Quote Originally Posted by -D- View Post
Sure, but how do you get copper from copper ore?
To clarify a bit on DeTess's comments, copper is unreactive enough to be found in its metallic state naturally and can be cold worked to a hardened state (thus can hold an edge).

There's a reason why the Chalcolithic era follows on from the Neolithic.

However whether copper can be cold worked underwater due to the increased resistance of the medium over air is questionable, especially by an organism that can't generate the same physical forces as something with a rigid endoskeleton to support the muscles.

There's also the issue of sudden impacts generally being bad for cephalopods; they use haemocynanin for their main oxygen carrying molecule. These precipitate out of their haemolymph under kinetic stress, which is just asking for the equivalent of a stroke - since smithying is nothing but repeated impacts, I can foresee it being regarded as hazardous occupation with as short a lifespan as those early smiths working with arsenical bronzes.