Angel Blades

**Angel Blades** are weapons carried by most angels. They are long, silver, triple-edged daggers (cross section of the blade would be a triangle) that can be used to kill angels, nephilim, hellhounds, demons, werewolves and other supernatural creatures. However angel blades can only harm but not kill an archangel. When an angel blade was used to kill an angel, intense light exploded from the vessel, leaving the body withered. These weapons are considerably powerful as they are one of the few weapons that could kill angels and reapers, making them one of the most powerful weapons in existence.

## Overview

Despite Uriel's claim that only angels could kill other angels, other beings had been able to successfully use these blades against angels at times. Dean used one to kill Zachariah, but needed to trick him in order to get close enough to do it. Sam failed in the same task earlier with a different blade. Dean later tried to kill Raphael with one, but he caught the blade. After Castiel absorbed all the power of the souls of Purgatory, Sam tried to kill him with one, but it was to no avail because, as Castiel stated, he was "not an angel anymore." Dean was later able to kill an angel with one of these blades to save Gadreel, but did so by stabbing the angel through the back.

Even demons, such as Meg, made use of these weapons. Meg used an angel blade to kill a pack of Crowley's hellhounds, and in a later episode, used one to kill the angel Hester to protect Castiel. Crowley somehow acquired one and used it to torture Samandriel, without killing him. He later threatend Castiel with it, but never gets to use it on him. In *Torn and Frayed*, it was shown for the first time that angel blades could, in fact, kill demons, when Sam killed two with one of these blades. In *Goodbye Stranger*, three demons were killed with angel blades, and Meg used an angel blade to stab Crowley in the arm, which caused him pain, but did not kill him. Meg was then killed by Crowley with an angel blade. Dean later stabbed Crowley through the hand with an angel blade, causing him great pain and pinning his hand to a wall. However, he was able to quickly free himself of the blade while Dean was away without even pulling it from the wall. It was also shown that the blades can kill Reapers in *Taxi Driver*, and that they could kill Nephilim in *Clip Show*.

According to Castiel in *Good Intentions*, angel blades are "touched by God."

As seen in *Let the Good Times Roll*, angel blades can kill monsters as well. Castiel was able to kill a werewolf by stabbing him in the heart with his angel blade. In *Back and to the Future*, Castiel used one to slay several zombies. However, these were not true zombies and instead were corpses animated by souls from Hell possessing them. Blows from iron fence posts were also capable of easily stopping them. In *Golden Time*, Castiel was able to kill a djinn by stabbing him several times in the chest with an angel blade.

### Immunity

Archangels cannot be killed by an angel blade, as many melted down bullets barely affected Lucifer, and he survived being stabbed by Castiel and having a cage of gigantic angel blades pushed on him, although on both occasions he showed some visible pain. Michael was also able to extract Lucifer's grace with a regular angel blade. In addition, Raphael chose not to be hit by an angel blade when Dean threw it at him, opting to catch it, suggesting the younger archangels, being weaker than Lucifer, are more susceptible to angel blades. The Prince of Hell Ramiel was also shown to be immune to angel blades, as he survived being stabbed in the back with one by Mary Winchester.

Castiel briefly gained immunity to angel blades when he absorbed 30-40 million souls from Purgatory, surviving a back stab by Sam Winchester. He lost this immunity after he returned the souls.

The Darkness, when seeing Castiel draw an angel blade, laughed at him for believing it could affect her even while weakened by Heaven's mass smiting, suggesting even at a weakened state, an angel blade would not be able to harm Amara.

While the Nephilim Jane was killed by being stabbed through the throat with an angel blade, Jack, as the son of an Archangel and a human rather than the child of a regular angel, was unharmed when stabbed through the heart with one.

In his currently weakened state, Lucifer became more vulnerable to angel blades, as when Castiel stabbed him outside of the Needham Asylum, it not only hurt Lucifer more than ever but also caused his glowing red eyes to flicker a few times before going out, though he didn't suffer any lasting or serious harm, and Asmodeus believed Lucifer could be killed with a stab to the heart, but he recharged his grace enough that it wouldn't work by the time an attempt was made.

### Archangel Blades

A far more powerful version of the angel blade carried by archangels. Can kill everything an angel blade can kill, but it can also kill an archangel and harm a Nephilim spawned by an archangel where a regular angel blade can't. However, only an archangel can use an archangel blade to kill another archangel. In the hands of a non-archangel, it can kill demons and possibly regular angels, but won't work on an archangel. Unlike with angel blades, the archangel blade is designed only to kill the possessing archangel and thus the vessel may survive while with angel blades, they die every time with the possessing angel.

### Angel Swords

An angel sword was a sword version of the angel blade. It presumably had the same properties as an angel blade and was carried by the Grigori who had their names inscribed upon the hilt. After killing Tamiel, one of these fell into the hands of Claire Novak.

### Other Uses

* A melted angel blade

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An angel blade could be melted and the pieces fashioned into bullets which were just as fatal to angels. Crowley pioneered this method in *The Great Escapist*. He used it to great effect to kill or send angels, including Naomi, fleeing, other users were the humans of a alternate universe. Like a regular angel blade, fatality of the bullets depended on the manner of use. To create fatal damage, the bullets had to target vital organs. Bullets fired from a gun could also be reused as Castiel was able to kill Ion by manually shoving one of the bullets into his eye.

An angel blade could also remove an angel's grace as shown by Metatron using it to steal Castiel's grace by slicing open his throat, Castiel stealing Theo's grace and Crowley Adina's. In an ironic twist of fate, Castiel later uses it to remove Metatron's grace from him. Castiel was later able to use an angel blade to open Lucifer's throat and continuously drain his grace in order to power a ritual.

## Beings Affected By Angel Blades

* **Angels** - All angels with the usual exception of the Archangels can be killed or harmed with angel blades, as it appears to be the main purpose of the angel blades' existence, the first on-screen instance of this being when Anna Milton killed Uriel with one.
	+ **Archangels** - Having many angel-killing bullets being fired at Lucifer continuously caused him some discomfort, enough so to distract him, it is presumable that angel blades have equal or higher capabilities than bullets. It is also worth noting that an grace-depleted Lucifer could have possibly been harmed or killed by an regular angel blade, as he stated himself to Duma when she and other angels advanced on him after learning he was weakened, "i'm not **that** weak".
* **Humans** - Killing and angel or demon with an angel blade also kills its human vessel. It was also stated by Fortuna that her demigod son could die to an angel due to being part human.
* **Black-eyed Demons** - As first demonstrated when Crowley's Tablet Hunters where killed and tortured with angel blades.
* **Hellhounds** - Even tho she was unsure if it was possible, the demon Meg killed some of Crowley's hellhounds with it.
* **Reapers** - As seen when Crowley killed Ajay with one.
* **Crossroad Demons** - As seen when Crowley comitted suicide with one.
* **Nephilim** - Regular nephilim can be killed by angel blades as seen when Castiel killed Jane with one. Jack Kline, the son of an archangel is immune to regular angel blades, not causing him any sort of pain or disconfort after being stabbed with it (even though his skin **was** penetrated by the blade, while higher beings like the Darkness don't even get pierced by them).
* **Werewolves** - An angel blade to the heart can kill a werewolf as seen when Castiel killed one of the Marina Werewolves with one.
* **Gog and Magog's Species** - God-Touched Weapons can kill members of this species, such as angel blades as stated by Castiel.
* **Djinns** - Djinns can be killed with angel blades as demonstrated when Castiel killed Alden Roy by stabbing him several times in the chest with an angel blade.
* **Demigods** - Fortuna stated that her demigod son, Pax, due to being part human, could maybe be killed by an angel blade, also impling that deities are immune to it.

## Trivia

* It's unknown if Raphael's blade was an archangel blade or a angel blade.
* Despite initial claims that an angel could only be killed by another angel, it had been shown that anyone who wielded an angel blade could kill one. It could be inferred that the statement meant that because only angels naturally had access to angel blades, that they are the only ones who could kill other angels.
* When first introduced angel blades were used specifically to kill angels. In later seasons it is revealed they can harm other species such as demons and monsters.
* Demons that were stabbed with the blade died with the same glow as when they were stabbed with the Demon-Killing Knife.
* It was revealed in *I'm No Angel* that when an angel died after being stabbed with this blade, it caused all of their vessels' insides to be vaporized, presumably from their grace exploding. Contrary to angel blades, Archangel Blades are shown to be capable of killing the possessing archangel without killing the vessel as seen in *Stranger in a Strange Land*.
* The official episode summary named the blade as *Sword of Lucifer.*
* Dean killed three different angels and two Reapers with an angel blade and several demons. For most of the series, Sam only used an angel blade to kill demons until he killed Miriam in *Lost & Found*.
* Mary Winchester was the first one in the Winchester family to use an angel blade. She used it in an attempt to kill Anna Milton but did not succeed. She was later able to successfully use it to kill Ms. Watt and one of Arthur and Charlie's Captors.
* Despite the Winchesters originally being the only hunters to have access to these weapons, both Asa Fox and Eileen Leahy were able to somehow get one. Upon seeing that Asa had one in *Celebrating The Life Of Asa Fox*, the Winchesters commented that it meant he was a real hunter.
* Jensen Ackles said that an angel blade was his favorite prop and compared them to fidget spinners.
* In *Lost & Found*, when Conrad was banished by Sam Winchester, his angel blade was left behind. Once Conrad was gone, the angel blade dropped out of midair to the ground. This effect of the banishing sigil was never seen before that.
* In *The Rising Son*, Dean flung an angel blade like a throwing knife to kill Harrington and save the life of Donatello Redfield. Dean's throw left Sam and Donatello highly impressed.
* When Mary Winchester wields an angel blade, she tends to use a two-handed grip when stabbing her enemies as seen when she killed Ms. Watt and one of Arthur and Charlie's Captors. In contrast, Sam and Dean generally use angel blades one-handed though Sam used the same two-handed maneuver Mary used on Ms. Watt on Sierra.
* Unlike in previous seasons, the Winchesters wield angel blades primarily against demons over the demon-killing knife in Season 13 with the knife only appearing in *The Scorpion and The Frog*. In that episode, the knife was only used by Luther Shrike to kill a demon. All demon kills by the Winchesters in that season were done with angel blades. In the Season 14 premier *Stranger in a Strange Land*, Sam returns to using the knife against demons, wielding it against Kipling while his companions use angel blades and devil's trap bullets.
* As seen in *Lebanon*, the Winchesters now carry angel blades in sheaths on their belts.
* When Castiel kills Duma in Heaven using an angel blade, there is no blood left on the blade, presumably because Duma was killed in Heaven itself.
* In *Proverbs 17:3*, after seeing Dean draw an angel blade while Sam draws the demon-killing knife, Lilith comments that Dean "upgraded".