Pickaxe

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Naturally occurring iron pickaxes can spawn inside chests in Abandoned Mine Shafts.

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). Zombies have a rare chance of dropping an iron pickaxe.

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

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

Crafting

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

Ingredients	Input » Output	Description
Sticks + Wooden Planks or Cobblestone or Iron Ingots or Gold Ingots or Diamond Gems	Template:Grid/Crafting Table	Required to mine stone-related blocks and ore.

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 mined by that tool type. A green background indicates the quickest tool types for the corresponding block. Note that some blocks will not drop anything regardless of the tool used.

Pickaxes	Nothing	Gold	Wood	Stone	Iron	Diamond
Durability	∞	33	60	132	251	1562
Obsidian	250 secs	50 secs	50 secs	50 secs	50 secs	10 secs
Iron Door	25 secs	7.5 secs	7.5 secs	7.5 secs	7.5 secs	7.5 secs
Block of Diamond	25 secs	25 secs	25 secs	25 secs	1.25 secs	0.85 secs
Block of Iron	25 secs	25 secs	25 secs	2.5 secs	1.25 secs	0.95 secs
Monster Spawner	25 secs	7.5 secs	7.5 secs	7.5 secs	7.5 secs	7.5 secs
Dispenser	17.5 secs	5.25 secs	5.25 secs	5.25 secs	5.25 secs	5.25 secs
Furnace	17.5 secs	5.25 secs	5.25 secs	5.25 secs	5.25 secs	5.25 secs
Coal Ore	15 secs	0.4 secs	2.25 secs	1.15 secs	0.75 secs	0.6 secs
Diamond Ore	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs	0.75 secs	0.6 secs
Gold Ore	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs	0.75 secs	0.6 secs
Iron Ore	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs	1.15 secs	0.75 secs	0.6 secs
Lapis Lazuli Ore	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs	1.15 secs	0.75 secs	0.6 secs
Redstone Ore	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs	0.75 secs	0.6 secs
Block of Gold	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs	0.75 secs	0.6 secs
Lapis Lazuli Block	15 secs	15 secs	15 secs	1.15 secs	0.75 secs	0.6 secs
Brick	10 secs	3 secs	3 secs	3 secs	3 secs	3 secs
Nether Brick	10 secs	3 secs	3 secs	3 secs	3 secs	3 secs
Cobblestone	10 secs	0.25 secs	1.5 secs	0.75 secs	0.5 secs	0.4 secs
Moss Stone	10 secs	0.25 secs	1.5 secs	0.75 secs	0.5 secs	0.4 secs
Slab	10 secs	0.25 secs	1.5 secs	0.75 secs	0.5 secs	0.4 secs
Stone Stairs	10 secs	3 secs	3 secs	3 secs	3 secs	3 secs
Stone	7.5 secs	0.2 secs	1.15 secs	0.6 secs	0.4 secs	0.3 secs
Sandstone	4 secs	0.1 secs	0.6 secs	0.3 secs	0.2 secs	0.15 secs
Ice	1 secs	0.1 secs	0.4 secs	0.2 secs	0.15 secs	0.1 secs
Pressure Plate	2.5 secs	0.75 secs	0.75 secs	0.75 secs	0.75 secs	0.75 secs
Netherrack	2 secs	0.05 secs	0.3 secs	0.15 secs	0.1 secs	0.1 secs
Glowstone	7.5 secs	0.2 secs	1.15 secs	0.6 secs	0.4 secs	0.3 secs
Block 97	3 secs	3 secs	3 secs	3 secs	3 secs	3 secs

History

Before Beta 1.2, the pickaxe had much less durability (usually half as much) and 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.
As of Snapshot 12w06a Zombies have a rare chance of dropping an iron pickaxe.

Trivia

The Pickaxe is featured in the "Time to Mine!" and the "Getting an Upgrade" achievements.
In Abandoned Mineshafts and NPC Villages, Iron Pickaxes can be found inside the chests.

References

Items