Zomboid Blacksmithing Lv 4-10: Recipes, XP, Skill Books

Short answer: if you have read all five Blacksmithing skill books, Blacksmithing levels 4 to 10 take about 36 forging crafts; with no books it is about 399. (Both are our own calculation; the assumptions are listed under the table below.) What sets the count is the skill-book multiplier, not the workstation. Using the high-XP recipes that only the Advanced Forge can make saves just 3 crafts over a Simple Forge alone (39 versus 36). The Advanced Forge pays off in what you can make (sword blades, hammer heads, a doorknob), not in XP efficiency.

This continues our Blacksmithing starter guide (furnace and forge requirements), which stopped at level 1. This one covers levels 4 to 10: what you can make and how much XP each craft gives.

Build and sources. The game is Build 42.21 (stable since 28 September 2026, per the Steam news). The numbers come from these pzwiki.net pages, fetched on 14 October 2026. Their version tags differ: Blacksmithing is 42.18.0, Advanced Forge 42.12.3, the magazine pages (item infobox) 42.20.0, the Blacksmith occupation 42.21.0, and Skill 42.3.1. The recipe tables are generated by the wiki from game data, and the page does not say which Build that data is from. I did confirm that the "Magazine" column in the tables matches the learned-recipe lists on the pages for four magazines (American Bladecraft, Blunt Forge, Medieval Armory - June 1993, Small-Scale Smithing). The official notes for 42.20 to 42.21 show no change to Blacksmithing recipes or XP (the 42.21 unstable notes say only that the Welder occupation now starts with Welding recipes instead of Blacksmithing ones). None of this was tested by forging in game. Workstation and item names use the English names from the in-game recipe list.

By level: what you can make and how much XP

The recipe tables give the required Blacksmithing level, workstation, how the recipe is learned, and the XP per craft. The XP shown is before the skill-book multiplier. Here are the high-XP ones in order of required level.

You need tools too. Most head and blade recipes use a ball-peen hammer, tongs and a metalworking punch. You can make the punch at level 1 with Forge Metalworking Punch (25 XP, Everyday Smithing - June 1993). Doorknob also needs metalworking pliers and the small punch and small files tags. "Pierced" materials come from Pierce Chunk and Pierce Block (level 0, 10 XP each, 1 to 2 charcoal) and Pierce Ingot (level 3, no XP, 4 charcoal), all using a hammer, tongs and a metalworking punch.

With all five skill books, levels 4 to 10 take about 36 crafts

The XP per level comes from the wiki's experience table (regular skills). The skill-book multiplier, per level you are going up to, is 3 for levels 1 and 2, 5 for 3 and 4, 8 for 5 and 6, 12 for 7 and 8, and 16 for 9 and 10. Divide the XP needed by the multiplier and you get the XP you actually have to earn with the book read. The "crafts" columns divide that by the highest-XP recipe available at that level (required Blacksmithing level at or below your current level, with no other skill required) and round up.

Assumptions and limits. (1) Each level uses only that step's XP and rounds up, so nothing carries over. (2) All five books (Blacksmithing I to V) are read to the end; the multiplier rises as you read each book. (3) I did not check whether the starting-level bonus or the 130% from "Crafty" or "Fast Learner" stacks with the book multiplier, so it is not in the calculation. (4) The experience table is the one the Skill page labels as Build 41.78.16 values, and I could not confirm it is the same in Build 42. (5) It assumes you have enough materials (steel bars, charcoal).

With a Simple Forge only, the same calculation gives 39 crafts with books and 425 without (5 to 6 becomes 8 crafts of Drill at 50 XP, 7 to 8 becomes 8 crafts of Axe Head at 70 XP, and 9 to 10 becomes 7 crafts of Crude Sword Blade at 90 XP). The Advanced Forge saves 3 crafts with books and 26 without.

By XP per charcoal, the order changes

The XP-yielding Blacksmithing recipes use charcoal (the Blacksmithing page says every recipe does, though the recipe table includes Split Metal Sheet, which uses none), and charcoal is made from logs at a charcoal burner. Few crafts will not help if you run out of charcoal. Picking representative recipes from the table above and sorting by XP divided by charcoal gives this (a selection of examples, not a re-sort of every recipe; materials other than charcoal are not counted).

At level 9, Doorknob gives 100 XP for 2 charcoal, the most per charcoal among the level 9 recipes. Like Lantern, though, it needs other materials (Lantern needs Lantern Glass and wire; Doorknob needs a bar-stock quarter and some small tools). Metal armor costs the most charcoal per XP, so it is a poor way to level.

Plate armor needs Tailoring too

Metal armor needs both Blacksmithing and Tailoring levels, plus leather strips, buckles and thick thread. All of it is made at a Simple Forge.

Small parts include Forge Metal Mask (Blacksmithing 4, Tailoring 2; 10 Blacksmithing XP, 5 Tailoring XP) and Forge Codpiece (Blacksmithing 4, Tailoring 3). The tools are a ball-peen hammer, tongs, a sewing needle and an awl (for Body Armor and Coat of Plates). Buckle is made at level 4 with Forge Buckle (40 XP), from the Small-Scale Smithing, European Armor in the Late Medieval Era or Armor in the Iron Age magazine. If armor is your goal, your Tailoring level and your supply of steel sheets and leather will stall you before your Blacksmithing level does.

Without the magazine: three ways to learn a recipe

The "Recipes" column lists up to three ways to learn each recipe.

• Read the magazine. The surest way. For example, Blunt Forge teaches Crowbar, Sledgehammer Head, Pick Axe Head, Club Hammer Head and others.
• Auto-learn. Most unlock one to two levels above the required level (Hatchet Head needs 4 and auto-learns at Blacksmithing 5). Blade recipes also need a weapon skill. Sword Blade is "Blacksmithing 10 and Long Blade 5", Machete Blade "Blacksmithing 10 and Long Blade 4", and Crude Sword Blade "Blacksmithing 9 and Long Blade 2". To craft a level 9 recipe at level 9, you need the magazine (or to research it).
• Research. If you hold an item listed under "Researchable from" in the table, you can research it to learn the recipe (for the Crowbar recipe, a Crowbar or a Tire Iron). It is not always the item the recipe makes.

The Blacksmith occupation knows 72 Blacksmithing recipes from the start (Blacksmith occupation page, version 42.21.0). Of the first table, everything except Forge Shortsword Blade can be made without a magazine (level and materials still apply). The plate armor recipes are not among the 72. The occupation also starts at Blacksmithing +4.

Pick the Advanced Forge for what it makes, not for XP

Of the 75 recipes in the tables that need Blacksmithing level 4 or higher, 23 can only be made at the Advanced Forge. Building it needs a Large Bellows; the requirements are in the earlier guide. Advanced-Forge-only recipes include:

• Swords and blades: Shortsword Blade (Lv7), Sword Blade and Machete Blade (Lv9), Hunting Knife Blade (Lv5), Handguard Dagger (Lv6)
• Tool heads: Pick Axe Head (Lv7), Sledgehammer Head and Wood Axe Head (Lv8), Club Hammer Head (Lv4)
• Weapon heads: Mace Head (Lv7), Spear Head (Lv4), Long Spear Head (Lv5)
• Other: Crowbar and Doorknob (Lv9), Lantern, Hinge and Wrench (Lv5), Forceps, Tweezers and Buckle (Lv4)

High-XP recipes a Simple Forge can make include Crude Sword Blade (Lv8, 90 XP) and Axe Head and Spade Head (Lv6, 70 XP). You need the Advanced Forge when you want recipes only it can make, such as Sword Blade, Machete Blade, Crowbar, Doorknob or Sledgehammer Head. If you only want levels, the totals above show a Simple Forge does not hold you back much.

What to secure first

1. The skill books (Blacksmithing I to V). The multiplier climbs 3, 5, 8, 12, 16, which affects the count more than anything else. 399 crafts without books is not a realistic number.
2. Charcoal. Each craft uses 1 to 9 for the non-armor recipes in the tables, and 17 to 25 for plate body armor. The charcoal burner is unlocked by the Iron Age Blacksmithing magazine, covered in the earlier guide.
3. Tools: a ball-peen hammer, tongs and a metalworking punch (makeable at level 1). Sledgehammer Head and Crowbar also use a Metalworking Chisel (Lv4, 45 XP).
4. Steel: Steel Bar and Steel Chunk, Block and Ingot. Levels 8 and 9 revolve around steel, and Steel Bar can also be cast with Cast Steel Bar at an Advanced Furnace (no XP).
5. Weapon skill: if you want blade recipes to auto-learn, you also have to raise Long Blade.

What I could not confirm

• Testing on Build 42.21. The recipe tables are wiki-generated and do not say which Build they come from. The Advanced Forge page is tagged 42.12.3 and Blacksmithing 42.18.0, both before the current 42.21.
• Whether the experience table and multipliers are the same in Build 42. The Skill page labels the table as Build 41.78.16 values.
• Whether the starting level (occupation +4, trait +2) and XP-rate traits stack with the book multiplier. They are not in the calculation.
• How to read "Auto-learnt". I read it as learned automatically once both skills reach those levels; I did not check this in game.
• Exactly which items carry the Pierced and barstockquarter tags, and the net steel cost when materials run short. Not calculated here.
• The stats of what you forge (blade sharpness and durability, armor protection). Out of scope here.

Sources

• pzwiki: Blacksmithing (version tag 42.18.0; skill books, recipe magazines, XP-rate traits, starting levels)
• pzwiki: Advanced Forge (version tag 42.12.3; the recipe table with required level, XP, workstation and how each is learned)
• pzwiki: Skill (version tag 42.3.1; XP table and book multipliers; the table is labelled Build 41.78.16)
• pzwiki: Blacksmith (occupation; version tag 42.21.0; the 72 recipes known from the start)
• pzwiki: Magazine: Small-Scale Smithing (learned recipes; infobox version 42.20.0)
• pzwiki: Magazine: Blunt Forge (learned recipes; infobox version 42.20.0)
• pzwiki: Magazine: American Bladecraft (learned recipes; infobox version 42.20.0)
• pzwiki: Magazine: Medieval Armory - June 1993 (learned recipes; infobox version 42.20.0)
• The Indie Stone: Build 42.21 Stable Released (28 September 2026; the current stable build)
• The Indie Stone: Build 42.21 Unstable Released (the change to the Welder's starting recipes)

Related: Blacksmithing starter guide (furnace and forge requirements) | Electrical XP guide