Worked out · Valheim 1.0.17

Best knives and daggers

All Valheim knives and daggers ranked by damage at max level, damage per stamina over a full combo and the secondary attack, and the best one you can make in each biome.

Strongest knife
Frostfire DaggerKnife
270damage
Most damage per stamina
Frostfire Dagger3-hit combo
19.3per stamina
Hardest secondary attack
Frostfire Dagger× 3 for 42 stamina
810damage
First you can make
Flint Knife16 damage at max level
Meadows

Best knife in each biome

Of the knifes you can make by then, the one that kills the biome's hostile creatures in the fewest hits, their weaknesses and resistances applied (every weapon by biome).

Biome	Best knife	Hits	Creatures
Meadows	Flint KnifeSlash + Pierce	8	4
Black Forest	Copper KnifeSlash + Pierce	68	5
Swamp	Copper KnifeSlash + Pierce	117	9
Mountains	Silver KnifeSlash + Pierce + Spirit	54	4
Plains	Black Metal KnifeSlash + Pierce	94	5
Mistlands	Skoll and HatiSlash + Pierce	82	6
Ashlands	Skoll and HatiSlash + Pierce	130	9
Deep North	Thunderblood DaggerSlash + Pierce + Lightning	82	9

All 9 ranked

Knife	From	Damage	Per stamina	Secondary	Stamina	Block
Frostfire Dagger77 Slash77 Pierce19 Fire97 Frost	Deep North	270	19.3	810×3	14	2
Thunderblood Dagger95 Slash95 Pierce60 Lightning	Deep North	250	17.9	750×3	14	2
Nord Dagger90 Slash90 Pierce	Deep North	180	12.9	540×3	14	2
Skoll and Hati48 Slash48 Pierce	Mistlands	96	6.9	288×3	14	24
Black Metal Knife37 Slash37 Pierce	Plains	74	6.2	222×3	12	2
Silver Knife28 Slash28 Pierce12 Spirit	Mountains	68	6.8	204×3	10	2
Abyssal Razor23 Slash23 Pierce	Ocean	46	5.8	138×3	8	2
Copper Knife15 Slash15 Pierce	Black Forest	30	5	90×3	6	2
Flint Knife8 Slash8 Pierce	Meadows	16	4	48×3	4	2

Formula

Damage at max level = base + per level × (max level − 1), each damage type apart; chop and pickaxe left out of the rating (almost every creature ignores them).

Full combo = (combo hits − 1) × hit + hit × the last swing's multiplier; per stamina = combo damage ÷ (stamina × combo hits). Secondary attack = hit × its multiplier.

Stamina and eitr per attack are at skill 0; skill 100 takes a third off (× 0.67) for every weapon alike, so the order doesn't change.

ItemData.GetDamage, Attack.DoMeleeAttack / FireProjectileBurst, Attack.GetAttackStamina, HitData.ApplyResistance in the code of Valheim 1.0.17.

Assumptions

Skill 50 in the weapon's skill, weapons at their max normal level, no stars on the creatures (a star doubles health, two stars triple it).
Every hit lands and only the primary attack is used; no backstab, no stagger bonus, no armor set or mead bonuses.
Area hits (staffs, sledges, atgeirs) are counted against one creature at a time.
Bows and crossbows fire the best arrow or bolt for the target you can make by then, at full draw.