Pickaxe

A pickaxe is a tool required to mine ores, rocks, rock-based blocks and metal-based blocks quickly and obtain them as items. A pickaxe mines faster and can obtain more block types as items depending on the material it is made from.

Obtaining

Crafting

Pickaxes are crafted using 2 sticks and 3 identical units of tool material.

Ingredients	Crafting recipe	Description
Any Planks or Iron Ingot or Gold Ingot or Diamond + Stick
Any stone-tier block + Stick	Can use cobblestone and its other variants interchangeably.
Matching Damaged Pickaxes	The durability of the two pickaxes is added together, plus an extra 5% of the tool type’s total durability.

Upgrading

Ingredients	Smithing recipe	Description
Diamond Pickaxe + Netherite Ingot	[until JE 1.20]
Netherite Upgrade + Diamond Pickaxe + Netherite Ingot	[upcoming: JE 1.20]

Repairing

Grinding

Ingredients	Grinding recipe	Description
Matching Damaged Pickaxes	The durability of the two pickaxes is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.

Unit repair

Pickaxes can be repaired in an anvil by adding units of the tier’s repair material, with each repair material restoring 25% of the pickaxe’s maximum durability, rounded down.

Natural generation

Item	Structure	Container	Quantity	Chance
Java Edition
Wooden Pickaxe	Bonus chest	Chest	1	75%
Stone Pickaxe	Bonus chest	Chest	1	25%
Iron Pickaxe	Mineshaft	Chest	1	7%
Stronghold	Storeroom chest	1	4%
Altar chest	1	12%
Village	Toolsmith’s chest	1	41.2%
Weaponsmith’s chest	1	25.6%
Enchanted Iron Pickaxe[A]	End city	Chest	1	13.3%
Enchanted Golden Pickaxe[B]	Ruined portal	Chest	1	20.5%
Enchanted Diamond Pickaxe[A]	End city	Chest	1	13.3%
Enchanted Diamond Pickaxe[B]	Bastion remnant	Generic chest	1	6.7%
Enchanted Diamond Pickaxe[B][C]	Bastion remnant	Hoglin stable chest	1	13.6%
Bedrock Edition
Wooden Pickaxe	Bonus chest	Chest	1	75%
Stone Pickaxe	Bonus chest	Chest	1	25%
Iron Pickaxe	Mineshaft	Chest	1	7%
Stronghold	Storeroom chest	1	3.2%
Altar chest	1	11.6%
Village	Toolsmith’s chest	1	41.2%
Weaponsmith’s chest	1	25.6%
Enchanted Iron Pickaxe[A]	End city	Chest	1	13.3%
Enchanted Golden Pickaxe[B]	Ruined portal	Chest	1	20.5%
Enchanted Diamond Pickaxe[A]	End city	Chest	1	13.3%
Enchanted Diamond Pickaxe[B]	Bastion remnant	Generic chest	1	6.7%
Enchanted Diamond Pickaxe[B][C]	Bastion remnant	Hoglin stable chest	1	13.6%

1. ↑ a b c d Enchantment probabilities are the same as a level-20 to level-39 enchantment would be on an enchantment table that had no cap at level 30, and that was able to apply treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, and Swift Sneak), and where the chance of multiple enchantments is not reduced.
2. ↑ a b c d e f All enchantments are equally probable, including treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, and Swift Sneak), and any level of the enchantment is equally probable.
3. ↑ a b The item has between 15% and 95% of its total durability.

Trading

In Bedrock Edition, novice-level toolsmith villagers have a 25% chance to sell stone pickaxes for one emerald, Journeyman-level toolsmith villagers have a 25% chance to sell enchanted iron pickaxes for 3 emeralds, and master-level toolsmith villagers always sell enchanted diamond pickaxes for 13 emeralds.

In Java Edition, novice-level toolsmith villagers have a 40% chance to sell a stone pickaxe for one emerald, journeyman-level toolsmith villagers have a 40% chance to sell an enchanted iron pickaxe for 7–22 emeralds, and a master-level toolsmith always sells an enchanted diamond pickaxe for 18–35 emeralds.

The enchantments are the same as the ones obtained from an enchantment table at levels 5–19.

Villager gifts

In Java Edition, toolsmith villagers throw stone pickaxes at players under the Hero of the Village effect.

Mob loot

In Bedrock Edition, pillagers and vindicators have a chance of dropping a damaged iron pickaxe when killed during a raid. The pickaxe has a 50% chance of being enchanted with random enchantment(s).

Usage

Mining

A pickaxe is used to break stone and metal-based materials faster. Breaking a block with a pickaxe consumes one use (one durability point). No durability is consumed for blocks that break instantly. Pickaxes have different amounts of uses based on the type:

• Wooden: 60
• Stone: 132
• Iron: 251
• Golden: 33
• Diamond: 1562
• Netherite: 2032

Different qualities of pickaxe are required to successfully harvest certain ores and blocks. For example, while stone can be mined with any pickaxe, gold ore must be mined with an iron, diamond, or netherite pickaxe, or else the player harvests no ore. Different pickaxes also mine many materials at different speeds:

Speed

The following table shows the time it takes to break each type of block.

• A red background indicates that the block cannot be harvested with that type of pickaxe.
• A yellow background indicates that the block cannot be harvested with that type of pickaxe, but still drops something.
• A green background indicates that the block can be harvested with that type of pickaxe.

Times to break blocks by pickaxe

Weapon

Hitting a mob with a pickaxe is a stronger attack than using fists. Pickaxes lose 2 durability when used as a weapon.

Java Edition

Pickaxes have an attack speed modifier of −2.8, meaning they take about 0.83 seconds to recover. All pickaxes have an attack speed of 1.2 hits per second. They deal different damage based on the type:

Pickaxe type	Attack damage	Damage per second (DPS)
Wooden Pickaxe	2	2.4
Golden Pickaxe
Stone Pickaxe	3	3.6
Iron Pickaxe	4	4.8
Diamond Pickaxe	5	6
Netherite Pickaxe	6	7.2

Bedrock Edition

In Bedrock Edition, pickaxes always attack instantly and do the following damage:

Pickaxe type	Attack damage
Wooden Pickaxe Golden Pickaxe	3
Stone Pickaxe	4
Iron Pickaxe	5
Diamond Pickaxe	6
Netherite Pickaxe	7

Enchantments

A pickaxe can receive the following enchantments:

Name	Max Level	Method
Efficiency	V
Fortune[note 3]	III
Silk Touch[note 3]	I
Unbreaking	III
Mending	I
Curse of Vanishing	I

1. ↑ The dragon egg can be mined directly only when there aren’t any air blocks available for it to teleport to. However, the dragon egg can be collected by other means.
2. ↑ Chemistry tables are slow to break by hand, similar to blocks that require a pickaxe to mine. However, they still drop as items.
3. ↑ a b Fortune and Silk Touch are mutually exclusive.

Fuel

Wooden pickaxes can be used as a fuel in furnaces, smelting 1 item per wooden pickaxe.

Smelting ingredient

Name	Ingredients	Smelting recipe
Iron Nugget or Gold Nugget	Iron Pickaxe or Golden Pickaxe + Any fuel

Piglins

Piglins are attracted to golden pickaxes and run toward any golden pickaxes on the ground, and inspect it for 6 to 8 seconds before putting it in their inventory.

Sounds

Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
Item breaks	Players	When a pickaxe’s durability is exhausted	0.8	0.8-1.2	16

Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
Players	When a shovel’s durability is exhausted	1.0	0.9

Data values

ID

Name	Identifier	Form	Translation key
Wooden Pickaxe	Item
Stone Pickaxe	Item
Iron Pickaxe	Item
Diamond Pickaxe	Item
Golden Pickaxe	Item
Netherite Pickaxe	Item

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Form	Translation key
Wooden Pickaxe	Item
Stone Pickaxe	Item
Iron Pickaxe	Item
Diamond Pickaxe	Item
Golden Pickaxe	Item
Netherite Pickaxe	Item

Achievements

Icon	Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS4)
PS4	Other
Time to Mine!	Use planks and sticks to make a pickaxe.	Pick up any type of pickaxe from a crafting table output.	10G	Bronze
Getting an Upgrade	Construct a better pickaxe.	Pick up a pickaxe from a crafting table output that is a stone pickaxe.	15G	Bronze
MOAR Tools	Construct one type of each tool.	Construct one pickaxe, one shovel, one axe, and one hoe with the same material.	15G	Bronze
Oooh, shiny!	Distract a Piglin using gold	Give a piglin a gold item while it is aggressive toward the player.	30G	Silver

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Parent	Actual requirements (if different)	Resource location
	Stone Age	Mine stone with your new pickaxe	Minecraft	Have one of these 3 stones in the
	Getting an Upgrade	Construct a better pickaxe	Stone Age	Have a stone pickaxe in your inventory.
	Isn’t It Iron Pick	Upgrade your pickaxe	Acquire Hardware	Have an iron pickaxe in your inventory.
	Oh Shiny	Distract Piglins with gold	Nether	While aggravated, give a piglin one of these 24 gold-related items in the

Video

History

Java Edition Indev
0.31	20100110
A pickaxe is used to gather stone materials 400% faster than by hand.
When starting in a new world, the player is given one of each tool.
20100124	A complete tool set is no longer given to the player on starting a new world. Instead, there are multiple chests in the later called “Indev House” containing a stack of most accessible blocks/items including tools.
20100128
A pickaxe held by the player is now rendered to appear more 3D.
They cannot be crafted yet, but have been added to the item chest in the Indev house.
20100129	Wood, stone, iron, and diamond pickaxes can now be crafted.
20100130
20100201-1	Tools, including pickaxes, now take damage when being used.
Better tools, including pickaxes, now last longer.
20100201-2	Better pickaxes are now required to mine harder materials.
20100206
Java Edition Beta
1.2	Before, the pickaxe had much less durability (usually half as much).
Gold pickaxes now mine certain materials much faster.
1.8	Pre-release	Iron pickaxes are now found in the new stronghold storeroom chests, and in the new mineshaft chests.
Java Edition
1.0.0	Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3	Iron pickaxes can now be found in the new stronghold altar chests.
RC1	Pickaxes and other tools now make a sound when they break.
1.1	12w01a	Iron pickaxes are now found in the new village blacksmith chests.
1.2.4	release	Spruce planks, birch planks, and jungle planks can now be used to craft wooden pickaxes.
1.3.1	12w16a	Wooden and stone pickaxes are now found in the new bonus chests.
12w18a	Wooden pickaxes can now be used as fuel in a furnace.
12w21a	Blacksmith villagers now sell 1 diamond pickaxe for 10–11 emeralds, and 1 iron pickaxe for 7–8 emeralds.
1.6.1	13w21a	Instead of replacing the barehanded damage (1
1.7.2	1.7.1	Acacia planks and dark oak planks can now be used to craft wooden pickaxes.
1.8	14w02a	Tool smith villagers now sell 1 enchanted diamond pickaxe for 12–15 emeralds, and 1 enchanted iron pickaxe for 9–11 emeralds.
Unenchanted pickaxes are no longer sold by villagers.
1.9	15w31a	Enchanted iron and diamond pickaxes can now be found in the end ship chests in end cities.
15w34a	Pickaxes now use the “attack strength” combat mechanic meter. The time it takes for the meter to fill up for a pickaxe is 0.8 seconds.
15w34c	Pickaxes now do less damage, but recover quicker.
15w35a	Pickaxes now recover more slowly.
15w44a	The average yield of wood and stone pickaxes in bonus chests has been decreased.
The average yield of iron pickaxes in mineshaft chests has been increased.
1.11.1	16w50a	Golden and iron pickaxes can now be smelted down into one of their respective nuggets.
1.13	17w47a	Prior to The Flattening, these items’ numeral IDs were 270, 274, 257, 278 and 285.
1.14	18w43a
18w50a	Iron pickaxes can now be found in chests in village toolsmith houses.
19w11a	Toolsmith villagers now sell stone pickaxes.
19w13a	Toolsmith villagers now give stone pickaxes to players under the Hero of the Village effect.
1.16	20w06a
Netherite pickaxes are obtained by combining one diamond pickaxe and one netherite ingot in a crafting table.
Crimson planks and warped planks can now be used to craft wooden pickaxes.
20w09a
20w10a
Netherite pickaxes can no longer be crafted.
Netherite pickaxes are now obtained by combining one diamond pickaxe and one netherite ingot in a smithing table.
20w15a	Stone pickaxes can now be crafted using blackstone.
20w16a	Golden pickaxes now generate randomly enchanted in ruined portal chests.
1.16.2	20w30a	Randomly enchanted diamond pickaxes can now be found in bastion remnant chests.
1.17	21w08a	Stone pickaxe can now be crafted using cobbled deepslate.
1.19	22w11a	Mangrove planks can now be used to craft wooden pickaxes.
Upcoming Java Edition
1.20 (Experimental)	23w04a	Upgrading diamond pickaxes to netherite pickaxes now requires the netherite upgrade smithing template.
Upcoming Java Edition
Combat Tests	1.14.3 – Combat Test	The attack speed for all pickaxes has been increased to 2.5.
The damage for all pickaxes has been increased by 1
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.2.0
v0.3.0
Survival players no longer start out with an infinite durability stone pickaxe in the inventory.
v0.3.2
v0.4.0	Removed stone pickaxes from the creative inventory.
v0.11.0	build 11	All pickaxes are now available in the creative inventory.
build 12	All pickaxes have been removed from creative.
build 13	Pickaxes have been re-added to creative mode.
v0.14.0	build 1	Iron pickaxes can now be found inside minecart with chests in mineshafts.
Pocket Edition
1.0.0	alpha 0.17.0.1	Enchanted iron pickaxes and enchanted diamond pickaxes can now be found in end cities.
1.0.4	alpha 1.0.4.0	Toolsmith villagers now sell enchanted diamond pickaxes for 12-15 emeralds as their last tier trades and enchanted iron pickaxes for 9-11 emeralds as their second tier trades.
1.1.0	alpha 1.1.0.0	Iron and golden pickaxes are now smeltable.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0	beta 1.2.0.2	Wooden and stone pickaxes can now be found inside bonus chests.
1.10.0	beta 1.10.0.3	Iron pickaxes can now be found in plains village weaponsmith houses.
1.11.0	beta 1.11.0.1	Iron pickaxes can now be found in village toolsmiths chests and in savanna, taiga, snowy taiga and desert village weaponsmith chests.
beta 1.11.0.4	Trading has been changed, toolsmith villagers now have a 25% chance to sell an enchanted iron pickaxe for 3 emeralds as part of their third tier trades, and an enchanted diamond pickaxe now costs 13 emeralds.
Stone pickaxes can now be bought from toolsmith villagers.
1.16.0	beta 1.16.0.51
Netherite pickaxes are obtained by combining one diamond pickaxe and one netherite ingot in a crafting table.
beta 1.16.0.57	Netherite pickaxes can no longer be crafted.
Netherite pickaxes are now obtained by combining one diamond pickaxe and one netherite ingot in a smithing table.
Stone pickaxes can now be crafted using blackstone.
Golden pickaxes now generate randomly enchanted in ruined portal chests.
Netherite pickaxe now generate randomly enchanted in bastion remnant chest.
1.17.10	beta 1.17.10.20
Legacy Console Edition
TU1	CU1	1.0	Patch 1
TU53	CU43	1.49	Patch 23	1.0.3	Iron and golden pickaxes are now smeltable.
PlayStation 4 Edition
1.90
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0

Issues

Issues relating to “Pickaxe” are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia

• The golden pickaxe is the only pickaxe that is unable to harvest the material it is made from.
• The pickaxe is the only block-breaking tool without a use (right-click) function.

Publicity

• Plastic diamond pickaxes are official Minecraft merchandise.[1]
• In the game Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise, the player can buy a diamond pickaxe which, according to the game, is made by “Kick it up a Notch Pickaxes”, referring to Notch.
• In mobile game Vlogger Go Viral clicker game, after buying the figurine shelf, there is a model of a diamond pickaxe stuck to a grass block.
• In the game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the player can find a pickaxe called the “Notched Pickaxe”, evidently an easter egg.
• In the game Offensive Combat, a stone pickaxe can be used as a melee weapon with the name of “The Notch Carver”.
• In the game The Binding of Isaac, an obtainable item named “Notched Axe”, also with a drawn 8-bit look, can be used to destroy rocks. The Notched Axe also makes a return in the game’s remake, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth.
• In the game Borderlands 2, the player can find a secret area hidden away by blocks resembling Minecraft dirt, also once inside the player can fight Creeper and the Mother Creeper to get rare Minecraft-related skins.
• In the game Octodad: Dadliest Catch, the supermarket level has a “Mintcraft” display, an obvious parody of Minecraft, even including toy pickaxes and a creeper head.

Gallery

• Official T-shirt artwork “Live in Your World” featuring an iron pickaxe made by JINX.

• Stone pickaxe in the Super Duper Graphics Pack.

• Iron pickaxe in the Super Duper Graphics Pack.

Enchanted pickaxes

References

External Links

• Taking Inventory: Pickaxe – Minecraft.net on May 10, 2018