Path of Exile 2: How to Get Blacksmith Whetstones PoE 2 0.3

Ben Author

Created - 03.09.2025 Updated - 01.10.2025

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The weapons you get in PoE 2 have a ton of potential. If you want to make sure that these weapons grow with you as you progress through the Acts, you're going to need a little help.

One of the things that every Path of Exile 2 player wants is to be able to deal huge amounts of damage to clear whatever content there is in the game. While certain unique items can be utilized for this purpose, the vast majority of people can deal significant damage by doing this one simple thing—using the Blacksmith’s Whetstone.

For players interested in melee-focused setups, see Top Melee Builds in Path of Exile 2 [0.2.0] to understand which builds extract the most benefit from applying new weapon quality with Blacksmith’s Whetstones. If you are looking for useful information about that particular item, then you are in the right place! This is our Blacksmith’s Whetstones guide in PoE 2!

What is the Blacksmith’s Whetstone?

The Blacksmith’s Whetstone is a type of PoE 2 currency that can be used on martial weapons to improve their quality. Each percentage increase grants “more damage” which, in Path of Exile 2, means that you’re getting a multiplicative bonus rather than an additive one.

That said, what are martial weapons exactly? A lot of people are baffled by this because this term did not exist in Path of Exile 1. To put it simply, martial weapons in PoE 2 refer to any weapon that is not a sceptre, wand, or staff.

Here is the list of weapons that you can use Blacksmith’s Whetstones on:

• One-handed Axe
• One-handed Mace
• One-handed Sword
• Two-handed Axe
• Two-handed Mace
• Two-handed Sword
• Crossbow
• Bow
• Quarterstaff
• Claw
• Flail
• Spear

Certain weapons like the sword, claw, flail, and spear are still not available in the current iteration of Path of Exile 2 Early Access. However, they will be introduced to the game at some point, especially because they’re utilized by specific classes. The Huntress, for example, wields a spear as her weapon of choice to stab her enemies with.

Another thing to note here is that the quiver is not considered a martial weapon even though it is needed by bow users to fire arrows at the enemy. Don’t worry, you can actually improve quivers by taking the appropriate notable passive skills. That’s a topic for another day, though this should give bow users some peace of mind, particularly in terms of improving damage.

How to Use Blacksmith’s Whetstones

Any martial weapon that you can get your hands on that does not have a 20% quality on it already is a suitable candidate for the Blacksmith Whetstone. Now, why would you even use the Blacksmith’s Whetstone in the first place?

Well, it grants 20% more damage when maximum quality is achieved. That is actually quite substantial because the value that’s amplified here is the base damage of the weapon itself. Besides that, any modifier that grants percentage increases in damage results in a hard-hitting weapon, thus making your skills more potent against whatever enemy you face.

You don’t have to think about the rarity of the martial weapon you want to upgrade. In fact, even a normal rarity item can be upgraded using the Blacksmith’s Whetstone so long as it doesn’t have a 20% quality yet.

It is worth noting that the Blacksmith’s Whetstone is used ideally on rare weapons that have awesome modifiers or unique items like the Quill Rain and the Pillar of the Caged God.

How to Get Blacksmith’s Whetstones

You’ll be happy to know that the Blacksmith’s Whetstone in Path of Exile 2 can be obtained in a number of ways. For one, this particular currency item is a common drop from defeating monsters.

Another way to get Blacksmith’s Whetstones in PoE 2 is by salvaging weapons that have quality on them. If you want to use this method, you have to unlock the Salvage Bench first by completing an Act 1 quest from Renly called “Finding the Forge.” While salvaging quality weapons is a reliable source, you might also want to balance offense and defense; the Complete Guide to Obtain Armourer’s Scraps in Path of Exile 2 provides tips on farming scraps so your armor scales alongside your weapons.

Once it is unlocked, the Salvage Bench can be found in every major settlement in Path of Exile 2. In the endgame, you can add it to your hideout without a problem.

Anyway, interact with the Salvage Bench and it will show you an interface with a small hammer icon that you can click. Hover over your quality weapons and left-click on them to complete the salvage procedure.

Take note that any item you have salvaged will be lost forever. Therefore, you have to be absolutely sure that what you’re salvaging are just weapons that you’re comfortable losing.

We love the fact that clicking the hammer icon automatically highlights the weapons that you can salvage for Blacksmith’s Whetstones. Because of this, you don’t have to hover over each item just to know if they have some quality or not.

Even though Blacksmith's Whetstones are a random drop while mapping, getting them as soon as a new league starts will give you the edge over others. Hence, Buy Blacksmith’s Whetstones (PoE 2) from our store if you need a healthy supply ASAP.

Tips

Are you struggling to get a healthy amount of Blacksmith’s Whetstones in Path of Exile 2? Upgrading weapon quality is just one side of the spectrum; for a more holistic approach covering both armor and weapon improvements, check out our Complete Guide to Upgrade Armor and Weapon Quality in Path of Exile 2—it complements this whetstone guide by detailing when to prioritize which upgrade path. Read further to learn some useful tips and we’ll start with a quick recap on everything first!

Visit the Vendors Often

You might think that the vendors in PoE 2 are only useful in the campaign. After all, they sometimes provide you with better gear as you complete each of the main acts. However, vendors still have plenty of uses even in the endgame.

When you look at what they have in stock, you will sometimes find weapons that have improved quality. You don’t even have to hover each weapon manually because you can simply type the word “quality” in the search box to highlight relevant items easily.

What should you do if they don’t have a quality item on offer? Well, there are a couple of things that can be done in this scenario. First, you visit every vendor NPC in the game across the different acts (Normal and Cruel Difficulty). The level of the weapon does not matter as long as it has a quality above 0%.

If you still haven’t been able to find a weapon with some quality on it, then you can go for this next strategy. However, this involves spending a relatively high amount of Gold, so you might want to farm a bit more before doing this.

Anyway, the vendor NPCs refresh their items on sale every time you level up. But did you know that you can force them to replenish their stock without waiting for your character to get stronger? Yes, that’s possible!

All you have to do is purchase any item from them. Since you need them to have a fresh supply of weapons, you want to buy the weapons that they have for sale. Once you’re done with the transaction, close the window.

After closing the window, talk to them again and click “Buy or Sell Items.” Once you’ve done so, you will find that the slots you’ve emptied in the previous transaction are all filled up with new weapons. This strategy may not always yield weapons with improved quality but this is a way for you to force a restock somehow.

Use a Loot Filter

Mapping and doing endgame content may reward you with Blacksmith’s Whetstones on occasion, as well as weapons with some quality on them. If you want to farm the said currency item this way, it’s best that you use a loot filter if you haven’t already.

Every player in Path of Exile 2, especially the beginners, should use a loot filter. This is to prevent their screens from getting cluttered with useless junk. But more importantly, it highlights weapons with improved quality that drop on the ground, making them easily distinguishable from the rest.

How does a weapon without quality compare when a loot filter is enabled? Just refer to the image below:

As you can see, the one with quality has a pronounced white border that surrounds the weapon’s name. A screenshot doesn’t do it justice but it’s a bit punchier to look at in-game.

Now, you can create your own loot filter from scratch but that requires a ton of time to do so. If you just want a loot filter that you can download and install without all the hassle, you can go to Filterblade and get the file from there.

Farm Maps

Weapons that have improved quality drop more frequently in the endgame, especially when you run fully-juiced Waystones. If you’re still fresh from completing the campaign, you can farm T1-T3 Waystones until you have enough of this upgrade currency to make your weapons better.

Don’t forget to use Transmutes and Augmentation Orbs to at least give your Waystones a couple of modifiers, rewarding you with more stuff than just running a basic Waystone devoid of any mods.

Go to the Currency Exchange

Blacksmith’s Whetstone is one of the common types of PoE 2 currency that is being traded in the game. That is why you also see it on the Currency Exchange. You can choose PoE 2 Exalted Orbs as the currency for payment. At the time of writing, you can get five Blacksmith’s Whetstones for the price of one Exalted Orb.

Purchase Blacksmith’s Whetstones

Although it is possible to farm Blacksmith’s Whetstones in Path of Exile 2, you may encounter situations where you need more of it, pronto! If your rate of usage exceeds your supply, then you need to think about purchasing Blacksmith’s Whetstones from reputable online platforms.

Our PoE 2 Store has an abundant supply of the said currency item. If you need to buy Blacksmith’s Whetstones in Path of Exile 2, then go and visit our platform today!

FAQs

What is a Blacksmith's Whetstone in PoE 2?

In improves the quality of martial weapons like axes, maces, swords, bows, and others.  Once you hit 20% quality on a weapon after upgrading it, it gains 20% more damage.

What is the best way to use Blacksmith's Whestone in PoE 2 0.3?

Since this isn't rarer compared to other currencies in the game, it's okay to use Blacksmith's Whetstones early on in the game. This will help you progress through the main campaign with ease because of higher damage.

Where are the best Blacksmith's Whetsones farm in PoE 2 0.3?

• Drops from monsters.
• Salvage Bench: salvage quality weapons (unlock via Act 1 quest "Finding the Forge" from Renly).
• Vendors: type “quality” in the shop search; force mini-restocks by buying an item and reopening the window (costs gold).
• Mapping: use a loot filter and run juiced Waystones for more quality weapon drops.
• Trade/Store: use the Currency Exchange (rates vary) or buy from a reputable marketplace if you're in a rush.