The Ebony Dagger is a short, black blade with real bite: 10 base damage at only 5 weight, and the quick swing speed daggers are known for. It’s a favourite of assassins, which tells you all you need to know about where it tends to end up.
Ebony sits near the top of the heavy material path, just below Daedric. The dagger pairs well with Ebony Armor, and it only takes a single 
ebony ingot to make, so it’s popular with smiths grinding their skill.
Stats
| Type | Dagger |
|---|---|
| Skill | One-handed |
| Material | Ebony |
| Damage | 10 |
| Weight | 5 |
| Value | 290 gold |
| Speed | 1.3 |
| Reach | 0.7 |
| Stagger | 0 |
| Critical damage | 5 |
| Add-on | Base game |
| Item ID | 000139AE |
Where to find
- Unenchanted versions appear from level 36, enchanted from level 37, from blacksmiths, general goods merchants, enemies and random loot.
- Wielded by Dark Brotherhood Initiates.
- Cicero carries one during The Cure for Madness, and you can take it at any level if he becomes your follower.
- Neloth and Esbern both carry one that can be pickpocketed.
Crafting and upgrading
Crafting at a forge: 1 × Ebony Ingot, 1 × 
Leather Strips. Requires the Ebony Smithing Smithing perk.
Improving at a grindstone: 1 × Ebony Ingot. The Arcane Blacksmith perk doubles the improvement.
Compared with other daggers
Base stats of all regular (unenchanted) daggers in Skyrim, weakest first:
| Weapon | Damage | Weight | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Dagger | 4 | 2 | 10 |
| Steel Dagger | 5 | 2.5 | 18 |
| Orcish Dagger | 6 | 3 | 30 |
| Dwarven Dagger | 7 | 3.5 | 55 |
| Elven Dagger | 8 | 4 | 95 |
| Nordic Dagger | 8 | 3.5 | 115 |
| Skyforge Steel Dagger | 8 | 2.5 | 25 |
| Glass Dagger | 9 | 4.5 | 165 |
| Ebony Dagger | 10 | 5 | 290 |
| Stalhrim Dagger | 10 | 4.5 | 395 |
| Daedric Dagger | 11 | 6 | 500 |
| Dragonbone Dagger | 12 | 6.5 | 600 |
Tips and notes
- Forging needs Smithing 80 and Ebony Smithing, plus one ebony ingot and one leather strip.
- Improve it with an ebony ingot; Ebony Smithing doubles the improvement.
- Unique relatives include the Blade of Sacrifice and Nettlebane.
- Bug: it can stay equipped while you are transformed into a werewolf.
Stats from the Skyrim LE 1.9 master files (Skyrim.esm, record EbonyDagger). Values are base values before perks, smithing improvements and enchantments.
