One of the more frustrating Skyrim mechanics is the fact that arrows have to be either found in dungeons or bought from vendors, who usually have pitifully small amounts in their inventory. With the Arrowsmith Skyrim Mod, you can actually craft your own arrows at forges, using firewood, chicken feathers and ingots of the requisite material. Glass arrows, for instance, can be crafted with Refined Moonstone and Refined Malachite. One ingot of each, plus fletchings and two pieces of firewood will provide you with fifty arrows.
There’s nothing more frustrating than having crafted an Epic Glass Bow, but skulking around using iron or Ancient Nord arrows which do pathetic amounts of damage. Really, Arrowsmith is a mod that should have been included in the base game. It has quickly become one of my favorite Skyrim mods because it means I can gear up properly before heading out into the more challenging dungeons.
The Arrowsmith mod comes in Dawnguard and Vanilla editions
Check out Arrowsmith on Nexus, also available through the Steam Workshop.
The creator of the mod has also provided directions on how to make your very own fletching recipes over here.
