One-handed

The One-handed skill governs the effectiveness of any melee weapon that is held with one hand. Dual-wielding one-handed weapons will still increase this skill. Also, you can dual wield a One-handed weapon with a spell as well.

The One-Handed skill increases relative to the damage dealt by equipped one-handed weapons. The more damage dealt, the more experience is gained. For example, if the player uses a one-handed weapon and a spell to kill an NPC, they would not gain as much experience as if they had dual-wielded two one-handed weapons.

There are 4 weapon classes that fall under the one-handed category.
 * Daggers, the weakest as far as damage in one hit and also has shorter reach than other weapons, however they possess exceptional speed. They work well for assassin and rogue class characters.
 * Swords generally does 3 points more damage than daggers, but have about 23% slower attack speed. They are exceptional all-around weapons, useful to all classes, including mages.
 * War axes does 1 point more damage than swords and are 10% slower. They are useful to most every class except assassins and rogues because of their slower attack speed compared to swords and daggers.
 * Maces does 1 point more damage than war axes, but are also about 11% slower. They are the most powerful, but slowest of the one-handed weapons. Because of their sluggish speed, they are preferred by well-armored, hard-hitting classes, such as berserkers or knights. They may be used by weapon-wielding mages, however, their slow speed makes them slightly undependable for lightly-armored, low-stamina classes. However, when dual-wielded, they can lay low most medium-strength enemies with a single power attack.

The heavier a weapon is, the more stamina it requires to perform a power attack. When dual-wielding, the attack speed of the combined attack is averaged between the two weapons. For example, if the player were to use a dagger and a sword, their combined attack would be very quick, whereas if they were to use a mace and dagger, it would average out to a medium speed. Though held with only one hand, staves do not count as one-handed weapons except for the fact that two can be wielded at once. They are not affected by and do not affect the One-handed skill. They fall under the category of their respective magic school. For example, a Staff of Fireball would fall under the Destruction skill.

Trainers

 * Amren in Whiterun
 * Athis at Jorrvaskr in Whiterun
 * Burguk in Dushnikh Yal

Skill books

 * 2920, Morning Star, v1
 * Fire and Darkness
 * Mace Etiquette
 * Night Falls on Sentinel
 * The Importance of Where