How to Make a Pickaxe in Minecraft
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How to Make a Pickaxe in Minecraft — All Types
All Pickaxe Types — Complete Comparison
How to Craft Every Pickaxe TypePickaxe TipsPickaxes are the most important tool in Minecraft — everything else in the game depends on your ability to mine, and mining speed and tier determine how quickly you can progress from a wooden shelter to a Netherite-equipped base. The progression from Wooden to Netherite takes anywhere from a few hours (experienced players rushing) to several in-game weeks (casual players exploring naturally), but the recipe is always the same: three material blocks across the top, two sticks down the center. Understanding the tier requirements — particularly that Iron Pickaxe is required for Diamond and Gold — prevents the single most frustrating early-game mistake new players make. For the next step after crafting your Diamond Pickaxe, the pickaxe enchantments guide covers the exact enchanting order to get Efficiency V, Fortune III, Unbreaking III, and Mending onto a single pickaxe using the Anvil.FAQ
⚡ Quick Answer
Place 3 material blocks in the top row of a Crafting Table and 2 Sticks in the center column (middle and bottom center cells) — leaving all other cells empty. This crafts 1 Pickaxe in whatever material you used. The progression is: Wood → Stone → Iron → Diamond → Netherite. You need at minimum a Wooden Pickaxe to mine Stone, an Iron Pickaxe to mine Gold and Diamond, and a Diamond Pickaxe to mine Obsidian and Ancient Debris.
| Type | Materials | Durability | Mining Speed | Can Mine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🪵 Wooden | 3 Wood Planks + 2 Sticks | 59 | 2.0 | Stone, Coal Ore |
| 🪨 Stone | 3 Cobblestone + 2 Sticks | 131 | 4.0 | Iron Ore, Lapis |
| ⚙️ Iron | 3 Iron Ingots + 2 Sticks | 250 | 6.0 | Gold, Diamond, Redstone |
| 🏆 Gold | 3 Gold Ingots + 2 Sticks | 32 | 12.0 ⚡ | Same as Wood (fastest speed) |
| 💎 Diamond | 3 Diamonds + 2 Sticks | 1,561 | 8.0 | Obsidian, Ancient Debris |
| 🔱 Netherite | Diamond Pickaxe + Netherite Ingot | 2,031 | 9.0 | Everything — best in game |
1
Wooden Pickaxe — your first crafting priority on Day 1. Collect at least 3 Wood Logs, convert them to Planks (1 log = 4 planks), craft a Crafting Table, and place 3 Wood Planks across the top row and 2 Sticks in the center-middle and center-bottom cells. The Wooden Pickaxe has only 59 durability but is essential — without it you cannot mine Stone to craft a Stone Pickaxe. Any wood type (Oak, Spruce, Birch, etc.) works identically. This should be the second item you craft after a Crafting Table, made within the first 2 minutes of a new world.
2
Stone Pickaxe — upgrade immediately after getting Cobblestone. Use your Wooden Pickaxe to mine 3 Cobblestone blocks (any stone mined with a pickaxe drops Cobblestone). Return to your Crafting Table and replace the Wood Planks with 3 Cobblestone in the top row — keeping the 2 Sticks in the same center positions. The Stone Pickaxe is more than twice as durable as Wooden and mines twice as fast. It can mine Iron Ore, which you need for the next upgrade. Use the Stone Pickaxe exclusively from this point — retire the Wooden Pickaxe for crafting fuel only.
3
Iron Pickaxe — the first truly essential upgrade. Mine Iron Ore with your Stone Pickaxe, smelt it in a Furnace (you need Charcoal or Coal as fuel), and use 3 Iron Ingots in the top row of a Crafting Table with 2 Sticks in the center column. The Iron Pickaxe is a massive jump in capability — it can mine Gold Ore, Diamond Ore, and Redstone Ore, none of which drop anything useful when mined with Stone or Wood. Getting an Iron Pickaxe is the primary goal of every new Minecraft world’s first hour. It has 250 durability and mines at speed 6.0.
4
Diamond Pickaxe — endgame standard tool. Find Diamonds at Y=-58 (most common depth in 1.18+) using your Iron Pickaxe. Use 3 Diamonds in the top row of a Crafting Table with 2 Sticks in the center column to craft a Diamond Pickaxe. With 1,561 durability it lasts through extensive mining sessions, and it’s the only pickaxe that can mine Obsidian (needed for a Nether Portal) and Ancient Debris (needed for Netherite). Enchanting a Diamond Pickaxe with Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, and Fortune III makes it the standard long-term mining tool before Netherite. See the best pickaxe enchantments guide for the full setup.
5
Gold Pickaxe — fastest speed but lowest durability (situational). Craft with 3 Gold Ingots in the top row and 2 Sticks in the center. Gold Pickaxes mine at speed 12.0 — the fastest of any pickaxe type — but have only 32 durability and can only mine blocks that a Wooden Pickaxe can mine. This makes them mostly useless in survival except in one specific scenario: mining soft blocks (Sandstone, Gravel, Netherrack) where you want maximum speed and the low durability doesn’t matter. Gold Pickaxes also accept the best enchantments due to high enchantability — useful for specific enchanting setups.
6
Netherite Pickaxe — the best pickaxe in the game. A Netherite Pickaxe cannot be crafted from scratch — it’s an upgrade of a Diamond Pickaxe. Combine a Diamond Pickaxe and a Netherite Ingot at a Smithing Table using a Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template. Netherite Ingots come from smelting Ancient Debris (found in the Nether at Y=15) into Netherite Scrap, then combining 4 Scrap + 4 Gold Ingots. The Netherite Pickaxe has 2,031 durability (30% more than Diamond), mines slightly faster, and is fire-resistant — it won’t burn in lava if you drop it. See the Netherite guide for the full farming process.
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Efficiency V + Haste II beacon = instant mining on most blocks: a Diamond or Netherite Pickaxe with Efficiency V combined with a Haste II effect from a Beacon mines Stone and most ores in a single tick — effectively instant. This combination is the gold standard for mass mining operations and quarry projects. Efficiency V alone is about 2× faster than an unenchanted Diamond Pickaxe; with Haste II added it’s 5–6× faster.
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Fortune III vs Silk Touch — know when to use each: Fortune III multiplies drops from ore (Diamond Ore drops 1–4 Diamonds instead of 1, Coal drops 1–3, etc.) — always use Fortune when mining for resources. Silk Touch makes blocks drop themselves instead of their resources (Glass, Ice, Grass Block, Bookshelves) — use it when you need the block itself rather than what it drops. Never use Silk Touch on Diamond Ore when Fortune III is available — you lose 1–3 extra Diamonds per ore.
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You need an Iron Pickaxe or better to mine Gold and Diamond: this is the most commonly missed early-game rule. Mining Diamond Ore or Gold Ore with a Stone or Wooden Pickaxe causes the ore to drop nothing — the block breaks but yields no resources. Always confirm your pickaxe tier before mining valuable ores. The tier requirement is: Wood/Stone = Coal, Stone; Iron = Gold, Diamond, Redstone, Lapis; Diamond/Netherite = Obsidian, Ancient Debris.
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Unbreaking III triples effective durability — always enchant your main pickaxe: Unbreaking III gives each use a 75% chance not to consume durability, effectively multiplying the pickaxe’s lifespan by about 4×. A Diamond Pickaxe with Unbreaking III lasts for ~6,000 uses instead of 1,561. Combined with Mending (repairs with XP), your pickaxe becomes essentially infinite — it repairs faster from XP than it loses durability during normal mining.
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Skip Gold and go straight Wood → Stone → Iron → Diamond: in a standard survival playthrough, skip the Gold Pickaxe entirely — it offers nothing that justifies its cost. The progression Wood → Stone → Iron → Diamond is the most efficient path. The only reason to craft a Gold Pickaxe is for a specific enchanting exploit or if you happen to have excess Gold with nothing better to spend it on. Your Gold is better spent on Powered Rails, Golden Apples, or Clocks.
How do you make a pickaxe in Minecraft?
Place 3 blocks of your chosen material (Wood Planks, Cobblestone, Iron Ingots, Gold Ingots, or Diamonds) across the entire top row of a Crafting Table, then place 2 Sticks in the center-middle and center-bottom cells. Leave all other cells empty. This crafts 1 Pickaxe in the corresponding material tier.
How do you make a Wooden Pickaxe in Minecraft?
Place 3 Wood Planks (any type) across the top row of a Crafting Table and 2 Sticks in the center column (middle-center and bottom-center cells). The Wooden Pickaxe is the very first tool you should craft — it lets you mine Stone to make a Stone Pickaxe. It has 59 durability and can mine Stone and Coal Ore.
What pickaxe do you need to mine Diamonds in Minecraft?
You need an Iron Pickaxe or better to mine Diamond Ore. Using a Stone or Wooden Pickaxe on Diamond Ore breaks the block but drops nothing. Always upgrade to Iron before going Diamond mining. Find Iron Ore between Y=15 and Y=232, smelt it, and craft your Iron Pickaxe before descending to Diamond depth (Y=-58).
What is the best pickaxe in Minecraft?
The best pickaxe is a Netherite Pickaxe enchanted with Efficiency V, Fortune III (or Silk Touch), Unbreaking III, and Mending. It has 2,031 durability, the fastest mining speed of any survival pickaxe, and is fire-resistant. With Mending it effectively lasts forever. Upgrade a Diamond Pickaxe with a Netherite Ingot at a Smithing Table to create it.