Use Flint early and consider Copper for more damage
Permafrost’s Flint Sledgehammer is a damaging melee tool, while obstacle-focused demolition belongs to a later roadmap update. Start with Flint for its simple Workbench recipe, consider Copper for higher listed damage, and skip Refined Flint because its dropped blueprint does not unlock a craftable hammer.
Sledgehammer damage, recipes and availability
Flint and Copper give you straightforward crafting choices. The Scrap Sledgehammer has a blueprint route, while Refined Flint has an availability problem. Choose around the recipe you can actually use and the materials you already have.
| Option | Damage | How to get it | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Sledgehammer | 10 | — | Lower listed damage than Flint. |
| Refined Stone Sledgehammer | 13 | — | Lower listed damage than Flint. |
| Flint Sledgehammer | 14; power attack 28 | Craft at a Workbench using 2 Flint and 4 Wood, or buy from Skinwalker. | A practical early melee choice. |
| Refined Flint Sledgehammer | — | Its blueprint can drop, but it does not unlock a craftable hammer. | Unavailable as a usable current upgrade. |
| Copper Sledgehammer | 18 | Collect the recipe paper in House Camp along Lost Connection; craft at a Workbench using 2 Copper Ingots and 4 Wood. | Consider it once you have the recipe and ingots. |
| Scrap Sledgehammer | — | Unlock the Scrap Tools Set in the CRAFTING tree for 2 blueprint points; craft at a Workbench. | Compare its tooltip with your equipment before replacing your hammer. |
| Improved iron sledgehammer schematic | — | Collect the schematic in the area entered after speaking to Logan’s contact for the Rat Queen. | A recipe-pickup lead to follow when you reach that conversation. |
| Demolition-focused sledgehammer | — | Planned for Update 3. | A future obstacle-destruction feature, alongside additional destructible objects. |
Melee damage does not establish a demolition ability
The Flint Sledgehammer deals 14 damage on a normal swing and 28 on a power attack. Copper has a listed damage value of 18, making it worth considering when you want more base damage. Compare those attack values when choosing a melee tool; do not use them as a measure of which environmental barriers it can remove.
For structures and obstacles, do not plan your route around smashing every blocked wall with a current hammer. The obstacle-destroying sledgehammer function belongs to a later update. If your goal is opening a passage rather than dealing melee damage, buying or crafting a higher tier on that assumption is a poor reason to spend materials.
Make a Flint Sledgehammer at your Workbench
- If you need a mining tool, craft a Stone Pickaxe from your inventory using 2 Stone and 4 Wood. It can mine Flint.
- Gather Flint from Flint Boulders. Bone Cave has boulders along the route between the dog’s chamber and the far exit, including the lower cavern where the bear roams.
- Construct a Workbench through the Building menu’s Utilities section using 10 Wood.
- Select the Flint Sledgehammer recipe at the Workbench and craft it using 2 Flint and 4 Wood. The craft takes 5 seconds and produces 1 hammer.
Skinwalker also stocks the Flint Sledgehammer, giving you a buying option. You can find Skinwalker at Hunter’s Glade. Consider that option when you are already visiting him, then compare it with the materials needed to craft your own.
Find Copper’s recipe along Lost Connection
The Copper Sledgehammer recipe comes from loose recipe paper in House Camp along the Lost Connection quest route. Collect that paper before preparing to craft the hammer. Once you have the recipe, the Workbench cost is 2 Copper Ingots and 4 Wood.
If you need to make the ingots, a Stone Furnace smelts a Copper Ingot from 3 Copper and 5 Coal. The furnace costs 40 Stone to build and requires its blueprint for 2 points in the BUILDING tree. Finished smelted products appear on the ground beside its base, so collect them before returning to the Workbench.
Choose Copper when you already have its recipe and can spare the ingots. Its listed damage is 18 compared with Flint’s 14. That makes it a damage upgrade to consider, without giving you a reason to assume it opens additional walls or obstacles.
Why the Refined Flint blueprint unlocks nothing
The Refined Flint Sledgehammer is not currently in the game as a usable tool. Its blueprint can still drop, but collecting it does not unlock anything. Stop looking for a missing crafting step and use an available hammer instead.
The roadmap’s Update 3 promises a demolition-focused sledgehammer and additional destructible objects. Those additions are future features, separate from the existing Flint and Copper recipes. Keep that distinction in mind when deciding whether a hammer upgrade will help with your immediate task.
Keep your Flint hammer ready for another trip
The Flint Sledgehammer has a durability value of 175, and its repair requirement is 1–2 Flint. Check its condition before heading out and keep repair materials available if you intend to continue using it. Recycling it returns 1 Flint, so compare repairing your existing tool with replacing it before disposing of it.