There are lots of different kinds of Irons known and each has a different way to make them. They are each unique, with different qualities that helps you to tell which one they are. Below is a list of the different irons and steels, starting with irons, telling how they are made, and so forth, or in some cases, why they are not available to the current Metalcrafters.

Pig Iron - This is basically the rawest form of Iron. When the Iron ore is melted down, this falls to the bottom of the liquid, and is absorbed into the sand, to form small, short bricks that's called Pig Iron. After this, it's used to form other types of Irons, and steels. This is the form which most of the others come from, though some do come from other forms of irons.

Cast Iron - To make this type of Iron, the pig iron is melted again, and small amounts of scrap iron are added to it. After this is done, it is poured into the different casts for whatever is being made, and for the desired shape and size of the object. Cast Iron is unbendable, without breaking it, easy to mold, and very hard. It cannot be forged or welded, and crumbles when it's heated up to red or white hot temperatures, instead of merely being able to reshape it, you must melt it back down, and reform it again, not just heat it up and pound it out. It can be drilled, sawed, and filed once the outer crust is gotten rid of.

Chilled Iron - This type of Iron is cast iron, only made by a slightly different process. The cast iron is made, and while it's being cast in the different molds, there is water around the outside of the moldings, so that the outside chills faster than the inside, making the surface very hard and wear resistant.

Malleable Iron - This Iron is yet another type of cast iron, but it's of a special composition. It's iron that has been treated after casting, by heating it for long periods of time. Because of this extended heated time, some of the carbon is removed from the surface of the casting. This process also helps to reduce the brittleness, though these casting are softer and tougher than regular castings, and can be bent a bit, without having it break.

Wrought Iron - This Iron is nearly pure, with very little carbon in it, and a very small amount of impurities. Removing the carbon and impurities from the Pig Iron makes this. Now, this may not be able to done on Pern, depending on whether or not the Smiths know how to remove carbon from iron, that information isn't readily available, it seems.