least 45 bolts/arrows.
Not sure if you looked at it that way before.