The Iron Sword is where most Dragonborn careers begin. It is one of the most common and weakest weapons in Skyrim, with 7 base damage, a weight of 9 and a value of just 25 gold.
It does the job against mudcrabs and wolves, but the guards will happily remind you that it is not much of a weapon. Upgrade to steel as soon as you can, and wear it with Iron Armor while you are still at the bottom of the ladder.
Stats
| Type | Sword |
|---|---|
| Skill | One-handed |
| Material | Iron |
| Damage | 7 |
| Weight | 9 |
| Value | 25 gold |
| Speed | 1 |
| Reach | 1 |
| Stagger | 0.75 |
| Critical damage | 3 |
| Add-on | Base game |
| Item ID | 00012EB7 |
Where to find
- Three are in the first room of Helgen Keep during the escape from Helgen: one on each weapon rack and one in the chest beside them.
- Sold by blacksmiths and general goods merchants.
- Carried by many characters and enemies, and found in chests or as world items from level 1.
- A broken one lies near Ysgramor’s statue in Ysgramor’s Tomb.
Crafting and upgrading
Crafting at a forge: 2 × 
Iron Ingot, 1 × 
Leather Strips.
Improving at a grindstone: 1 × Iron 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
- Can be forged without any Smithing perks from two Iron Ingots and a
Leather Strip. - Tempering with an Iron Ingot works, but no perk boosts it.
- It is the sword the Dragonborn is seen sharpening whenever you use a grindstone.
- Guards may ask what you are fighting with it – butterflies, apparently.
- Variant: Lunar Iron Sword.
Stats from the Skyrim LE 1.9 master files (Skyrim.esm, record IronSword). Values are base values before perks, smithing improvements and enchantments.
