Materials

Materials are the raw stuff of every build and every craft in Knox Country. Wood, nails, metal, clay, thread, leather and tape all land here. They do little alone, but almost every recipe and every wall, barricade and forge needs them. Learning where each one comes from turns a scavenger into a builder. The Carpenter is the best occupation for materials. It starts with the most Carpentry skill. For Welding, the Welder starts strongest.

All Materials Categories

Best Materials

The top pick for each role, by the game's own figures.

For	Name	Image	Stats	Spawn ID
Lightest	Paperclip		0.01 weight	/additem Base.Paperclip
Heaviest	Large Bellows		40 weight	/additem Base.LargeBellows

Wood and Carpentry

Wood starts as a Log. A Log weighs 9.0, so logs are heavy to carry by hand. The Saw Log recipe turns one Log into 3 Plank with any saw, which is kept. A Plank weighs 3.0. Saw Large Branch gets one Plank from a Large Branch. Carve Plank does the same with a knife at Carving 2. Logs also stack. A Log Stack - Two, a Log Stack - Three and a Log Stack - Four unstack back into single logs.

Nails weigh 0.05 each and come loose or packed. A Box of Nails weighs 2.0, and a Carton of Nails weighs 20.0. Screws work the same way, with a Box of Screws and a Carton of Screws. The game's guide explains that a basic wood barricade needs a Plank, Nails and a Hammer. Barricades give doors and windows more health. The guide also warns not to depend on a barricade holding forever.

Smaller wood has its uses too. Twigs weigh 0.2 and feed a fire. A Firewood Bundle weighs 5.0. A Large Plank weighs 10.0. Wood Glue weighs 1.0 and Glue weighs 0.5.

Metal and Smithing

Metal comes from scrap and from the ground. Scrap Metal weighs 1.0. Iron Scrap, Steel Scrap, Copper Scrap, Brass Scrap and Aluminum Scrap each weigh 0.5. Iron Ore weighs 40.0 and is a rare find while foraging in the forest. Copper Ore weighs 40.0 too.

Smelting takes charcoal and a furnace. Burn Wood into Charcoal turns 2 Log into 12 Wood Charcoal at a Charcoal Burning Barrel or Pile. Make Coke turns charcoal into Coke at a Dome Kiln. Extract Iron Bloom smelts Iron Ore with charcoal at a Primitive Furnace or better. Cast Iron Ingot pours molten iron from ceramic crucibles into an ingot mold. Cast Steel Ingots and Cast Steel Ingot from Iron need the Advanced Furnace. The steel recipe from iron also takes Coke and Limestone.

An Iron Ingot or a Steel Ingot weighs 6.0. Ingots break down into blocks, chunks and bars for the forge. Forge Steel Sheet turns a Steel Block into a Steel Sheet at Blacksmithing 4. A Steel Sheet weighs 2.0. Make Metal Sheet joins four Steel Sheet - Small pieces with a Welding Torch at Welding 4. Welding Rods weigh 1.5. A Propane Tank weighs 10.0 and refills a Welding Torch.

Forged tool heads sit here as well. The Axe Head, the Wood Axe Head, the Pick Axe Head, the Sledgehammer Head and many blades wait for a handle. Anvils start as untreated castings, such as the Block Anvil (Untreated) at 30.0 and the Blacksmith Anvil (Untreated) at 40.0.

Clay, Stone and Glass

Clay weighs 0.3. Take Clay from Sack empties a Sack of Clay into 8 Clay and gives back the sack. Clay also turns up while foraging. Clay becomes unfired pots, jars, bricks, tiles, shingles, molds and crucibles. A kiln then fires them. Fire 3 Bricks turns unfired bricks into Brick at a Primitive Kiln. Fire 6 Bricks does a bigger batch at an Advanced Kiln. A Brick weighs 0.3.

Limestone weighs 1.0 and is foraged with other stones. Fire 2 Limestone makes Quicklime at a Primitive Kiln. Large Stone weighs 40.0. Bag of Concrete Powder and Bag of Plaster Powder each weigh 5.0. Mix Bucket of Concrete stirs the powder into a bucket of water.

Glass needs heat too. A Small Ceramic Crucible with Molten Glass feeds the Glassmaking recipes. Make Glass Pane pours it into a Ceramic Sheet Mold. A Glass Pane weighs 0.2. Lantern Glass weighs 1.0. A Glass Blowing Pipe weighs 0.3.

Fabric, Thread and Leather

Thread weighs 0.1 and is the base of all Tailoring. Pick Thread pulls Thread from a Rag or Denim Strips at Tailoring 1. Spin Thread From Wool and Spin Yarn From Wool need a Spinning Wheel. Spin Thread from Flax turns Flax (Heckled) into Thread at the same wheel. Yarn weighs 0.3.

Flax goes through a long chain. Dry Flax dries the harvest on a Large Plant Drying Rack. Ripple Flax, Scutch Fibre and Heckle Flax follow at the Ripple Comb, the Scutching Board and the Heckle Comb. Heckling leaves Flax Tow as a side product. Craft Twine makes Twine from Flax Tow, Hemp Dogbane or scutched hemp. Twist Rope from Dogbane makes Rope. Twine weighs 0.5 and Rope weighs 0.8.

Strips come from clothes. Denim Strips and Leather Strips each weigh 0.2. Cut Up Small Leather gives 6 Leather Strips. Cut Up Medium Leather gives 12, and Cut Up Large Leather gives 25. A Sheet weighs 1.0. Tie Sheet Rope turns it into a Sheet Rope, and Untie Sheet Rope reverses it.

Hides come from butchered animals. Remove Flesh and Remove Fur use a fleshing tool at a Softening Beam. Make Bowl of Brain Tan mixes an animal brain with water. Tan Leather then turns the hide into wet leather, and the Dry recipes finish it. A Deer Hide or a Cow Hide weighs 5.0.

Tape, Glue and Repair

Tape and glue fix almost anything. Duct Tape weighs 0.5 and Adhesive Tape weighs 0.3. A Box of Duct Tape weighs 5.0. Glue weighs 0.5 and Epoxy weighs 0.5. Fiberglass Tape weighs 0.8. These go into repairs, tailoring, electrical builds and crafted weapons.

Wire weighs 1.0. It goes into fishing nets, cage traps and electrical builds. Barbed Wire weighs 1.0. It wraps around weapons and builds a Barbed Wire Fence. Tarp weighs 2.0, and a Tarp Piece weighs 0.5. Cut Tarp turns one Tarp into 6 Tarp Piece. Tarp goes into the Improvised Tent Kit, the Improvised Poncho, the Tarp Sack and other makeshift gear. A Tire Piece weighs 3.0. Cut Up Tire makes 4 Tire Piece and 1 Scrap Metal at Strength 4.

Notes

• Bundles such as the Rope Bundle, the Rag Bundle and the Wire Bundle carry many units in one slot. The Unstack recipe splits them.
• Gold Fragments and Silver Fragments each weigh 0.05 and go into fine smithing.
• Charcoal weighs 0.8.

All Materials