The Orcish Sword is a one-handed blade forged from orichalcum, sitting just above steel in Skyrim’s weapon tiers. It deals 9 base damage at 11 weight, a modest but steady step up for early sword users.
It has the rugged, jagged style of Orsimer craftsmanship and goes with Orcish Armor. Bandits seem to love it, which is handy if you are short on coin.
Stats
| Type | Sword |
|---|---|
| Skill | One-handed |
| Material | Orcish |
| Damage | 9 |
| Weight | 11 |
| Value | 75 gold |
| Speed | 1 |
| Reach | 1 |
| Stagger | 0.75 |
| Critical damage | 4 |
| Add-on | Base game |
| Item ID | 00013991 |
Where to find
- Unenchanted versions appear from level 6, enchanted ones from level 7.
- Sold by blacksmiths and general goods merchants.
- Wielded by various enemies, notably bandits.
- Found as random loot in chests or as a world item.
Crafting and upgrading
Crafting at a forge: 2 × 
Orichalcum Ingot, 1 × 
Leather Strips, 1 × 
Iron Ingot. Requires the Orcish Smithing Smithing perk.
Improving at a grindstone: 1 × Orichalcum 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
- Needs Smithing 50 and the Orcish Smithing perk to forge.
- Upgrades use an Orichalcum Ingot, and the perk doubles the improvement.
Stats from the Skyrim LE 1.9 master files (Skyrim.esm, record OrcishSword). Values are base values before perks, smithing improvements and enchantments.