All 6 Pale Ore Locations in Hollow Knight — Nail Upgrade Guide

Pale Ore is the rare metal that turns your nail from a blunt stick into the Pure Nail — six pieces exist in all of Hallownest, and the Nailsmith wants all of them plus 7,050 Geo.

What are all six Pale Ore locations?

1. Ancient Basin — west of the tram station near the main entrance, guarded by two Lesser Mawleks. The earliest one most players can reach; bring spells.
2. The Seer (Resting Grounds) — handed over at 300 Essence collected with the Dream Nail. Dream bosses and Warrior Dreams speed this up massively.
3. Hallownest’s Crown — the very top of Crystal Peak, in the base of the Radiance statue. Requires Mantis Claw; Monarch Wings and Crystal Heart make it far less miserable.
4. Deepnest — inside Nosk’s lair, behind a breakable wall in the room west of the Hot Spring. You must kill Nosk to keep it.
5. Grubfather (Forgotten Crossroads) — reward for rescuing 31 Grubs.
6. Colosseum of Fools — reward for clearing the Trial of the Conqueror.

How much does the full nail upgrade path cost?

The Sharpened jump is the single biggest damage spike in the game (+80%) — prioritize it the moment you reach the City of Tears.

In what order should I collect them?

For a pain-free route: Ancient Basin on your first visit, Crown once you have Mantis Claw, Seer accumulates passively, Colosseum when your build can handle trial 2, Nosk and Grubfather as endgame cleanup. If you’re weighing upgrade timing against boss walls, the boss order guide marks where each nail level assumes you are — and the true-final path through the Radiance goes much smoother at Coiled or better.