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Hollow Knight: Silksong gives Hornet an arsenal of weapons, traps, mechanisms, and defensive effects. Nintendo Life’s guide lists 51 tools across three categories—red, blue, and yellow—and covers locations for each. The key distinction for managing them: red tools have limited uses and can be replenished at benches, while Tool Pouches, Crafting Kits, and Memory Lockets affect different parts of your loadout.
How tools work in Silksong
Team Cherry describes tools as a core part of Hornet’s expanding arsenal, spanning weapons, traps, and mechanisms; the Steam listing invites players to “Craft powerful tools!” (Steam store listing.) Nintendo Life’s guide, published May 11, 2026, counts 51 tools and groups them into red, blue, and yellow categories. That is the guide’s count, rather than a separately stated official Team Cherry total. (Nintendo Life’s tool list and locations.)
Red tools
Red tools are limited-use weapons or subweapons. Their uses are replenished at benches by spending Shell Shards. They can provide ranged attacks, area damage, or summoned attackers, so carrying capacity and replenishment costs matter when choosing them.
Blue and yellow tools
Blue and yellow tools form the other categories in Nintendo Life’s classification. The guide says Crafting Kits improve equipped tools’ effectiveness, with red tools dealing more damage and blue tools offering some additional defense. A Vesticrest is described as providing an additional Yellow Tool slot separate from Crest Tools after it is unlocked through Weavenest Atla.
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How to replenish, improve, and equip tools
Replenish red tools at a bench
Rest at a bench to replenish red-tool uses, paying Shell Shards. If you do not have enough Shards for every tool, Nintendo Life’s guide says the available balance is used to repair as many as possible. Replenishing a tool is distinct from acquiring it: a bench restores uses for tools you already have.
Choose between a Tool Pouch and a Crafting Kit
- Tool Pouches increase how many red tools Hornet can carry.
- Crafting Kits improve the effectiveness of equipped tools. The guide specifies more damage for red tools and some additional defense from blue tools.
These upgrades address different constraints: a Pouch adds capacity; a Kit improves performance. Neither should be confused with the Shell Shards used to replenish red tools.
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Use Memory Lockets with a preferred Crest
A Memory Locket opens an extra tool slot on one chosen Crest. Since Crests change Hornet’s playstyle, allocate the slot to the Crest you actually prefer to use rather than treating it as a universal slot. A Vesticrest is a separate advanced option: Nintendo Life describes it as adding a Yellow Tool slot apart from Crest Tools and says it is unlocked through Weavenest Atla.
Tool examples and where to find them
The following examples illustrate different roles and acquisition clues reported by Nintendo Life. They are not a complete inventory of all 51 tools, and the locations below are guide-reported rather than independently verified here. (Nintendo Life’s tool list and locations.)
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| Tool | Role | Location or acquisition clue |
|---|---|---|
| Straight Pin | Quick ranged pin attack. | Rescue Grindle from jail in The Marrow. |
| Threefold Pin | Fires three projectiles in an upward fan. | Hidden room in eastern Greymoor, reached after a combat trial. |
| Sting Shard | A thrown object expands into a short-lived damaging area. | Buy it from Forge Daughter in Deep Docks. |
| Curveclaw / Curvesickle | Boomerang-like attack that arcs back. | Hidden ant merchant in Hunter’s March; the guide notes an upgrade path in Act 3. |
| Silkshot | Its firing behavior depends on where the broken tool is repaired. | Find the Broken Tool in Bilewater, then repair it at one of three listed work locations. |
| Flintslate | Adds fire damage to needle attacks. | Area beyond a Simple Key door in Deep Docks. |
| Cogfly | Summons up to three attackers that persist until they break. | Hidden route in High Halls; requires one Craftmetal to make. |
How to choose tools for a fight
There is no sourced ranking of the most effective or most-used tools, so choose by what a fight demands and what you can afford to replenish. The examples above suggest practical roles rather than a universal “best” loadout:
- For a quick ranged hit: Straight Pin offers a fast projectile attack.
- For space control: Sting Shard creates a brief damaging area, which can punish enemies that stay in one place or move through its effect.
- For added needle damage: Flintslate adds fire damage to needle attacks.
- For additional attackers: Cogfly summons up to three attackers, though they can break.
- For a returning attack: Curveclaw / Curvesickle follows a boomerang-like arc back toward Hornet.
- For a tool whose behavior you want to tailor: Silkshot’s firing behavior varies according to its repair location.
When building a loadout, weigh role and coverage against limited red-tool uses and your preferred Crest. A Tool Pouch is useful when you want more red-tool options on hand; a Crafting Kit targets effectiveness; a Memory Locket gives extra capacity tied to a specific Crest.
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![Hollow Knight - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51nXCF+sf5L._SL160_.jpg)
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!
- Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favorites and make your journey unique!
- An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation.
Release and update context
Hollow Knight: Silksong launched on September 4, 2025. Team Cherry’s launch announcement said it was available on all platforms, and Steam lists that release date. (Team Cherry’s launch announcement; Steam store listing.) Team Cherry announced a free, nautically themed Sea of Sorrow expansion in December 2025, describing new areas, bosses, and tools as planned for 2026. That announcement alone does not establish the expansion’s current release status; consult Team Cherry’s current update announcements for the latest state. (Team Cherry’s December 2025 announcement.)
Nintendo Life’s guide is a useful location reference, but its item count and entries are secondary coverage. Check the current game if a specific pickup, repair site, or unlock condition does not match your version.
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