Oblivion:Blade

Blade is the skill that governs how well your character can use short handled sharp weapons such as daggers, swords, claymores, katanas, and cutlasses (axes are hafted weapons and considered Blunt).  Improving your blade skill allows you to deliver more damage with sharp weapons, and gives you access to power attacks.

In-game Description: Deliver the slashing and thrusting attacks of dagger and sword weapons more effectively.

Mastery
Mastery Perks
A Novice does a basic power attack with a damage bonus (2.5 times more damage) in all directions.
An Apprentice gains damage bonuses with a Mastery Standing Power Attack (3 times more damage).
A Journeyman gains the Mastery Left and Right Power Attacks, which do 2.5 times more damage and have a 5% chance to disarm.
An Expert gains a Mastery Backwards Power Attack, which does 2.5 times more damage and has a 5% chance of a knockdown.
A Master gains a Mastery Forward Power Attack, which does 2.5 times more damage with a 5% chance to paralyze. This Paralyze effect ignores Resist Paralysis.

Skill Benefits
Your blade skill controls how much damage you do with a weapon, according to the following formula:
  Damage = BaseWeaponDamage * 0.5 * ( 0.75 + Strength * 0.005 ) * ( 0.2 + BladeSkill * 0.015 )
The modified Damage value is the amount of damage you will see listed for a given weapon in your inventory.  See also Damage Calculations and The Complete Damage Formula for more information on weapon damage.

Skill Increases
Your blade skill increases by 0.5 experience points each time you hit a living target with a blade weapon, regardless of the amount of damage inflicted.  Hits on inanimate targets (such as those in the Fighters Guild training rooms) do not provide any experience.

General tips on how to increase your blade skill are provided at General Combat Strategies.

See also:
Increasing Skills: General tips on how to improve your skills semi-naturally.
Trainers: Pay for blade lessons.
 
Skill Books: Books that provide lessons in blade.
Increasing Attributes: Tips on training skills to improve the Strength attribute.
Free Skill Boosts: There are multiple opportunities to receive free blade skill boosts.
Magic Items: There are multiple generic items with the fortify blade enchantment.
Unique Items: A list of unique blades, as well as several unique items that fortify the blade skill. These do not include Leveled Items such as those received from quests, or Artifacts.
: Unique items include:
::*Shrouded Armor, which is awarded upon joining the Dark Brotherhood after the quest A Knife in the Dark. Among other enchantments, the armor fortifies the blade skill by 8, while the hood fortifies blade skill by 2.
::*Aegis of the Apocalypse is a unique heavy cuirass that can be bought from Varnado at The Best Defense. Among other enchantments, it fortifies blade by 5 points.
::*Helm of Ferocity is a unique heavy helm that can be bought from Agnete the Pickled at the Hammer and Tongs. Among other enchantments, it fortifies blade by 5 points.
::*Black Hand Armor is a unique set consisting of a robe and a hood. Among other things the robe fortifies your blade by 11 points, while the Black Hand Hood fortifies your blade skill by 4 points.

Dialogue
When you reach 70 in blade skill NPCs will start saying: "Looks like you're handy with a blade.”

Character Creation
The following races provide initial skill bonuses in blade:
+5 bonus: Argonian, Imperial, Khajiit
+10 bonus: Dunmer, Nord, Redguard

The following standard classes include blade as a major skill:
Acrobat, Archer, Assassin, Barbarian, Bard, Battlemage, Crusader, Knight, Nightblade, Rogue, Scout, Spellsword, Warrior

Power Attacks
To perform a power attack, you hold the direction you want to move in and hold the attack key until the move is performed. With careful timing it is possible to hold the attack button and click the direction a split second later.
Skilled fighting requires skillful use of power attacks. By holding the direction slightly (i.e. walking) you can perform the attack without moving out of range.
You can also hold block while performing the power attack to reduce movement speed.
It is possible to reposition yourself in the middle of an attack by tapping the direction you want to go. For example, pull back slightly to perform a backwards attack and then rapidly tap forward to gain some forward movement.
Power attacks rapidly drain fatigue, especially with a heavy weapon - however Restore Fatigue is readily available, especially as potions.
With smaller weapons it may pay more to deliver a lot of weak hits in a short time than to perform power attacks - you can swing a dagger very quickly! 
For maximum effect, try to "chain" power attacks and other effects to make maximum use of them. For example: After a knockdown close quickly and get in as many hits as you can while your enemy is down. They will be quite vulnerable in this time, and unable to block, dodge, etc.
The "disarm" style is useful, but note that you will need to pick-up the opponent's weapon (and any nearby weapons on the ground from other fallen opponents or just incidental weapons that happen to be lying around). Otherwise, a disarmed opponent will rearm himself if any weapon is available nearby. Disarming an opponent only to watch them run to a nearby weapon rack can be disconcerting, if humorous. If you disarm your enemy in the arena he will be unable to pick his weapons as it will count as looting its enemy which is impossible. That is an effective way to defeat enemies who rely much on non-magical skills.
The "charge" (forward power attack) can be useful for attacking enemies that continually retreat, especially if using a shorter range blade.
Power attacks and close quarters combat, especially with multiple opponents, is sometimes easier to observe and perform by momentarily switching to the third person perspective.

Messages
The following table provides the messages that are displayed when your Blade skill levels up.



Notes
General combat is covered in depth on their respective pages.

Different blade weapons provide different qualities, including weight, damage, range, and attack speed:
Daggers are small and have the lowest weight, damage, and range, but the quickest attack speed.
Shortswords have medium reach and have decent weight, speed, and attack.
Longswords are heavier and a little slower than shortswords, yet have more reach and power.
Claymores are two-handed, have the longest reach and deal the highest damage per swing, but are very heavy and drain the wielder's fatigue quickly. Because they are two-handed, they do not give sneak attack bonuses.
Dai-Katanas seem to be a cross between the claymore and longsword, they are essentially two-handed longswords with an increased damage rating. 
The Katana and cutlass are essentially longswords.

Fatigue has huge impact on damage applied, as explained at The Complete Damage Formula.

You can poison your weapon for extra damage for the next hit. The poison (unlike with bows) remains on the weapon until it hits someone - you can miss safely.

Some enemies are immune to normal weapons; see Resist Normal Weapons for tips on how to damage these creatures.

If you visit the Warrior birthsign doomstone you can receive the greater power War cry.  One of several benefits of this power is that it fortifies your blade skill 10 points once a day for 120 seconds.

Once your combined Fame and Infamy reaches 30, you can also visit the Jode heaven doomstone to receive the greater power ''Jode's Blood''.  One of several benefits of this power is that it fortifies your blade skill 20 points once a day for 120 seconds.