Does anybody know what the best weapon is in the game is? Is there even one? And if so, where can one find it?
(Preferably either a sword or bow) but anything will do.

Fyi. For the xbox.

Daedric, always.

Just Daedric? I would have thought something you would have gotten from a quest, or found... (Ex: Dark Brotherhood) So really, just daedric?

I don't know if it's the best but Daedric is pretty awesome.

From what I've gathered Deadric is the best weapons I've found. There are some Deadric Artifact weapons that I thought were pretty cool tho.

I don't find Daedric yet.. I can only make it myself. At what level do I need to be to find Daedric on enemies/chest/etc?

Daedric is the best but there are weapons out there u may favor over them, I found a dragon blade which I thought was pretty nice, not fantastic but I'm using it

Assuming you go about it properly, weapons you smith and enchant yourself are far better than anything you can find in game.

Unlike previous TES games, in Skyrim it's actually possible to become a weaponsmith of legend and create your own artifact-grade weapons and armour. People complain this is imbalancing but on the same note I've always puzzled why even my master-artificer can't create items of the same quality as rare ones foudn in shops and dungeons... afterall, someone created those items.

It's only imbalancing if you create a warrior-blacksmith-enchanter-of-legend

Daedric is the best flat out damage.

Obviously it's Daedric, but I think you were hoping for an item rewarded or found, rather than one you can creat yourself. Kind of a let down, i know. However the Nightingale Bow from the Thieves Guild is pretty good. As well as the Blade of Woe from the DB. I haven't found a dagger that can match it's power. But, I can't craft Daedric weapons yet.

Speaking about Daggers.. I'm surprised nobody mentioned the "Mehrune's Razor".
I would have assumed that, that dagger would be better than the "Blade of Woe".

(And I'm not asking for base damage)

1h sword: chillrend

i prefer the bound bow, providing you got all the right stats updated it rocks, and theres no weight to it nor do you need arrows, ive got a deadric bow finished up to the max with 25points fire dmg and the bound bow is still more powerful

Chillrend is great, but I think it is leveled based on when you find it, so if you want to use it in late game wait until late game to go get it.

Mehrunes Razor is one of the best daggers in my opinion. The Blade of Woe (dark brotherhood) is also very good.

I agree with others the nightingale bow is the best bow I've found.

Legendary daedric with double enchantments, all made with the best blacksmith/enchantment potions. Obviously.

Another advantage of planning to craft/enchant your own is you don't have to worry about missing out on the best rank of leveled items. They'll look cool in your display cases when you're done with them.

I have Skyforge Steel Greatsword (i hope i spell it right) what does 130dmg atm. Can't be that any weapon is good if fine it with all booster to smith?

well i've maxed my enchanting, smithing and all that, and my best weapon is probably a glass bow that i've enchanted with +37 fire damage and soul trap, with my armour it's flat out damage is like 170 something, with my archery sneak bonuses i can pretty much one hit everything but dragons, and even then I take out like a third of their health

I got a new smith stat armorpart, ill try again now. Dont know the stats, but i have a ring, amulett, 2xarmor with smith boost, and a +30% potion. I have all perks exept the last, in 2 handed sword. ATM i have 130dmg steel greatsword, and same elven greatsword. My elven light armor is at 480.

I'd like to add a second vote for chillrend. it has paralysis and cold damage. yes it's leveled, but that affects cold damage, base damage, and charge, NOT paralysis length.

imho, this is THE weapon that any light armor melee character should be using at or above level 27. Why 27? Because the next tier starts at 36, and leveling from 27 to 36 took me more time than leveling from 1 to 27. At 27 compared to at top tier (46+), it has 2 less base damage, 2 less weight, 10 less frost per hit, and 37 charges instead of 69. Still, 37 charges is more than enough to keep it charged, especially if you've got the black star.

when upgraded to legendary, this thing is disturbingly powerful. paralysis ftw!

don't forget to double enchant other gear with archery skill too ;D and to increase your bow damage on a grinding stone, that added loads of damage to my bow ;D

edit: by double enchant I mean + archery skill and another one, not try and stack archery skill, that doesn't work.. well not that i've found

So.. I know how/where to get the "Blade of Woe" + "Mahrune's Razor", but this "chillrend"? Where/how do I get this?

And I guess I wasn't specific enough.. I wanted to know about 1-handed swords, not great-swords

Chillrend is gotten during the Thieves Guild quest line at Riftweald Manor -- Mercer Frey's house. It's in a display case in the basemant. Make sure you are level 41+ before you find it or you won't get the best version. During this same quest line you also get Nightingale Bow and Nightingale Blade which are both very good weapons. None of them are quite as good as Daedric for pure numbers but the enchants on Chillrend make it pretty damn powerful imo.

If you invest perks into the appropriate skill trees, all the bound weapons are pretty powerful. I too use a bound bow as my primary weapon and it is pretty powerful (I particularly like the fact that they cast soul trap on enemies after you take that perk)