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.

Natural generation
Iron pickaxes can spawn inside chests in Abandoned Mine Shafts, Strongholds, or a Village's blacksmith.

A bonus chest may contain wooden and/or stone pickaxes.

Trading
Iron and diamond pickaxes can be bought from Tool Smith villagers for Emeralds.

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

Usage
A pickaxe is used to break stone based materials faster. When a block is broken using a pickaxe, the pickaxe takes 1 damage. Pickaxes have different amounts of uses based on the type:
 * Golden: 33
 * Wooden: 60
 * Stone: 132
 * Iron: 251
 * Diamond: 1562

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 table below).

Weapon
If you hit a mob while holding a pickaxe, it increases your attack damage. Pickaxes take 2 damage when used as a weapon. They deal different damage based on the type:
 * Wooden and Golden:
 * Stone:
 * Iron:
 * Diamond:

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 tool.
 * A yellow background indicates that the block cannot be harvested with that tool, but still drops something.

Data values
Pickaxes have an item data field to determine durability, and use five different IDs

ID
Pickaxes use their ID to determine their grade.

Item data
Pickaxes item data is used to determine the damage of the pickaxe. All pickaxes have a data value of 0 when they are fully repaired, and the value increases every time it takes damage. If a pickaxe is used when it only has one use left, it will break instead of increasing the damage. The data value of a pickaxe with only one use is different based on the type: Any higher value will act as having only one use left.
 * Golden: 32
 * Wooden: 59
 * Stone: 131
 * Iron: 250
 * Diamond: 1561

Publicity

 * Foam Stone pickaxes are official Minecraft merchandise.
 * In the game Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise, you can buy a diamond pickaxe which, according to the game, is made by Kick it up a Notch Pickaxes, referring to Notch.
 * In the game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, you 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.