Affinities are how you turn a plain weapon into a Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Faith or Arcane weapon, and every one of them is locked behind a key item. The Whetstone Knife lets you put Ashes of War on weapons at all, and five whetblades each add a new set of affinities to that menu. This guide covers where all six are, the closest Site of Grace, what you need to reach them and which affinities each one opens up.
| Items to collect | Whetstone Knife plus 5 whetblades |
| First one | Whetstone Knife, Gatefront Ruins (Limgrave) |
| Where you use them | Any Site of Grace, Ashes of War menu |
| Total affinities | Standard plus 12 more |
| Needs a Stonesword Key | Iron Whetblade (Stormveil Castle) |
| Latest one | Black Whetblade, Nokron (after Starscourge Radahn) |
| Does not work on | Unique (somber) weapons with a fixed skill |
Where to find all whetblades in Elden Ring
Listed in the order most players reach them. Each one is a single pickup per playthrough, and once you have it the new affinities show up the next time you open the Ashes of War menu at a grace.
| Item | Where | Nearest grace | Affinities unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whetstone Knife | Gatefront Ruins, Limgrave: chest in the cellar under the ruins | Gatefront | Ashes of War menu (Standard) |
| Iron Whetblade | Stormveil Castle: armory room behind an Imp Statue, off the hall with the Grafted Scion | Inside Stormveil Castle | Heavy, Keen, Quality |
| Glintstone Whetblade | Raya Lucaria Academy: corpse hanging on an office window ledge | Debate Parlor | Magic, Cold |
| Red-Hot Whetblade | Redmane Castle, Caelid: room past the flamethrower soldiers and the Abductor Virgin | Chamber Outside the Plaza | Fire, Flame Art |
| Sanctified Whetblade | Fortified Manor, Leyndell: corpse next to an anvil | West Capital Rampart | Lightning, Sacred |
| Black Whetblade | Nokron, Eternal City: corpse in front of an altar | Night’s Sacred Ground | Poison, Blood, Occult |
How to get each whetblade
Whetstone Knife (Gatefront Ruins)
- Rest at the Gatefront grace north of the Church of Elleh.
- Clear the Godrick soldiers camped in the ruins.
- Find the stairs leading down into the dark cellar near the middle of the ruins and open the chest at the bottom.
Iron Whetblade (Stormveil Castle)
- Bring one Stonesword Key into Stormveil Castle.
- Make your way to the hall where the Grafted Scion waits.
- Take the north-west door to the armory room, use the key on the Imp Statue to clear the fog, and loot the corpse inside.
You can grab it on the way to Godrick the Grafted. Keen is the affinity most Dexterity players want, for example on an Uchigatana.
Glintstone Whetblade (Raya Lucaria Academy)
- Beat the Red Wolf of Radagon and rest at the Debate Parlor grace.
- Head north past the fountain and the collapsed stairs into the courtyard.
- Enter the office area and look for a corpse hanging off a window ledge on the balcony.
While you are in the academy, climb onto the eastern rooftops too: one of the three base-game Imbued Sword Keys lies on a corpse up there. See Imbued Sword Key locations for where each Four Belfries portal goes.
Red-Hot Whetblade (Redmane Castle)
- Rest at the Chamber Outside the Plaza grace in Redmane Castle.
- Go out through the southern gate and push west past the soldiers with flamethrowers.
- Take the door past the roaming Abductor Virgin to reach the whetblade.
Sanctified Whetblade (Leyndell)
- Reach Leyndell, Royal Capital and rest at the West Capital Rampart grace.
- Follow the Erdtree root on the south-west side down onto the broken roof of the Fortified Manor.
- Drop inside and loot the corpse lying next to the anvil.
Black Whetblade (Nokron, Eternal City)
- Defeat Starscourge Radahn so the falling star opens the way to Nokron.
- Cross the rooftops toward the cathedral window to reach Night’s Sacred Ground.
- Loot the corpse slumped in front of the altar next to the grace.
Which affinity should you pick?
- Heavy (Strength), Keen (Dexterity) and Quality (both) are the pure physical options.
- Magic and Cold scale with Intelligence; Cold also adds frostbite. Good for a spellblade build.
- Fire leans on Strength, Flame Art and Sacred on Faith, and Lightning on Dexterity. Faith players should look at the Faith build.
- Blood, Poison and Occult scale with Arcane; Blood is the core of any bleed Arcane build.
FAQ
How many whetblades are there in Elden Ring?
Five whetblades (Iron, Glintstone, Red-Hot, Sanctified and Black), plus the Whetstone Knife that opens the Ashes of War menu in the first place.
Why can’t I change the affinity of my weapon?
Unique weapons with a fixed skill, such as Rivers of Blood or Moonveil, cannot take Ashes of War, so they cannot change affinity either. You also need the matching whetblade for the affinity you want.
Which whetblade unlocks Blood affinity?
The Black Whetblade in Nokron, Eternal City. It also unlocks Poison and Occult.
Source: locations and affinities checked against Fextralife’s Elden Ring wiki and The Nerd Stash.
Further reading: Whetblades on the Fextralife Elden Ring wiki.