Before Java Edition 1.8, blocks could only be broken using the proper tool. Below is a list of which tools can break each block.
Anything
These blocks can be broken using anything. On legacy console edition they can only be broken with the fist, holding an item causes you to be unable to break them.
- All plants, wheat crops and mushrooms (excluding full block plants)
- Beacon
- Buttons, tripwire hooks, and levers
- Carpets
- Flower pots
- Glass and stained glass
- Glass panes and stained glass panes
- Glowstone
- Heads
- Ice and packed ice
- Ladders
- Sea Lantern[Legacy Console Edition only]
- Snow (a shovel is required to obtain snowballs.)
- Paintings and item frames
- Rails
- Redstone dust, redstone torches, redstone repeaters and redstone comparators
- Redstone lamps
- Vines (shears are required to obtain the item.)
Axe
These blocks can be broken using any type of axe.
- Bookshelves
- Chests
- Crafting tables
- Daylight detectors
- Fence gates
- Huge mushrooms
- Jack o'lanterns
- Jukeboxes
- Melons[Legacy Console Edition only]
- Note Blocks
- Pumpkins
- Signs
- Trapped chests
- Wood fences
- Logs
- Planks
- Wooden pressure plates
- All Wooden slabs
- All Wooden stairs
- Wooden doors
- Wooden trapdoors
Pickaxe
These blocks can be broken using any type of pickaxe. All pickaxes can break each block, even if the pickaxe is not a high enough level to collect the resource.
- All mineral blocks
- Anvils
- Bricks
- Cobblestone
- Cobblestone walls
- Concrete[Legacy Console Edition only]
- Dispensers
- Droppers
- Enchantment tables
- Ender chests
- Furnaces
- Terracotta and Colored Terracotta
- Hoppers
- Iron bars
- Iron doors
- Spawners
- Nether bricks
- Nether brick fences
- Prismarine[Legacy Console Edition only]
- Stone slabs (any type excluding wooden slabs)
- Stone Stairs (any type excluding wooden stairs)
- Obsidian
- Ores
- Sandstone (all types)
- Stone
- Stone Bricks
- Weighted and stone pressure plates
Shovel
These blocks can be broken using any type of shovel.
- Concrete Powder[Legacy Console Edition only]
- Dirt
- Grass Blocks
- Gravel
- Sand
- Snow blocks
Shears
These blocks can be broken using shears.
Special
These blocks cannot be broken directly, but can be removed using other methods.
| Block | Method |
|---|---|
| Cactus | Cannot be destroyed directly but can be removed by placing a block next to it, or by removing the sand below it. |
| Cake | Cannot be destroyed directly but can be removed by eating, or by removing the block below it. |
| Fire | Extinguished with the tool used for the block the player is aiming at behind the actual fire and will not degrade the tool unless the target block is broken. However, if the player has one handy, dousing the fire with a Water Bucket works just as well. |
| TNT | Cannot be destroyed directly but can be detonated. The player should exercise caution if valuable items are nearby. |
Unbreakable
These blocks cannot be broken, no matter what tool is used. They still may be broken using explosions if the blast resistance is low enough.