Pickaxe



Pickaxes are one of the most commonly used tools in the game, being required to mine all ores and many other types of blocks. 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 pickaxe or better, or else the player will harvest no ore. Different pickaxes also mine many materials at different speeds (see the Speed and Durability table below).

Uses
The Pickaxe is used in the game to mine blocks. A Pickaxe is the more important tool to go further in the game of Minecraft being almost impossible to complete the game without using it. However, it is possible to complete the game without using it recurring to iron golems to get iron and making the nether portal by "molding" it with water and lava; but doing all that without using the pickaxe to mine anything, and finding a stronghold without it, is extremly tedious. Some players take this as a chalenge to their knowledge of alternative ways to advance in-game. Blocks minable by the Pickaxe include, but are not limited to:

Ore Stone
 * Coal Ore
 * Diamond Ore
 * Gold Ore
 * Iron Ore
 * Lapis Lazuli Ore
 * Redstone Ore
 * Emerald Ore
 * Cobblestone
 * End Stone
 * Moss Stone
 * Nether Brick
 * Nether Brick Fence
 * Netherrack
 * Obsidian
 * Sandstone
 * Slabs
 * Stone
 * Stone Brick

The pickaxe does less damage to mobs compared to an axe or a sword.

A mnemonic for when to use the second-highest, Iron pick, to mine greater than-it ores, is "DGR" ("digger") : or "DiGoRe," that is to use at least Iron for mining Diamond, Gold, and /or Redstone. Diamond picks will even (slowly) mine Obsidian.

Crafting
Pickaxes are crafted using 2 sticks and 3 units of a tool material. A Crafting Table (or workbench) is required prior to crafting a pickaxe.

Speed and durability
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 a tool made from that material.
 * A yellow background indicates that the block cannot be harvested with any tool.
 * A blue background indicates that the block can only be harvested with a tool that has the silk touch enchantment.

Trivia

 * The Pickaxe is featured in the "Time to Mine!" and the "Getting an Upgrade" achievements.
 * In Abandoned Mineshafts and NPC Villages and strongholds, Iron Pickaxes can be found inside the chests.
 * A foam Stone Pickaxe is one of the tools sold in the merchandise page of minecraft.net.
 * In Pocket Edition a wooden pickaxe only has 10 uses.
 * A Golden Pickaxe cannot break its own ore.
 * Altough gold is a very soft metal, the gold pickaxe mines faster than a diamond pickaxe