Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-26172435-20170426191637/@comment-26172435-20170430212549

Gandalf II wrote: Why would pure mithril armour be uncraftable ? I think hard to believe that all the knowledge of pure mithril armours crafting would be forgotten/lost. Some smiths would have written it down when they saw their knowledge would be forgotten for ever.

In my view centuries have passed since the last pure mithril was produced in Khazad-Dûm and the dwarven smiths could work it with skills they could learn directly from other skilled smiths. Next to that, skill is not enough when having to deal with high smelting, fast cooling metals like mithril. Equipment and workshop layout are equally significant. Tradition among smiths is developed and established throughout many centuries to be able to achieve an ability level high enough to both produce smelts of required properties, handling methods that meet the needs of the smithing process and smithing tools, equipment and skills to produce pure mithril gear of the right shape and consistency to meet the needs of the user. Writing down the basics, if they would have done that, which would be questionable, would not suffice to pass such tradition to smelters and smiths in different cultures and after many centuries without the possibility to have one-on-one training from experienced craftsmen and without the availability of the required tools and equipment, let alone the ability to craft them. Hence, I think it is technically, realistically justifiable to assume pure mithril gear crafted ages ago, as found in treasure, cannot be reforged or repaired, nor that pure mithril gear can be crafted by third age smiths of any faction. And hence, I think it's equally justifiable to assume mithril can only be applied as either inlay or cladding in or on scales / lamellas / blades of lower quality base materials like iron and used for both crafting and repairing of 'mithril clad' gear in that way only.