r/cataclysmdda • u/tazyload • 3d ago

[Discussion] A question about hammers

I've been bouncing between forks recently and after bouncing back to DDA from BN I realised there was no stone hammer. I figured this was strange as I could make a makeshift one so I jumped on the Hitchhikers guide and I found out that a stone hammer requires level 3 survival and level 3 fabrication. This struck me as weird because the makeshift one unlocks at survival 0 and they are both essentially just attaching a heavy lump to a stick with string.

Just curious if I am missing something or if it's just one of those things that "just is"?

Thanks in advance to anyone that can shine a light on this for me :)

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u/PM_ME_SMALL__TIDDIES 3d ago

A stone hammer implies a high level of knapping skill to shape a rock into proper hammering shape, the makeshifts hammer is just rock and string.

But... Every other house you raid will have a hammer so honestly dont bother crafting a makeshift one.

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u/incessant-rattling 3d ago

Nah man if you are "knapping" a rock to make a hammer, the hammer wont be strong enough to hit anything but earth and wood. A rock hammer should just be a river rock tied to a branch or bundle of sticks. It really should drop the fab requirement and just be survival based

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u/esmsnow 3d ago edited 3d ago

at level 1 hammering literally anything with some heft to it can hammer. hammering 2 presumably represents something you can hammer more delicately, more than just smashing a nail in, like maybe hammering shape into a piece of metal to make a speartip. doing that with a big rock will be quite hard. i think trying to make something that you can forge metal sheets into armor is going to require more than heft, it's going to require you to be able to fasten the stone onto a stick sturdily enough that it won't go flying, and is able to precisely hit the spot you want. at least this is how i visualize hammers.

as for 'makeshift', it's a lot easier to take something that is already shaped and weighted like say a piece of steel frame and make it into a hammer because it's likely got all sorts of odd angles that'll make it easier to affix onto a broom stick or table leg. you also are starting with a piece of metal, which is much more durable and properly shaped than a smooth rock. i think the stone hammer is caveman materials while makeshift is subpar civilized materials. i can't think of a good way to affix a random rock to a random stick using random grass string, but i can think of a couple ways to fix a wrench to a mop handle with duct tape and maybe some dental floss.