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[magikarcher]

This may have been done before, but this strategy allows you to save TONS of points on steel battle axes. This is what you do:

Materials

-Ditch the axes
-Add 1 charcoal
-Add 1 copper bars
-Optional: Ditch the charcoal, bring 1 towercap logs instead
-Optional: Ditch the bars, bring some sort of copper ore and 1 extra charcoal/wood
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Process

1. Build Metalsmiths Forge (and wood burner and/or smelter if you chose one of the additional paths)
2. Optional: Smelt a single ore and/or burn a single wood.
3. Smith the axe.
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This probably seemed obvious, but I didn't notice it till just earlier today.

[Kagus]

...  But in order to do that, you need to keep the anvil.

The axes cost what, 600 each?  That gets you 1200 points before adding in the coal and copper.  The costs of those are negligible, so let's just say it's 1200 points.

Now drop the anvil and one axe.  Now you start with one steel axe, and 1600 extra points.


So unless you're planning a large metalsmithing industry right off the bat (thus requiring the anvil), just dump the anvil.  You'll have one axe of a higher quality than the one you could forge, and 400 more points.

[Dogman]

Default embark quality steel axes are only 300 each.

[BurnedToast]

It might matter more if you didn't have so many points from dumping the anvil. I usually drop the copper picks and buy steel ones just for something to spend the points on.

It's a waste to bring the anvil because the dwarf caravan which comes less then a year into the game (almost certainly before you are ready for a big metal industry anyway) brings one the vast majority of the time and if they don't the humans will. It's trivial to make enough stone crafts to buy it, too, even if you start with an untrained guy.

[Possessed]

It might matter more if you didn't have so many points from dumping the anvil. I usually drop the copper picks and buy steel ones just for something to spend the points on.

It's a waste to bring the anvil because the dwarf caravan which comes less then a year into the game (almost certainly before you are ready for a big metal industry anyway) brings one the vast majority of the time and if they don't the humans will. It's trivial to make enough stone crafts to buy it, too, even if you start with an untrained guy.

You'd be better off spending the points on wood or seeds.
Or wardogs.

[WCG]

I just started my second fortress, and I thought I'd be smart and forge my own axes and picks. But I wanted steel items - especially for the woodcutter - so they could more easily defend themselves, and it turns out that steel bars cost 150 at embark - half the cost of a steel axe!

Well, that was just too expensive. You don't save enough by making your own (especially if you want a steel pick, too, instead of copper). I ended up buying steel axes and picks, and giving up the anvil. I'll have to get one from a caravan sometime.

Bill

[BurnedToast]

You'd be better off spending the points on wood or seeds.
Or wardogs.
[/quote]

If I have trees, why do I need the wood? If I don't have trees, I bring a few dozen logs for beds, why do I need more? I never bring seeds anymore because I never farm anymore (makes the game too easy). I've tried bringing war dogs on dangerous embarks, but usually they either wander off and get killed one by one or I get annoying with them and stuff them in a cage till they die of old age anyway.

[LegacyCWAL]

If I have trees, why do I need the wood? If I don't have trees, I bring a few dozen logs for beds, why do I need more? I never bring seeds anymore because I never farm anymore (makes the game too easy). I've tried bringing war dogs on dangerous embarks, but usually they either wander off and get killed one by one or I get annoying with them and stuff them in a cage till they die of old age anyway.

*shrug* why not bring logs?  It's that much less time your woodcutter has to spend outdoors chopping, rather than indoors doing other stuff and safely away from the elephants and carp.  And if you don't have anything better to spend your cash on, it's better than nothing.

[Mephansteras]

I always ditch the axes, and bring 12 tetrahedrite, 30 coal, 30 logs, 1 charcoal, and a platinum ore. A few of the tetrahedrite is smelted for copper and the occasional silver, with the rest being turned into Billon. I then make a few axes and picks, and have most of my people digging and building up the fort while my metalsmith makes a ton of wealth out of Platinum and Billon crafts. It's not a perfect system, since you can get unlucky with the platinum crafts, but usually that 1000 point anvil ends up netting my about 2-3000 before the first caravan arrives. Plus, I usually have enough metal around for some decent bolts so I can start training up some marksdwarves as soon as the first immigrants arrive. The 30 logs mean my carpenter can make every wood item I need off the bat without needed the axe until well after I've had time to get it made.

Never had this strategy fail on me. I'm sure the anvilless ones work fine too. That's one of the nice things about this game, so many ways to do things to fit your style, the map you're on, etc.

[Fossaman]

I've come to the conclusion that leaving the anvil behind isn't necessary. I usually ditch one of the axes and all of my plump helmets, and bring some extra plump helmet seeds. As long as I get my farming and brewing going right away, it's nearly impossible to starve or run out of booze.

[magikarcher]

I am a total penny pincher, so saving even 20 points saved is good enough for me. I don't understand why people want steel picks, they don't do anything but increase melee damage. My miners are never in dangerous situation, so damage doesn't matter to me. Also, fossamon, that is EXACTLY my typical strategy.

[Wang Commander]

I ditch both axes to bring a ton of turtles.  Never know when that shell will come in handy.

[axus]

Points aren't so important unless you're in a dangerous area where you need defense right off the bat.  I'll usually keep one anvil and one axe, and go light on the food and drink.  It's fun to start off in different ways, though!

[jp.mech]

I replaced my axe with a hammer for a military dwarf I was bringing to beat back skeletal carp, with the intention of forging the axe when I got there.

Then I forgot to bring wood or charcoal 

Then my hammerdwarf tangled with some skeletal carp in the river and drowned 

Luckily, the magma wasn't too hard to find.

[yggiz]

Steel Picks say you care.

You know you'd make them some adamantine ones if you had some extra lying around.

I also ditch the starting picks and axes, and just bring copper bars and charcoal to forge some on site. Also a flame retardant stone (bauxite if the civ has it, and magma is on the map, save some time and wagon space in the future if you just import the 3 point stone for future furniture and mechanisms)

But I also like to be lazy sometimes and just sack the anvil and keep the tools. So many paths, it's awesome.