The Steel Sword is the reliable workhorse of early Skyrim: one step above iron, cheap to make and easy to find. It deals 8 base damage, weighs 10 and swings at standard sword speed, which is plenty for bandits and wolves in the first hours of the game.
It also happens to be the series’ unofficial mascot. This is the blade the Dragonborn carries in most of the game’s advertising, with a wood-and-metal hilt and patterned lines near the base of the blade. If you want the full look, it goes with Steel Armor; if you want more bite, the Skyforge Steel Sword is the upgrade.
Stats
| Type | Sword |
|---|---|
| Skill | One-handed |
| Material | Steel |
| Damage | 8 |
| Weight | 10 |
| Value | 23 gold |
| Speed | 1 |
| Reach | 1 |
| Stagger | 0.75 |
| Critical damage | 4 |
| Add-on | Base game |
| Item ID | 000557F5 |
Where to find
- Unenchanted steel swords appear from level 2, enchanted ones from level 3, at blacksmiths and general goods merchants.
- Wielded by many characters and enemies, and found as random loot.
- Fixed: stuck in a pile of rocks at Rebel’s Cairn.
- Fixed: on Alvor’s fireplace and on a dresser in the trader’s shop, both in Riverwood (both count as stealing).
Crafting and upgrading
Crafting at a forge: 1 × 
Iron Ingot, 1 × 
Leather Strips, 2 × 
Steel Ingot. Requires the Steel Smithing Smithing perk.
Improving at a grindstone: 1 × Steel Ingot. The Arcane Blacksmith perk doubles the improvement.
Compared with other swords
Base stats of all regular (unenchanted) swords in Skyrim, weakest first:
| Weapon | Damage | Weight | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Sword | 7 | 9 | 25 |
| Ancient Nord Sword | 8 | 12 | 13 |
| Imperial Sword | 8 | 10 | 23 |
| Silver Sword | 8 | 7 | 100 |
| Steel Sword | 8 | 10 | 23 |
| Orcish Sword | 9 | 11 | 75 |
| Dwarven Sword | 10 | 12 | 135 |
| Falmer Sword | 10 | 18 | 67 |
| Forsworn Sword | 10 | 13 | 70 |
| Blades Sword | 11 | 10 | 300 |
| Elven Sword | 11 | 13 | 235 |
| Honed Ancient Nord Sword | 11 | 15 | 23 |
| Nord Hero Sword | 11 | 9 | 135 |
| Nordic Sword | 11 | 12 | 290 |
| Scimitar | 11 | 10 | 5 |
| Skyforge Steel Sword | 11 | 10 | 70 |
| Glass Sword | 12 | 14 | 410 |
| Honed Falmer Sword | 12 | 18 | 205 |
| Ebony Sword | 13 | 15 | 720 |
| Stalhrim Sword | 13 | 14 | 985 |
| Daedric Sword | 14 | 16 | 1250 |
| Dragonbone Sword | 15 | 19 | 1500 |
Tips and notes
- Forging needs the Steel Smithing perk, two Steel Ingots, one Iron Ingot and one Leather Strip. Temper it with a Steel Ingot.
- Related blades: Queen Freydis’s Sword (a quest for Oengul War-Anvil in Windhelm), Vilkas’s Skyforge sword and the Lunar Steel Sword.
- Walk past a Hold Guard with one equipped and you may get a compliment on your taste in swords.
Stats from the Skyrim LE 1.9 master files (Skyrim.esm, record FFRiften16HarraldSword). Values are base values before perks, smithing improvements and enchantments.
