The adjective ‘dwarven’ might with equal truthfulness be replaced by the phrase “high in quality”, when applied to any tool or weapon of Thergerim manufacture. Indeed, dwarven-made tools hold their edge longer, swords bite deeper – save against Thergerim chain or plate armour! – and rust seems to find it more difficult to take hold on their finishes and patinas. Since dwarven culture, and indeed dwarves themselves, can hardly be separated from their tools or weapons (the famed representative axe being both!) we offer a collation for the scholar’s information. From largest to smallest, or from crudest to most delicate, here are some of the most common implements in everyday dwarven life.

Image description. Here you see a dwarven smith wielding a large smithy hammer, apparently forging a field hoe or 'machetty'. Picture from the game Mystical Empire™, used with friendly permission. Illustration done by Arbaon.

Tools. A selection of the most common dwarven tools is listed in the following (sorted alphabetically):

• Bone Saw – used by dwarven rangers, hunters, and butchers - not chirurgeons or healers – to separate the joints of meat with which they must deal
• Carpenter’s Mallet – often wood with one metal-reinforced face for driving nails
• Carpenter’s Saw – similar to the human ‘ripsaw’, with a tapering free blade and a D-shaped handle at the widest end
• Cliff Hammer – used in conjunction with rock wedges (see below) to crack away large strata
• Climber’s Pickaxe – miniature pickaxe used to create, widen, or wedge into handholds on cliff-faces; also used in confined tunneling when mining
• Countersink – used to drill short, tapered holes just deep enough to ‘sink’ the head of a bolt or screw flush with the surface
• Field Hoe - also known as a 'machetty' or 'maketti' to other races, this odd implement consists of a double-edged rectangle of coarse metal held in a split shaft, not at all resembling the human hoe; however, it is apparently used for harvesting as much as for cultivation, and thus works in the same manner as our sickles
• Great Auger – a drill-bit as thick around as a healthy man’s thigh, used with a system of cogs and wheels to sink exploratory shafts, wells, etc.
• Greens Rake - shaped like a cupped hand, with five 'tines' or fingers which are set on the end of a long handle; used for shallow tilling of the soil or weeding
• Jewel Faceter – specialized tool for cutting diamants, emerauds, and other precious stones
• Joiner’s Chisel – a sharply-tapered wood chisel, not used with a hammer
• Maul/Sledge – massive tool, similar to the human sledgehammer but shorter handle
• Miner’s Friend (“Hunyehyim Chingu” – usually shortened to ‘Chingu’ in use) – a stubby, sturdy shovel in appearance, this combination of shovel, chisel, and pick is unglamorous but effective; used to wedge, to break away, and to move chunks of soft stone or hard dirt, the Chingu is an irreplaceable tool in the dwarven workshops - for tunneling in small spaces or dealing with cave-ins, the two-handed grip gives unmatched flexibility and strength, while the thick, reinforced blade can cleave off wood as well as a human axe

  Image description. A carpenter's saw leans against the bench, and we also see what appears to be the typical smithy hammer - possibly borrowed for a bigger- than-usual -task? Picture from the game Mystical Empire™, used with friendly permission. Illustration by Arbaon.

• Pick – another classic dwarven tool, almost as famous as the hammer or axe; a T-shaped metal blade set into a wooden shaft, used to break and loosen rock in mining – both ends pointed
• Pickaxe – similar to the pick, with one end flattened and sharpened, set horizontally in relationship to the shaft
• Pickhammer – similar to the pick, but with one end clubbed and headed like a sledgehammer
• Pierce-Point – miniature jeweler’s drill, assorted sizes
• Ringmail Hammer – specifically for forming and joining ringmail or other circlet-based work
• Rock Saw – the teeth alone are about a finger’s depth, and broadly angled
• Rock Wedge – huge triangular form nearly a ped high, hung and manipulated from a small tower which is built against the rock face being worked upon, and driven into the stone with cliff hammers (see above)
• Rubble Shovel – a wide, shallow-bladed shovel used for clearing detritus from a floor surface
• Shovel (“Puut”) – used for moving dirt or other light substances and very similar to the human shovel, with a proportionately shorter shaft and the handle being the continuation of the shaft
• Stone Chisel – About a fore long, used with mauls to split rock on a finer scale
• Wood Auger – a typical carpenter’s tool, with various ‘bits’ used for furniture joinery and so on
• Work Hammer/Smithy Hammer – the common tool which can be found in most dwarven workshops; head about the size of a she-dwarf’s clenched fist

Weapons. Among the typical dwarven weapons are the following (sorted alphabetically):

Image description. A Kurakim dwarf with his mighty war-hammer. Picture from the game Mystical Empire™, used with friendly permission. Illustration by Faugar.

• Fang-Axe – the Kurakim signature axe, with a gracefully-arced blade balanced by an armour-piercing spike; frightful results in battle belie its beautiful craftsmanship

• Two-Heads/Labrys – a classic double-faced axewhich creates a whorl of silver danger around the wielder; very hard to defend against and equally difficult to attack, unless one catches the wielder off balance or with a distance weapon such as arrows

• War-Hammer – Also known as Brainbeater or Deathdealer, best-known are also the massive Kurakim versions, but smaller hammers have been used historically by other tribes; the beautifully-balanced throwing hammers are considered a subset of the War Hammer.

Utensils. Dwarven utensils for cooking, eating or work in general can be summarized as follows (sorted alphabetically):

• Babespoon – a smaller spoon used by children, with a shallow bowl, supposedly to discourage greed and encourage slurping sounds (considered to show appreciation by dwarves)
• Belt Knife – a sharp, multi-purpose cutting blade, about the length of a man’s hand, always worn in the small sheath at the waist; can be used politely at the table only when meat must be cut
• Crusher – heavy wooden stick with a flat bottom and knobby top; either end can be used to mash tuberroots and carroots, grind soaked grains, or crack nuts.
• Eating Knife – a short-pointed, dull-edged utensil that can ‘butter’ bread, divide the soft layers of fish, spear pickles, scrape away at the salt block, and convey chunks of food to the mouth in relative safety…
• Ladle – a large (by human standards) spoon with a very deep bowl and well-curved handle; used for consuming soups, puddings, stews, and other ‘liquidy’ types of food
• Mortar & Pestle – stone, often marble; used for smaller crushing jobs such as pulverizing spices, compounding medicines, etc.
• Saltscraper - small rectangle of flint, one edge sharpened to a blade, the opposing edge flattened to a handle, used to scrape along the surface of a chunk of rocksalt to create grains for seasoning food
• Stabstick (Fork) – a slim stylus of wood with three short metal barbed prongs set into the end, very much resembling a miniature fishing trident

Miscellaneous Implements. Other implements, which don't fit into any other category are the following (sorted alphabetically):

• Boot Awl – will thrust through even the thickest leather for the heavy dwarven boots
• Cobbler’s Knife – short crescent-shaped blade, thick and sharp for cutting leather
• Earring Awl - called Morgruith (‘Bat-fang’) for its shape, and probably its origin; this tiny ‘fang’ is used specifically to pierce the lobe of the ear to insert jewelry
• Quill Knife – miniature thin blade used to manufacture quill pens from wing feathers, as so
• Rock Spike – used for climbing in rough areas where one might wish to retrace one’s tracks without leaving a visible trail of chipped foot- and hand-holds; some made with a polished loop at the dull end for stringing a rope

Myth/Lore. Famous weapons/tools of Thergerim manufacture are listed below (sorted alphabetically):

• Aldastrian Blade – This is a dwarf-forged sword, further enhanced by elven magic...
• “Riton’s Birth-Blade” – Not, as some Southerners seem to think, a magical sword, but rather a marvelous human-scale axe made for King Minar II.’s first son (see the Histories of the Mynian Kingdom)