You need three blocks in a row on top and two sticks below to make any pickaxe
A pickaxe is the tool you use to break stone, ore, and other hard blocks in Minecraft. To craft one, you place three identical material blocks (wood, stone, iron, diamond, or netherite) in the top row of a crafting table, then place two sticks in the middle column below them. The pickaxe appears in the result slot on the right.
The material you choose determines how fast the pickaxe mines and how long it lasts. A wooden pickaxe is the easiest to make but breaks quickly. An iron pickaxe mines faster and lasts much longer. Diamond and netherite pickaxes are the strongest but require you to find those materials deep underground first.
You can craft a pickaxe as soon as you have a crafting table and the right materials. Most players make a wooden pickaxe first, use it to mine stone, then craft a stone pickaxe, and work their way up from there.
Key Takeaways
- Place three matching material blocks in the top row of a crafting table and two sticks in the middle column below to create a pickaxe.
- Wooden pickaxes are fastest to make but wear out quickly; stone pickaxes are the next step up and can mine iron ore.
- Iron pickaxes can mine diamond ore and last much longer than stone, making them worth the effort to craft.
- Diamond and netherite pickaxes are the strongest options but require finding those rare materials underground first.
- You can only mine certain blocks with certain pickaxes—a wooden pickaxe cannot mine stone, and a stone pickaxe cannot mine iron ore.
Wooden pickaxe: the first tool you should make
A wooden pickaxe requires three wooden planks and two sticks. You get wooden planks by placing logs (from any tree) in your crafting grid—one log makes four planks. You get sticks by placing two planks vertically in a column, which gives you four sticks.
Open your crafting table. Place the three wooden planks in the top row (left, middle, right). Place one stick in the middle cell of the middle row and one stick in the middle cell of the bottom row. The pickaxe appears in the result slot. Click it and drag it to your inventory.
A wooden pickaxe mines wood, dirt, sand, and other soft blocks when ready. It cannot mine stone or ore—if you try, it breaks the block but gives you nothing. Use it only to gather wood and soft materials until you have enough stone to make a stone pickaxe.
Stone pickaxe: the upgrade that lets you mine ore
A stone pickaxe requires three stone blocks and two sticks. Mine stone with your wooden pickaxe by right-clicking (or holding the trigger on controller) on any stone block you find. Stone appears naturally almost everywhere underground and on mountains.
Once you have at least three stone blocks, open your crafting table. Place the three stone blocks in the top row. Place one stick in the middle cell of the middle row and one stick in the middle cell of the bottom row. The stone pickaxe appears in the result slot.
A stone pickaxe can mine iron ore, copper ore, coal ore, and lapis ore. It cannot mine diamond ore or obsidian. Most players use a stone pickaxe to gather iron ore, then craft an iron pickaxe, which is much faster and more durable.
Iron pickaxe: the tool that reaches diamond ore
An iron pickaxe requires three iron ingots and two sticks. You get iron ingots by mining iron ore with a stone pickaxe, then smelting the ore in a furnace. Place the iron ore in the top slot of the furnace, place fuel (coal, wood, or charcoal) in the bottom slot, and wait. One iron ore becomes one iron ingot.
Once you have at least three iron ingots, open your crafting table. Place the three iron ingots in the top row. Place one stick in the middle cell of the middle row and one stick in the middle cell of the bottom row. The iron pickaxe appears in the result slot.
An iron pickaxe can mine diamond ore, redstone ore, and gold ore. It mines stone and iron ore much faster than a stone pickaxe. An iron pickaxe lasts about 250 uses before breaking, which is roughly four times longer than a stone pickaxe. Most players keep an iron pickaxe for a long time.
Diamond and netherite pickaxes: the endgame tools
A diamond pickaxe requires three diamonds and two sticks. Diamonds are rare and found only deep underground, usually below Y-level 16 (you can see your Y-level in the debug screen by pressing F3 on PC). Mine diamond ore with an iron pickaxe to get the diamond.
A netherite pickaxe is even stronger and lasts longer than diamond. To make one, you need a diamond pickaxe plus four netherite ingots. You get netherite ingots by mining ancient debris in the Nether with a diamond pickaxe, then smelting it in a furnace. Place the diamond pickaxe and four netherite ingots in a smithing table (found in villages or crafted from iron and planks), and the netherite pickaxe appears.
Both diamond and netherite pickaxes can mine any block in the game. A diamond pickaxe lasts about 1,500 uses. A netherite pickaxe lasts about 2,000 uses and does not break if you die—it stays in your inventory.
What each pickaxe can and cannot mine
| Pickaxe Type | Can Mine | Cannot Mine | Durability (Uses) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wooden | Wood, dirt, sand, gravel | Stone, ore, obsidian | 60 |
| Stone | Stone, coal, iron, copper, lapis | Diamond, redstone, obsidian | 132 |
| Iron | Stone, all ore, obsidian | None (except ancient debris) | 251 |
| Diamond | All blocks including ancient debris | None | 1,562 |
| Netherite | All blocks | None | 2,031 |
Enchanting your pickaxe to mine faster and last longer
Once you have a pickaxe, you can enchant it at an enchanting table to make it mine faster or last longer. Efficiency enchantment speeds up mining. Unbreaking enchantment makes the pickaxe last longer. Fortune enchantment makes ore drop more materials (for example, one diamond ore might drop two diamonds instead of one).
To enchant a pickaxe, place it in an enchanting table along with lapis lazuli (a blue ore you mine with a stone pickaxe). The table shows three random enchantment options. Click one to explore it. Higher-level enchantments require more lapis lazuli and a higher enchanting level, which you raise by placing bookshelves around the enchanting table.
Efficiency V is the highest level of the Efficiency enchantment and makes mining nearly when ready on the right blocks. Unbreaking III makes a pickaxe last three times as long. These two enchantments together make a pickaxe far more useful than an unenchanted one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make a pickaxe without a crafting table?
No. You need a crafting table to arrange the materials in the correct pattern. A crafting table is made from four wooden planks placed in a 2x2 square in your inventory crafting grid. Place it on the ground and right-click it to open the larger 3x3 grid where pickaxes are crafted.
What happens if I use the wrong material in the top row?
The crafting recipe will not work. All three blocks in the top row must be the same material. If you mix wood and stone, for example, nothing appears in the result slot. Make sure all three are wooden planks, stone blocks, iron ingots, diamonds, or netherite ingots.
Can I repair a pickaxe instead of making a new one?
Yes. Place two pickaxes of the same type in a crafting table or anvil, and they combine into one pickaxe with more durability. An anvil also lets you combine a pickaxe with materials (like iron ingots) to repair it. Anvils are found in villages or crafted from iron blocks and iron ingots.
Do I need to make every pickaxe type or can I skip some?
You can skip wooden and stone pickaxes if you want, but most players make them because they are fast to craft and let you gather the materials for the next tier. Skipping straight to iron requires finding iron ore first, which is harder without a stone pickaxe to mine it with.
What is the fastest pickaxe to mine with?
Netherite pickaxe with Efficiency V enchantment is the fastest. It mines stone almost when ready and mines diamond ore in about one second. Without enchantment, a diamond pickaxe is still very fast and lasts long enough for most players to never need to replace it.