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 only tool required to go further in the game of Minecraft; all other tools only help you achieve your goals faster. 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 block marked with a red background indicates that it cannot be harvested by that tool type. Note that some blocks will not drop anything regardless of the tool used; these are marked with a yellow background. Blocks that have been marked with a blue background only drop items when using the silk touch enchantment.

History

 * Before Beta 1.2, the pickaxe had much less durability (usually half as much).
 * Also before Beta 1.2, Gold pickaxes acted like wooden ones.
 * As of Beta 1.9 Pre-release 6, obsidian is quicker to mine (from 15 to 10 seconds).
 * As of Minecraft 1.0, pickaxes and other tools make a sound when they break.
 * Before Minecraft 1.3, it was impossible to obtain Ice, even with Silk Touch.

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