Hollow Knight Nail Upgrades: Costs and Nailsmith

The four prices are the keys NAIL_UPGRADE_1 to NAIL_UPGRADE_4 of the price sheet. The ore column follows the ore branches of his conversation (see step 3).

He is the Nailsmith NPC on the map in the City of Tears. His own room is Room_nailsmith, and its only doorway leads out to Ruins1_04, which is the room the pin sits in. The closest bench on the map in a straight line is the one in Fungus2_13 (Fungal Wastes). The NPC layer shows him with the other named characters.

When you have a nail to improve, his plain offer reads: "If you'd like, I can reforge your nail. It'll make the blade far more deadly."

Upgrade 1 uses the plain offer, with no mention of ore. If you cannot pay he sends you away with: "Ah, you don't have the Geo? Come and see me when you do." Pay, and he works on the nail; when you come back it is the Sharpened Nail: "A traditional weapon of Hallownest, restored to lethal form."

From the second upgrade on, his offer changes to the ore version: "I see you have some Pale Ore. A rare, fine metal, that. Give me the ore and some Geo for my efforts, and I'll reforge your nail to make it stronger." If you arrive without enough, he tells you how many he wants. The three lines are the same text with one, two and three pieces: "If you bring me a piece of Pale Ore, I can forge it into your nail and make it stronger still." and its two siblings. Pair that with the 800, 2,000 and 4,000 Geo prices and the order is 1, 2 and 3 ore for the Channelled Nail, the Coiled Nail and the Pure Nail.

The files hold exactly 6 Pale Ore pickups, so there is no spare. Where each one lies is in the Pale Ore guide.

The Pure Nail is described as: "The ultimate weapon of Hallownest. Crafted to perfection, this ancient nail reveals its true form." When he finishes it he says: "It's done. The reforging is done. Your nail is much stronger than it used to be. As strong as it could ever be. In only your weapon have I seen such potential. Finally, I behold the majesty of a Pure Nail. To think this moment has come upon me so soon... ...I... I must step outside a moment..."

After that he asks for something else, and the game keeps two achievements for the two ways it can go: "Slay the Nailsmith with the Pure Nail" and "Allow the Nailsmith to find a new calling". I leave the choice to you. His request, in his words: "With a Pure Nail forged, my work in this lifetime comes to an end. My only remaining desire is to see and feel the nail strike true! I beg you, cut me down. As my final moment in life, I want to taste the blade's exquisite edge. After all this time, all this toil... haven't I earned it?"

These pages read the game files of build 1.5.78.11833 (2021). Steam now has 1.5.12620 (March 2026) with fixes and no new areas; PinDrop has not re-read that build.

The four prices are in the price sheet of build 1.5.78.11833. The 112% checklist counts the four upgrades as four points: see the checklist.