OSRS Ironman Crafting Guide for Efficient Skilling

Crafting is a cornerstone skill for Ironman accounts in Old School RuneScape (OSRS), enabling players to create essential gear like teleportation jewelry, dragonhide armor, and birdhouses. Unlike regular accounts, Ironmen can’t rely on the Grand Exchange, making resource gathering and efficient training critical. This guide provides a comprehensive roadmap to train Crafting from level 1 to 99, tailored for Ironman players, with strategies to maximize experience while minimizing resource bottlenecks.

Crafting unlocks gear and utility items that streamline your Ironman journey. From amulets of glory for teleports to dragonhide armor for ranged combat, this skill is vital for self-sufficiency. Since Ironmen must gather all materials themselves, choosing the right training methods saves time and effort. Efficient Crafting also supports other skills like Magic (enchanting jewelry) and Slayer (using crafted gear).

Key Items to Craft

• Amulet of Glory (Level 80): Provides teleports to Edgeville, Karamja, Draynor Village, and Al Kharid.
• Dragonhide Armor (Level 57-84): Essential for ranged training and Slayer tasks.
• Birdhouses (Level 5-44): Offers passive Hunter experience, crucial for early-game resource gathering.
• Battlestaves (Level 54-66): Profitable and decent experience when combined with orb charging.

Early Levels (1-40): Quests and Low-Requirement Methods

Starting your Crafting journey as an Ironman requires careful planning to avoid wasting resources. Early levels are best tackled with quests and accessible materials like leather and gems, which don’t demand high-level skills to obtain.

Questing for Free Experience

Quests are a fantastic way to skip the slow early levels without heavy grinding. Completing these beginner-friendly quests can push you to level 10–20 quickly:

Quest	Crafting XP	Requirements
Sheep Shearer	150	None
Goblin Diplomacy	200	None
Murder Mystery	1,406	None
Elemental Workshop I	5,000	20 Mining, 20 Smithing
The Fremennik Trials	2,812	40 Crafting (optional)

Tip: Prioritize Murder Mystery and Elemental Workshop I for significant XP boosts. These quests have low requirements and can be completed early.

Leather Crafting

Leather is abundant and easy to gather. Kill cows in Lumbridge or near Burthorpe for cowhides, then tan them at a tanner in Al Kharid. Craft items using a needle and thread. Recommended progression:

• Level 1-7: Leather Gloves (13.8 XP each)
• Level 7-9: Leather Boots (16.3 XP each)
• Level 9-18: Leather Cowl (18.5 XP each)

Tip: Bank cowhides until you have enough to tan in bulk to save time and money.

Flax to Bow Strings

From level 10, collect flax south of Seers’ Village and spin it into bow strings on a spinning wheel (e.g., in Lumbridge). This method offers decent XP (15 XP per bow string) and is profitable when high-alched. Completing Murder Mystery can get you to level 11, making this method accessible early.

Core Training Method: Glassblowing (40-99)

Glassblowing is the backbone of Ironman Crafting training due to its low cost, accessibility, and high XP rates. You’ll need a glassblowing pipe (available from shops like Entrana) and molten glass made from buckets of sand and soda ash.

Gathering Materials for Glassblowing

To make molten glass, combine buckets of sand and soda ash in a furnace. Here’s how to gather these materials efficiently:

• Buckets of Sand: Collect from sand pits in Zanaris, Yanille, or Entrana. Alternatively, mine sandstone in the Sophanem quarry after completing Contact! and use a grinder for faster sand collection.
• Soda Ash: Cook seaweed (fished at Fossil Island or spawned on Entrana) on a range or fire. For a faster method, farm giant seaweed on Fossil Island after Lunar Diplomacy, as one giant seaweed yields six soda ash.

Pro Tip: Unlock the Superglass Make spell (level 77 Magic) after Lunar Diplomacy to yield 1.3 molten glass per cast, reducing gathering time.

Glassblowing Progression

Use the glassblowing pipe to craft items from molten glass. The XP per item increases with your level:

Item	Level Required	XP per Item	Notes
Beer Glass	1	17.5	Low XP, use early if needed
Vials	33	35	Decent for mid-levels
Unpowered Orbs	46	52.5	Best balance of XP and speed
Lantern Lens	49	55	Slightly more XP, slower
Empty Light Orbs	87	70	Highest XP, use at high levels

XP Rates: Expect 70,000–80,000 XP per hour with unpowered orbs, factoring in material gathering. Using tick manipulation for sand collection can push rates to 98,000 XP per hour with lantern lenses or 118,000 with light orbs.

Gem Cutting and Jewelry Crafting (40-99 Alternative)

For Ironmen with access to gems, cutting and crafting jewelry is a viable alternative to glassblowing. This method is slower but offers utility items and can be profitable when high-alched.

Sourcing Gems

Gems can be obtained through various activities:

• Mining: Mine gem rocks in Shilo Village after completing the medium Karamja Diary (requires 40 Mining, 60+ recommended). Expect 300–800 gems per hour, yielding 25,000–53,000 Crafting XP when cut.
• Slayer: Save gems from drops during tasks (e.g., from dragons or The Gauntlet).
• Managing Miscellania: Assign workers to mining for passive gem collection.
• Crashed Stars: Mine shooting stars for stardust, exchangeable for gems at Dusuri’s Star Shop.

Tip: Complete the hard Karamja Diary for access to more gem rocks, boosting hourly gem rates.

Crafting Jewelry

Cut gems using a chisel, then craft them into jewelry with gold bars (smelted from gold ore). Recommended items:

• Sapphire Ring (Level 20): 40 XP each, good for early utility.
• Emerald Amulet (Level 31): 70 XP each, enchant for teleportation.
• Ruby Amulet (Level 50): 85 XP each, useful for combat bonuses.
• Diamond Amulet (Level 70): 100 XP each, enchant for power amulet.

XP Rates: Cutting gems yields 40,000 XP per hour, while crafting jewelry adds 20,000–30,000 XP per hour. High-alch the jewelry for profit.

Passive and Alternative Crafting Methods

Besides glassblowing and jewelry, several passive or low-effort methods provide Crafting XP while training other skills or engaging in minigames.

Birdhouse Runs

Crafting birdhouses (level 5-44) for Hunter training provides small amounts of Crafting XP. Regular runs add up over time, especially early in your Ironman journey.

Guardians of the Rift

This minigame offers 5,000–6,000 Crafting XP per hour at no cost by crafting runes and mining essence blocks. It’s a great way to train Runecraft and Crafting simultaneously.

Shades of Mort’ton

Repairing the temple in this minigame yields 5,000–6,000 Crafting XP per hour alongside Prayer experience. It’s AFK-friendly but slower than glassblowing.

Dragonhide Crafting

Craft dragonhide armor (level 57-84) using hides from Slayer tasks (e.g., green dragons or Vorkath). Green d’hide bodies (level 63, 186 XP each) are ideal for ranged gear and can be high-alched for profit.

Tips for Efficient Crafting Training

Maximize your Crafting efficiency with these Ironman-specific strategies:

• Plan Material Gathering: Calculate required items using an OSRS Crafting calculator to avoid mid-training shortages.
• Use Managing Miscellania: Assign workers to fishing (for seaweed) and mining (for gems) for passive resource collection.
• Complete Diaries: The hard Karamja Diary unlocks more gem rocks, and Varrock Diary allows daily battlestave purchases.
• Avoid Low-XP Methods: Don’t waste resources on items like leather gloves past level 20 or pottery, which are slow and inefficient.
• Enchant Jewelry: Combine Crafting with Magic training by enchanting amulets for teleports or combat bonuses.

With this guide, you’re equipped to train Crafting efficiently as an OSRS Ironman. Focus on glassblowing for consistent XP, quest early for free levels, and craft high-value items like dragonhide armor and jewelry to support your account’s progression. Enjoy your journey to 99 Crafting and the self-sufficient Ironman grind!