Mehrunes' Razor
| Mehrunes' Razor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Base Damage | 11 |
| Speed | 1.3 |
| Weight | 3 |
| Value | 860 |
| Level | 1+ |
| Category | Dagger |
| Class | Daedric Artifact |
| Variants | None |
| Skill | One-Handed |
| Unique | Yes |
| Item ID | 000240D2 |
| Game/DLC | Skyrim |
Mehrunes' Razor is the Daedric artifact of Mehrunes Dagon, the Prince of Destruction. It is a light black and silver dagger with a rare power: any hit can kill its target outright. Mehrunes Dagon reforges it at the end of Pieces of the Past, a quest that opens in Dawnstar from level 20.
The Razor has a dark price. Dagon demands the death of Silus Vesuius, the man who hired the Dragonborn to gather its pieces. Sparing Silus closes the quest for good, and the dagger is lost for that playthrough. The Razor is also needed for the Oblivion Walker achievement, which asks for every Daedric artifact.
Weapon Enchantment
Each hit has a 1.98% chance to kill the target outright. The enchantment has unlimited charge. Miraak and Karstaag are the only enemies immune to it.
The Enchantment Effects page lists every weapon enchantment.
| Enchantment |
|---|
| Hits have a small chance to instantly kill |
How to Get Mehrunes' Razor Guide
Mehrunes' Razor Map Location and Quest Guide
Mehrunes' Razor map location:
Mehrunes' Razor is the reward for Pieces of the Past, which starts at Silus Vesuius's house in Dawnstar from level 20. The Razor is granted only if Silus is killed at the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon.
- Visit the museum in Silus Vesuius's house in Dawnstar.
- Retrieve the three missing pieces of the Razor.
- Bring the pieces back to Silus.
- Meet Silus at the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon.
- Speak to Mehrunes Dagon, then kill Silus.
- Claim the reforged Mehrunes' Razor.
Map credit by Map Genie.
Sparing Silus ends the quest without the Razor.
Smithing Guide
| Crafting Materials | Upgrade Materials | Smithing Level | Smithing Perk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannot be crafted | Ebony Ingot | - | None |
Weapon Levels
Some weapons in Skyrim are Levelled. The power of a levelled weapon is based on your charcters level when you get them. Some get stronger in both physical and magical aspects, while others only improve their enchantments. These items don't get better as your character levels up.
Mehrunes' Razor has the same damage at every character level.
| Level | Damage | Weight | Value | Enchantment | Level ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1+ | 11 | 3 | 860 | Hits have a small chance to instantly kill | 000240D2 |
How It Plays
The Razor hits as hard as a Daedric Dagger but weighs far less. It suits almost any character, from a thief to a mage who keeps a blade for close work.
The instant kill is a roll of the dice on every hit. Nothing raises the odds except landing more hits. Fast attacks, dual wielding and power attacks all give the enchantment more chances to fire. Even a giant can drop from one lucky swing, but the effect is far too rare to plan a fight around.
Hold the Razor in the left hand when dual wielding. A dual power attack swings the left weapon twice and the right weapon once. The Razor in the left hand therefore gets two chances to fire on every dual power attack. Valdr's Lucky Dagger is a popular partner in the other hand, because its own enchantment raises the chance of critical hits.
Daggers trade reach for speed. The Razor must get close to its target, and its blows do not stagger enemies. In open melee, a sword or a mace keeps foes off balance far better.
Perks and Builds
The Razor fits a stealth build best. The Sneak Skill tree turns daggers into the deadliest sneak attack weapons in the game. The Backstab perk raises one-handed sneak attacks to six times damage. The Assassin's Blade perk raises sneak attacks with daggers to fifteen times damage. The Shrouded Gloves of the Dark Brotherhood double sneak attack damage with one-handed weapons again.
A sneak attack with these perks already kills most enemies. The Razor's roll then matters most once a fight goes loud. A target that survives the opening stab can still fall to one of the quick follow up hits.
For an open fighter, the One-Handed Skill tree does the heavy lifting. Armsman raises the damage of every one-handed weapon. Dual Flurry makes dual wielding attacks faster, and Dual Savagery adds bonus damage to dual power attacks. Both perks feed the left hand trick, since faster swings mean more rolls.
Compared with Other Daggers
The Blade of Woe is the usual rival for a stealth character. It hits harder and steals a little health with each blow. A sneak attack with the Blade of Woe deals more damage than one with the Razor. The Razor answers with its rare chance to end any fight in one hit.
A crafted Daedric Dagger has the same base damage at double the weight. Once the Smithing perks for Daedric gear are taken, a crafted dagger can be improved further than the Razor. A smith can also enchant it with any effect, while the Razor keeps its one built in power.
Quest Background
The quest begins with a Museum Pamphlet, which a courier delivers after level 20. It invites the reader to the Museum of the Mythic Dawn in Dawnstar. On arrival, Silus Vesuius is arguing with Madena, the court wizard of Dawnstar. She warns him that his ancestors would not want this. Silus answers that the museum is his family's legacy. His ancestors served the Mythic Dawn, the cult that murdered Emperor Uriel Septim VII and opened the Oblivion Crisis.
Silus holds the scabbard of the Razor. He hires the Dragonborn to recover the three other pieces and pays gold for each one. The pommel stone is held by Drascua, a hagraven who leads the Forsworn at Dead Crone Rock above Hag Rock Redoubt. A word wall for the Dismay shout stands near her altar. The blade shards lie in the trapped vault of Cracked Tusk Keep, an Orc bandit fort ruled by Ghunzul. The hilt belongs to Jorgen in Morthal, who keeps it locked in a chest. He hands over his keys after a persuasion, a bribe or a threat.
With all the pieces gathered, Silus meets the Dragonborn at the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon. Dagon will not answer Silus, but he does answer the Dragonborn. He calls the whole search an amusing game. "But Dagon does not declare a winner while there is a pawn on the board. Kill Silus." Silus then begs for his life. He offers gold and promises to seal the pieces in a display case at his museum.
Killing Silus and touching the altar again reforges the dagger. Dagon declares himself pleased and hands over the blade. He orders his new champion to "wreak havoc on Tamriel." Either way, Dagon sends two Dremora as a final test. One of them carries the key to the shrine, and the vault inside holds two more Dremora and a large store of treasure.
Lore
The Razor goes by other names: the Dagger of the Final Wounds, the Bane of the Righteous and the Kingslayer. It has passed through many hands over the ages.
The book Tamrielic Lore records a dark rumor about it. The Dark Brotherhood has coveted the Razor for generations. A vicious power struggle once tore the Brotherhood apart, and the Razor is believed to have played a part in it.
Bugs
The instant kill was meant to be a one percent chance. A small error in its script makes the real chance a little under two percent.
The Razor is tempered with an Ebony Ingot, but no Smithing perk applies to it. Without a Fortify Smithing potion or enchanted gear, it stops at Flawless quality.
The Ebony Warrior can turn the Razor against its owner. His armor can reflect blows, and a reflected hit can carry the instant kill back to the attacker. Save before that fight, or use another weapon against him.
At the shrine, Silus may turn hostile before he can beg for his life, which removes the choice to spare him. Standing exactly where Silus stood when he spoke to Dagon avoids this.
Notes
Guards who see the Razor may ask who had to die for such a blade.
One-Handed Weapon Categories
All Unique Daggers
| Name | Image | Damage | Speed | Weight | Value | Enchantment | Item ID | Level | Upgrade Material | Crafting Perk | Skill | DLC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alessandra's Dagger | 
|
5 | 1.3 | 1 | 10 | Cannot be enchanted | 00043E1E | 1+ | Cannot be upgraded | None | One-Handed | Skyrim |
| Blade of Sacrifice | 
|
10 | 1.3 | 4 | 144 | Cannot be enchanted | 00079B1D | 1+ | Ebony Ingot | None | One-Handed | Skyrim |
| Blade of Woe | 
|
12 | 1 | 7 | 880 | Absorb 10 points of health | 0009CCDC | 1+ | Cannot be upgraded | Steel Smithing | One-Handed | Skyrim |
| Bloodthorn | 
|
5 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 183 | If the target dies within 3 seconds, it fills a soul gem | 000A4DCE | 1+ | Steel Ingot | Steel Smithing | One-Handed | Skyrim |
| Borvir's Dagger | 
|
8 | 1.3 | 4 | 18 | Enchantable | 000ECD54 | 1+ | Refined Moonstone | Elven Smithing | One-Handed | Skyrim |
| Kahvozein's Fang | 
|
6 | 1.3 | 5 | 9 | Yields Dragon Hearthscales | 000D0758 | 1+ | Cannot be upgraded | None | One-Handed | Skyrim |
| Keening | 
|
8 | 1.3 | 4 | 5 | Chance to absorb 10 points of health, magicka and stamina on hit | 0006A13C | 1+ | Cannot be upgraded | None | One-Handed | Skyrim |
| Mehrunes' Razor | 
|
11 | 1.3 | 3 | 860 | Hits have a small chance to instantly kill | 000240D2 | 1+ | Ebony Ingot | None | One-Handed | Skyrim |
| Nettlebane | 
|
6 | 1.3 | 10 | 5 | Cannot be enchanted | 0001C492 | 1+ | Ebony Ingot | None | One-Handed | Skyrim |
| Rundi's Dagger | 
|
5 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 18 | Cannot be enchanted | 000ECD53 | 1+ | Steel Ingot | Steel Smithing | One-Handed | Skyrim |
| Valdr's Lucky Dagger | 
|
5 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 15 | 25% chance of a critical hit | 000B994E | 1+ | Steel Ingot | Steel Smithing | One-Handed | Skyrim |
| Ancient Nord Dagger | 
|
5 | 1.3 | 3.5 | 5 | Enchantable | XX000E44 | 1+ | Steel Ingot | Steel Smithing | One-Handed | Creation Club |
| Honed Ancient Nord Dagger | 
|
8 | 1.3 | 9 | 8 | Enchantable | XX08A1ED | 1+ | Steel Ingot | Steel Smithing | One-Handed | Creation Club |
| Nord Hero Dagger | 
|
8 | 1.3 | 2 | 55 | Enchantable | XX08A1E4 | 1+ | Steel Ingot | Steel Smithing | One-Handed | Creation Club |
| Rulnik's Dagger | 
|
8 | 1.3 | 3.5 | 115 | 10 points of extra damage to Spriggans | FEXXXECE | 1+ | Cannot be Upgraded | None | One-Handed | Creation Club |
| Fang of Haynekhtnamet | 
|
13 | 1.3 | 6.5 | 1446 | Target takes 25 points of shock damage, and half as much Magicka damage | XX000ED3 | Dragon Bone | Dragon Smithing | One-Handed | Creation Club |