You’re standing in front of the Nailsmith. Your hands are shaking slightly because you’ve spent the last four hours dodging primal aspids in the Kingdom’s Edge. You hand over that final piece of Pale Ore. The hammer falls. The screen flashes white. Finally, you have the Pure Nail. It feels like a trophy, but honestly, it’s a double-edged sword that changes how the entire game scales around you.
Most people think the Pure Nail is just a numbers game. It isn't.
In Hollow Knight, your nail is your lifeline. You start with a chipped, blunt Old Nail that does a pathetic 5 damage. By the time you reach the final upgrade, you’re hitting for 21. That’s a massive jump. But here is the thing: many players rush this process without realizing that certain bosses actually get harder the more you upgrade. The game uses a scaling mechanic for Dream Warriors like Marmu or Galien. If you walk in with a Pure Nail, they have significantly more health than if you’d fought them with a Sharpened Nail. It’s a clever bit of design by Team Cherry to keep the tension high, even when you feel like a god.
The Brutal Hunt for Pale Ore
To even see a Pure Nail, you need Pale Ore. Lots of it. Six pieces, to be exact. Finding them is essentially a guided tour of Hallownest’s most miserable locations.
The first one is usually the easiest—you just head up to Hallownest’s Crown in Crystal Peak. You have to dodge those annoying crystal hunters, but it’s a straight shot. The others? They’re tucked away behind some of the most frustrating challenges in the game. You’ve got one locked behind the Trial of the Conqueror in the Colosseum of Fools. If you aren't comfortable with aerial combat, that floorless wave is going to ruin your afternoon. Then there’s the one Grubfather gives you, which sounds easy until you realize you have to rescue 31 of his children from glass jars scattered across a map the size of a small country.
But the real kicker is Nosk.
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Deepnest is already a psychological horror map, but Nosk is the cherry on top. You follow a mimic of yourself into a hole, the music cuts out, and suddenly you’re fighting a skittering nightmare for a single piece of ore. Most veterans know the "left-side platform" cheese strategy, but if it’s your first time, Nosk is a genuine wall. You need that ore for the upgrade, but the boss protecting it is specifically designed to punish players who haven't mastered their movement yet.
Why 21 Damage Changes Everything
Let's talk numbers. The Pure Nail deals 21 damage. If you stack the Unbreakable Strength charm, that number jumps to 32 (technically 31.5, but the game rounds).
This is the "sweet spot" for endgame content.
With 32 damage per swing, you start one-shotting standard enemies that used to take three hits. It changes the rhythm of exploration. You’re no longer dancing around vengeflies; you’re erasing them. However, this power trip can lead to sloppy play. I’ve seen countless players get the Pure Nail, feel invincible, and then get absolutely shredded by Nightmare King Grimm because they stopped respecting the boss's telegraphs. The nail is a tool, not a cheat code.
The Nailsmith’s Final Request: A Narrative Gut-Punch
Team Cherry didn't just make the Pure Nail a stat boost; they made it a moral choice. Once the Nailsmith finishes his "Great Work," he steps outside. He’s spent his entire life obsessed with forging the perfect blade. Now that he’s done, he feels he has no purpose left.
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He asks you to kill him.
He wants to feel the bite of his own creation. This is where the community usually divides. Do you strike him down with the very weapon he just gave you? If you do, his body falls into the junk pit. It’s a bleak, lonely end for a character who helped you survive.
But you don’t have to.
If you walk away—literally just leave the screen—he eventually moves to Sheo’s hut in Greenpath. They start making art together. It’s arguably the only "happy" ending for a character in the entire game. If you’re going for the "Happy Couple" achievement, you have to resist the urge to test out your new damage stats on the man who gave them to you.
The Math of Great Slashes and Arts
When you have the Pure Nail, your Nail Arts become terrifyingly powerful.
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- Great Slash: Deals 2.5x your nail damage. With the Pure Nail, that’s 52.5 damage in a single hit.
- Dash Slash: Same multiplier, but with massive range.
- Cyclone Slash: This one is tricky because it depends on how many times you mash the button, but it can hit up to 7 times.
In the Pantheon of Hallownest, these arts are often more important than standard swings. If you’re fighting Pure Vessel or Absolute Radiance, you often only have a half-second window to land a hit. A Great Slash with a Pure Nail ensures that the single hit you do land actually matters. It’s the difference between a 15-minute fight and a 10-minute fight.
Common Misconceptions About Upgrading
I see a lot of people asking if they should wait to get the Pure Nail until after they finish the Dreamer questline. Honestly? No. Get it as soon as you can. While some bosses scale, the vast majority of the world does not. Being able to clear a room of Great Husk Sentries in the City of Tears without breaking a sweat makes backtracking for missed Charms or Mask Shards so much less tedious.
Another thing: the Pure Nail doesn't increase your soul intake. I've had people argue with me about this, but it's true. Whether you use the Old Nail or the Pure Nail, you get 11% Soul per hit (unless you’re wearing Soul Catcher or Soul Eater). The weapon gets sharper, but your ability to siphon essence from enemies stays the same.
Actionable Steps for Your Upgrade Path
If you're currently sitting on a Channeled or Coiled Nail and want that final upgrade, here is exactly what you should do:
- Check your Grub count: Go to the Grubfather. If you haven't hit 31 yet, don't even bother looking for the other ores. You'll need the Collector's Map from the Tower of Love to find the remaining grubs efficiently.
- Master the Colosseum: You need to beat the Trial of the Conqueror. Don't go in with a heavy spell build; use Nailmaster's Glory. Being able to charge a Great Slash quickly is the only way to handle the aerial waves effectively.
- Find the Pale Ore in Ancient Basin: It’s guarded by two Lesser Mawleks. It’s one of the easiest ones to get, but people often overlook the breakable wall to the left of the tram station.
- Decide the Nailsmith's fate beforehand: Don't make a split-second decision. If you want the achievement for sparing him, just put the controller down and walk away once the dialogue ends.
Getting the Pure Nail is a milestone. It signals that you’ve moved from being a survivor in Hallownest to being its apex predator. Just remember that even with the sharpest blade in the world, the Radiance doesn't care about your DPS if you can't time your shade cloaks.