A '''steel lump''' is the result from combining a 2:1 ratio of [[iron lump]] and a [[temperature|glowing hot]] piece of [[charcoal]] to harden the metal. That means for 0.50kg of charcoal you need about 1.00kg of iron lump.
As of [http://www.wurmonline.com/wiki/index.php?title=Wurm_Server_Release_History#111110_Successful_Epic_debugging this patch], steel items now take reduced damage on use. Recorded tests suggest 20-30Steel pickaxes take 40% less damage reductionfrom use than similar quality iron pickaxes. [http: (Tested 7/11/wurmonline.com/forum/index.php?topic=66260.0 This forum thread] outlines some player tests 2012 on Celebration server using QL 1 steel and the results so far.iron pickaxes)
As with other metals, using steel to create items means you need to use steel lumps to improve those items.