All Melee Weapons & Their Locations

While gunslingers and outlaws are defined by how quickly they can draw the iron from their hip with their favorite revolvers, Red Dead Redemption 2 provides the option for the utmost savagery with its selection of melee weapons so Arthur can cleave and slash his way through the law and the folks who need cleaving and slashing.

If players want to fill out the compendium to its fullest degree for 100% completion, they are going to need to know where to find every melee weapon in Red Dead Redemption 2. Doing so will help to see if it’s worth even using these weapons to brutalize enemies where a shotgun or a revolver wouldn’t be able to get the job done.

18

Broken Pirate Sword

An Old Pirate Cutlass, Worn and Snapped

• How to Get: Found lodged inside an abandoned boat on the center island to the south of Shady Belle.

The Broken Pirate Sword allows players to reminisce on an age where pirates ruled the seas, instead of horses dominating the roads. As civilization encroaches on an outlaw’s way of life, the Broken Pirate Sword can act as a symbol of a time before laws when man was free. Despite being broken, the Broken Pirate Sword still has good reach thanks to its length, and the decorative golden handguard makes for quite the sight.

17

Machete

Cleave Through the Law

• How to Get: Looted from Night Folk in the Bayou Nwa at night, or purchased from any Fence for $10 after completing the Chapter 5 mission: Fleeting Joy

The Machete is an easy melee weapon to find, so long as players aren’t too afraid of the Bayou Nwa in Lemoyne. Around the Bayou Nwa at night, players aren’t just going to encounter ghosts, but the terrifying Night Folk who often use machetes. Upon killing one of them, players can acquire a Machete and save themselves from having to wait until Chapter 5. The Machete itself is usually a one-hit kill and a silent one.

16

Cleaver

Chop Through Bone and Throw for a Deadly Effect

• How to Get: Purchased from any Fence for $8 after completing the Chapter 5 mission: Fleeting Joy

The Cleaver is one of the few weapons that is not found and instead can be purchased from a Fence after completing Chapter 5. Since it’s late into the game, the Cleaver won’t exactly help players push through the endgame content, but it is nice to wield a wide-bladed axe that can be used for stealth thanks to its ability to be thrown.

15

Hatchet

A Throwable Hand Axe

• How to Get: Purchased from any Fence for $4.25 after completing the Chapter 5 mission: Fleeting Joy

The default Hatchet is actually one that players can obtain later in the game than the others since it doesn’t have a static location, but is instead a purchasable weapon from the Fence after Chapter 5. The Hatchet itself has a powerful swing to embed into the bones of enemies, along with the ability to be thrown for stealthy trick shots.

14

Double Bit Hatchet

A Throwing Hatchet with a Rusted Double Edge

• How to Get: Found embedded in a tree stump, north east of Wallace Station, West Elizabeth, off the trail to Watson’s Cabin

With a sharp side for cutting and a blunt side for splitting, this wood-cutting hatchet makes for a fine weapon indeed, especially since it seems rather new and available for Arthur Morgan to steal from a nearby tree stump in the forests of West Elizabeth. While it has a unique design, it acts identical to the Hatchet in terms of damage numbers and the fact that it can be thrown.

13

Hewing Hatchet

A Flat Edge Hatchet for Lumber

• How to Get: Found inside a tree stump to the south of Moonstone Pond, in the lower region of Ambarino

Designed as a Hatchet to be a tool for cutting logs into lumber, the Hewing Hatchet isn’t going to serve Arthur with an honest life, but instead as a weapon that turns humans into corpses. The Hatchet is like all the others, except this one has a more worn grip and a flat edge on the blade, but it can still be thrown just as well as the others.

12

Hunter Hatchet

A Bearded Axe Makes for a Great Shaving Tool

• How to Get: Found in a tree stump just south of Window Rock, Grizzlies West, Ambarino

The Hunter Hatchet is great for those who need to shave wood to build a cabin in the forest, but in Arthur’s case, it’s great for cutting throats and applying enough force to cut through bones and brains. The Hunter Hatchet is an easy find just a short south walk from Window Rock, where it awaits claim from a tree stump.

11

Rusted Double Bit Hatchet

The Double-Bladed Head of a Razor-Sharp Hatchet

• How to Get: Found in the north area of the coal mining building in Annesburg, embedded in a tree stump

Two blades are always better than one, and with the Rusted Double Bit Hatchet, players are going to have just that. Sure, it’s more faded, worn, and rusted, but that doesn’t interfere with the performance thanks to a super sharp blade on one side and a brutally dull side on the other. Heading to the mining town of Annesburg in Roanoke Ridge, players can grab this melee weapon in a tree stump from the Annesburg Mine.

10

Rusted Hunter Hatchet

A Wethered Hatchet That Fights the Elements

• How to Get: Found on a tree stump next to Martha’s Swain, a shack found south east of O’Creagh’s Run

While players can already get their hands on the Hunter Hatchet, they can get a rusted variation of it, which acts identical to the other in terms of damage, throwability, and design – except this version has more of a rusted handle and hilt to showcase its abandoned nature, but it still makes for a deadly weapon.

9

Stone Hatchet

A Lost Relic with No Unique Abilities

• How to Get: Found inside the Native Burial Site, north of Lake Owanjila in West Elizabeth, after players obtain the Stone Hatchet in GTA Online by completing 5 bounties for Maude Eccles, and obtaining 25 kills with it.

The Stone Hatchet is easily the most unique melee weapon in Red Dead Redemption 2 due to the loops needed to unlock it. Firstly, players need to complete bounty hunter targets in GTA Online, an entirely separate Rockstar Games title. Then, they need to actually kill things with the Stone Hatchet, and only then, if players have their Rockstar Account connected, can they find this hatchet in a Native Burial Site. It’s an old relic that doesn’t have any special attributes.

8

Viking Hatchet

The Primitive Weapon of a Viking Warrior

• How to Get: Found inside a skull within the Old Tomb, a Point of Interest found north of Beaver Hollow in Roanoke Ridge, New Hanover

The Viking Hatchet acts like all the others, except this design is far more unique thanks to its Viking artwork and engravings on the metal. This is a proud weapon from centuries gone by, and now it’s up to Arthur to continue its bloody legacy after finding it inside the skull of a dead Viking.

7

Ornate Dagger

A Vampire’s Occult Blade

• How to Get: Investigate all 5 mysterious writings around Saint Denis and then confront the Vampire at night in the alleyway opposite the General Store

The Ornate Dagger is the most visually interesting of the knives due to its pointed and thin blade, along with its golden engravings and hilt that show the supernatural elements of occult that lurk in Saint Denis. This knife that once belonged to a vampire, can now be claimed by a proud vampire killer.

6

Jawbone Knife

A Handle Made of Coyote Bone, and Not Stegosaurus Bone

• How to Get: Find all 30 Dinosaur Bones and visit Deborah MacGuiness at Firwood Rise, New Hanover

After completing all 30 Dinosaur Bones in the Stranger Mission: A Test of Faith, players can get their hands on a unique reward with the Jawbone Knife. While Deborah claims this weapon is made from genuine stegosaurus bone, the compendium notes that it’s just a coyote, adding further doubt to the creator of the Totalisaurus.

5

Antler Knife

A Handle Made of Stag, Found in a Revenant Battle

• How to Get: Found on the corpse of a hunter and a grizzly bear, north west of Hanging Dog Ranch in Big Valley, West Elizabeth

The Antler Knife is the knife of a proud hunter who drew in a fight between a grizzly bear. It’s a sight that’s oddly reminiscent of The Revenant (2015), and players can enjoy the aftermath of a bear vs human fight by claiming the Antler Knife.

4

Civil War Knife

A Rusted Blade from a Confederate Soldier

• How to Get: Found in the basement of Fort Brennand, west of the Van Horn Trading Post in New Hanover

The Civil War Knife is a rusted weapon that has not dulled, but it has been forgotten due to its place as a relic from the Civil War that has since ended. This knife, found in a Confederate camp, has been abandoned alongside a rare Civil War hat, allowing Arthur to take both as a prize.

3

Wide-Blade Knife

A Murder Mystery Weapon, Forever Unsolved

• How to Get: Found in a miner’s corpse in Beryl’s Dream, a mine found west of Mount Shann in West Elizabeth and accessed by activating the dynamite trigger outside the caved-in entrance

The Wide-Blade Knife has a sharp edge that makes it perfect for back-stabbing, which is exactly how this knife can be found – embedded in the back of a miner from Beryl’s Dream, a collapsed mineshaft. Perhaps it was two men fighting over found gold that caused this murder, but it will never be known, but the knife is a constant reminder of where it came from.

2

Hunting Knife

Arthur’s Preferred Tool for Skinning Animals

• How to Get: Arthur’s default knife, automatically acquired in Chapter 1

The Hunting Knife is the default knife that all players will have, and cannot unequip. It’s used for skinning animals, and for stealth kills, and it can even be customized to provide it with a more distinct flair that suits everyone’s specific version of Arthur Morgan.

1

John’s Knife

A Sharp-Bladed Customizable Knife

• How to Get: John’s default knife, automatically acquired in the Epilogue

John’s Knife is like Arthur’s in the sense that it can be used to skin animals, engage in close-up stealth kills, and be customized. While it doesn’t have anything too special about it, it’s nice to see John’s weaponry get some love.