The Orcish War Axe is a one-handed axe of 
orichalcum, with 10 base damage and a weight of 13. It’s a sturdy, no-nonsense weapon that feels right at home in an Orc stronghold.
Orcish sits in the heavy material path above Dwarven and below Ebony, and like the rest of its family it appears fairly early in the game. Pair it with Orcish Armor and a shield for a classic stronghold warrior.
Stats
| Type | War Axe |
|---|---|
| Skill | One-handed |
| Material | Orcish |
| Damage | 10 |
| Weight | 13 |
| Value | 90 gold |
| Speed | 1 |
| Reach | 1 |
| Stagger | 0.85 |
| Critical damage | 5 |
| Add-on | Base game |
| Item ID | 0001398B |
Where to find
- Unenchanted versions appear from level 6, enchanted from level 7, and rarely as early as level 3.
- Sold by blacksmiths and general goods merchants, carried by friendly and hostile characters, and found as random loot.
- Many Orcs in Orc strongholds wield one.
- Mogrul in Raven Rock carries an enchanted Orcish War Axe of Devouring that can be looted from his body.
Crafting and upgrading
Crafting at a forge: 2 × Orichalcum Ingot, 2 × 
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 war axes
Base stats of all regular (unenchanted) war axes in Skyrim, weakest first:
| Weapon | Damage | Weight | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron War Axe | 8 | 11 | 30 |
| Ancient Nord War Axe | 9 | 14 | 15 |
| Steel War Axe | 9 | 12 | 55 |
| Orcish War Axe | 10 | 13 | 90 |
| Dawnguard War Axe | 11 | 13 | 55 |
| Dwarven War Axe | 11 | 14 | 165 |
| Falmer War Axe | 11 | 21 | 82 |
| Forsworn Axe | 11 | 15 | 90 |
| Elven War Axe | 12 | 15 | 280 |
| Honed Draugr War Axe | 12 | 16 | 27 |
| Nord Hero War Axe | 12 | 11 | 165 |
| Nordic War Axe | 12 | 14 | 350 |
| Skyforge Steel War Axe | 12 | 12 | 80 |
| Glass War Axe | 13 | 16 | 490 |
| Honed Falmer War Axe | 13 | 21 | 245 |
| Daedric War Axe | 15 | 18 | 1500 |
| Ebony War Axe | 15 | 17 | 865 |
| Stalhrim War Axe | 15 | 16 | 1180 |
| Dragonbone War Axe | 16 | 21 | 1700 |
Tips and notes
- Forging needs Smithing 50 and Orcish Smithing, plus two orichalcum ingots, an iron ingot and two leather strips.
- Improve it with an orichalcum ingot; Orcish Smithing doubles the improvement.
- Oddity: since a patch, the Orcish War Axe of Diminishing uses the model and stats of the iron war axe.
- Want more reach? Try the Orcish Battleaxe.
Stats from the Skyrim LE 1.9 master files (Skyrim.esm, record OrcishWarAxe). Values are base values before perks, smithing improvements and enchantments.