OSRS Ironman Crafting Guide: Best Methods and Tips for Success

For Ironman accounts in Old School RuneScape (OSRS), crafting is a vital skill that unlocks essential items like jewelry for teleportation, amulets for combat boosts, and even gear upgrades. Unlike regular accounts, Ironmen can’t rely on the Grand Exchange, making efficient training methods and resource gathering crucial. This OSRS Ironman Crafting Guide will walk you through the best ways to level up crafting, gather materials, and optimize your time, all tailored for the self-sufficient Ironman lifestyle. Whether you’re aiming for level 99 or just need a few key items, this guide has you covered with practical tips and strategies.

Crafting isn’t just about aesthetics in OSRS—it’s a gateway to self-reliance for Ironmen. From teleportation rings to powerful amulets, this skill directly impacts your ability to navigate the game world and succeed in combat or skilling. Let’s break down why it’s worth your time.

Key Items You’ll Unlock

• Rings of Recoil (Level 19): Early-game damage reflection for PvM.
• Games Necklace (Level 22): Teleport to Burthorpe or Barbarian Outpost.
• Amulet of Glory (Level 80): Boosts stats and offers teleports to Draynor, Edgeville, and more.
• Slayer Ring (Level 75): Essential for Slayer tasks with teleports to key locations.

Efficiency and Self-Sufficiency

As an Ironman, you’ll need to gather every resource yourself. Crafting efficiently means balancing XP gains with material availability. Glassblowing, for instance, becomes a go-to method due to its low cost and easy-to-source materials like seaweed and sand. This guide prioritizes methods that align with the Ironman grind.

Early Levels: 1-20 Crafting

Starting your crafting journey as an Ironman is all about using readily available resources. The early levels are quick, and you can skip a lot of the grind with the right approach.

Leather Crafting (1-10)

Grab a needle and thread from the Al Kharid crafting shop or kill cows near Lumbridge for leather. Here’s a simple progression:

• Leather Gloves (Level 1): 13.8 XP per pair.
• Leather Boots (Level 7): 16.3 XP per pair.
• Leather Chaps (Level 18): 27 XP per pair.

Cows drop hides consistently, and tanning them in Al Kharid is cheap. This method gets you to level 10 fast.

Molten Glass Introduction (10-20)

At level 10, switch to glassblowing. Collect buckets of sand from Yanille or Entrana and seaweed from Piscatoris Fishing Colony or fossil drops. Use a furnace (e.g., Edgeville) to make molten glass, then craft:

• Beer Glasses (Level 1): 17.5 XP each.
• Empty Candle Lanterns (Level 4): 19 XP each.

This sets the stage for the glassblowing meta that dominates Ironman crafting.

Mid-Game Crafting: 20-61

Once you hit level 20, glassblowing becomes your bread and butter. It’s affordable, scalable, and uses resources you can gather passively. However, there are alternatives depending on your progress.

Glassblowing Dominance (20-61)

Stockpile seaweed and sand—aim for a 1:1 ratio of buckets to seaweed. Cook the seaweed into soda ash on a fire, then combine it with sand in a furnace. Here’s a progression:

• Unpowered Orbs (Level 46): 52.5 XP each—great for magic training later.
• Lantern Lenses (Level 49): 55 XP each.
• Dorgeshuun Light Orbs (Level 52): 70 XP each (requires starting Dorgeshuun questline).

Pro Tip: Use the Superglass Make spell (Level 77 Magic) with the Lunar spellbook to convert materials directly into molten glass, saving time and boosting XP (up to 130k/hr with high focus).

Gem Cutting Alternative

If you’ve been mining, cut gems like sapphires (Level 20, 50 XP) or emeralds (Level 27, 67.5 XP). This is slower and less efficient but viable if you’re swimming in gems from PvM or mining trips.

Late-Game Crafting: 61-99

Reaching the higher levels requires a mix of glassblowing and jewelry crafting. Your goal shifts toward unlocking key items while pushing for 99 efficiently.

Glassblowing to 87

Stick with glassblowing for its consistency. At level 87, you unlock Light Orbs (104 XP each), which pair with steel frames to make Dorgeshuun Light Orbs. This is the fastest method without significant cost, offering 70-100k XP/hr depending on focus.

Item	Level Required	XP Each
Unpowered Orbs	46	52.5
Lantern Lenses	49	55
Light Orbs	87	104

Jewelry Crafting (61-99)

For the final push, craft gold jewelry with gems. Mine gold ore (e.g., Crafting Guild with 40 Crafting) and gems from PvM or mining. Key items include:

• Ruby Amulets (Level 50): 85 XP each—string them for extra XP.
• Diamond Rings (Level 56): 100 XP each.
• Dragonstone Amulets (Level 80): 150 XP each—ideal for Amulets of Glory.

Note: Enchanting jewelry (e.g., Amulet of Glory) requires Magic levels, so plan accordingly.

Charter Ship Method

Buy molten glass from charter ships (e.g., Port Sarim) for 20-30 gp each if you’re flush with cash from Slayer or PvM. This skips gathering but costs more—use it sparingly to supplement glassblowing.

Tips and Tricks for Ironman Crafting

Maximizing efficiency as an Ironman means smart resource management and leveraging your account’s progress. Here are some standout strategies.

Resource Gathering Hacks

• Seaweed Spores: Dive underwater near Fossil Island for a steady supply.
• Sandstone Mining: Quarry in the Desert offers buckets of sand via sandstone grinding.
• Gem Rocks: Shilo Village or Prifddinas mining for jewelry materials.

Quest Boosts

Quests give crafting XP and unlock useful content:

• The Fremennik Trials: 2,812 XP (Level 20+ recommended).
• Dwarf Cannon: 750 XP early on.
• Song of the Elves: Access to Prifddinas gem rocks (late-game).

XP Optimization

Use the Crafting Cape at 99 for a teleport to the Crafting Guild. Combine glassblowing with Superglass Make for 10% more glass per cast, stretching your resources further. Bank presets speed up trips—load sand, seaweed, and a fire staff for seamless runs.

Final Thoughts on Crafting as an Ironman

Crafting as an Ironman in OSRS is a grind, but it’s rewarding. Glassblowing carries you through most levels with minimal hassle, while jewelry crafting ties your progress to key unlocks like the Amulet of Glory or Slayer Ring. Focus on gathering resources passively (seaweed from fishing, sand from mining) and integrate crafting into your broader goals—Slayer, quests, or PvM. With patience and these methods, you’ll hit 99 and deck out your Ironman in style.

Got a favorite crafting method or tip? Share it below—fellow Ironmen want to know!