The Steel Ingot is the first real upgrade for any aspiring smith. It is made by smelting iron together with corundum, worth 20 gold, and appears in 67 forge recipes. Steel and Imperial gear need the Steel Smithing perk, while Steel Plate and Scaled armor sit behind Advanced Armors. Dwarven gear borrows a little steel too, so you will be buying this stuff for a long time.
How to get it
To smelt one ingot you need one 
Iron Ore and one 
Corundum Ore. Corundum is the bottleneck: the best source by far is the Knifepoint Mine at Knifepoint Ridge with 19 veins, while Liar’s Retreat has 4.
Most players simply buy it. Blacksmiths such as Adrianne Avenicci, Beirand in Solitude, Brand-Shei or Arnskar Ember-Master keep Steel Ingots in stock. Bandits, adventurers and members of the Dawnguard may also carry some.
Free ingots lie around at Severin Manor (7), Volkihar Keep (6), Fort Dawnguard (5) and Riverwood (5), where Alvor’s forge is a natural place to stock up on your first visit.
Beyond the regular forge, Steel Ingots are needed at the Skyforge in Whiterun for the Nord Hero weapons and Ancient Nord armor.
Smelting and tanning
- 1 Corundum Ore + 1 Iron Ore → 1 Steel Ingot at the smelter
Used to craft
Steel Ingot appears in 77 recipes in the game files.
Armor
- Ancient Nord Armor – Ancient Nord Helmet (3), Ancient Nord Gauntlets (3), Ancient Nord Boots (4), Ancient Nord Armor (5)
- Steel Armor – Steel Horned Helmet (2), Steel Imperial Gauntlets (2), Steel Armor (4), Steel Shin Boots (3), Steel Shield (3), Steel Helmet (2), Steel Nordic Gauntlets (2), Steel Armor (4), Steel Cuffed Boots (3)
- Steel Plate Armor – Steel Plate Helmet (2), Steel Plate Gauntlets (2), Steel Plate Armor (3), Steel Plate Boots (2)
- Dwarven Armor – Dwarven Shield (1), Dwarven Helmet (1), Dwarven Gauntlets (1), Dwarven Armor (1), Dwarven Boots (1)
- Scaled Armor – Scaled Helmet (2), Scaled Bracers (1), Scaled Armor (3), Scaled Boots (2)
- Imperial Armor – Imperial Shield (4), Imperial Helmet (2), Imperial Bracers (2), Imperial Armor (4), Imperial Boots (2)
- Imperial Light Armor – Imperial Light Shield (2), Imperial Light Helmet (1), Imperial Light Bracers (1), Imperial Light Boots (1), Imperial Light Armor (2)
- Stalhrim Armor – Stalhrim Shield (1),
Stalhrim Light Helmet (1), Stalhrim Light Bracers (1), Stalhrim Light Armor (1), Stalhrim Light Boots (1) - Nordic Carved Armor – Nordic Carved Helmet (4), Nordic Carved Gauntlets (3), Nordic Carved Armor (6), Nordic Carved Boots (4), Nordic Shield (4)
Weapons and other items
- Skyforge: Nord Hero Bow (3), Nord Hero War Axe (2), Nord Hero Sword (2), Nord Hero Greatsword (3), Nord Hero Battle Axe (3)
- Steel Smithing: Steel Greatsword (4), Steel Warhammer (4), Steel Dagger (1), Steel Battleaxe (4), Steel War Axe (2), Steel Mace (3), Steel Sword (2), Steel Bolt (1), Steel Arrow (1), Crossbow (3)
- Dwarven Smithing: Dwarven Warhammer (2), Dwarven War Axe (1), Dwarven Sword (1), Dwarven Mace (1), Dwarven Greatsword (2), Dwarven Dagger (1), Dwarven Battleaxe (2)
- Advanced Armors: Nordic Arrow (1), Nordic Warhammer (5), Nordic War Axe (2), Nordic Sword (2), Nordic Mace (1), Nordic Greatsword (5), Nordic Dagger (1), Nordic Bow (3), Nordic Battleaxe (5)
The number in brackets is how many Steel Ingot each recipe needs. Bold labels are the Smithing perk the recipe requires.
Improving gear
At a grindstone or workbench, Steel Ingot is the material used to improve (temper) 119 items, including Ahzidal's Armor, Blades Armor, Cultist Mask, Dawnguard Armor, Dawnguard Rune Shield, General Tullius' Armor, Helm of Yngol, Imperial Armor, Penitus Oculatus Armor, Steel Armor, Targe of the Blooded, Vokun, Wolf Armor.
Good to know
- Steel Ingots temper a huge range of items – 119 in all, including Blades gear and the Skyforge Steel weapons.
- At Fort Dawnguard, three Steel Ingots go into the basic Crossbow.
Data from the Skyrim game files (Skyrim.esm and the official add-ons): value, weight, ore veins, recipes and merchant lists. ID 0005ACE5 is the item’s form ID for the console.
