The Elven Dagger is a slim, light blade with an 8 base damage and a weight of just 4. It swings at dagger speed and fits neatly into the hand of anyone who prefers quiet, close work.
Elven is the first light-armor tier after leather-and-iron basics, unlocked by the Elven Smithing perk at Smithing 30. In the world it is the signature sidearm of the Thalmor, but plenty of others carry one too – including Delphine and Serana. It pairs neatly with Elven Armor.
Stats
| Type | Dagger |
|---|---|
| Skill | One-handed |
| Material | Elven |
| Damage | 8 |
| Weight | 4 |
| Value | 95 gold |
| Speed | 1.3 |
| Reach | 0.7 |
| Stagger | 0 |
| Critical damage | 4 |
| Add-on | Base game |
| Item ID | 0001399E |
Where to find
- Leveled loot, merchants and enemies from level 19 (enchanted from 20); Bandit Chiefs commonly have one.
- Thalmor Justiciars usually carry one; so does Shavari in A Cornered Rat.
- Two sit in a locked display case in the Thalmor Embassy during Diplomatic Immunity – smuggle in lockpicks.
- Delphine wields one (pickpocketable); Serana carries one by default.
- A locked display in Castle Volkihar, possibly enchanted; a frost-enchanted one from Arch-Curate Vyrthur.
Crafting and upgrading
Crafting at a forge: 1 × 
Refined Moonstone, 1 × 
Iron Ingot, 1 × 
Leather Strips, 1 × 
Quicksilver Ingot. Requires the Elven Smithing Smithing perk.
Improving at a grindstone: 1 × Refined Moonstone. 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
- Temper with Refined Moonstone; Elven Smithing doubles the improvement.
- Unique variant: Borvir’s Dagger near Borvir’s body at Journeyman’s Nook.
- Trivia: the cookbook Uncommon Taste recommends one for grating cheese into a Sunlight Soufflé. Culinary use only, presumably.
Stats from the Skyrim LE 1.9 master files (Skyrim.esm, record ElvenDagger). Values are base values before perks, smithing improvements and enchantments.
