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).
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
- 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," (by Snapshot 12w22a Emerald so "DEGR" alphabetically, 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.
| 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 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.
| Nothing | Wood | Stone | Iron | Diamond | Gold | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durability | ∞ | 60 | 132 | 251 | 1562 | 33 |
| Obsidian | 250 s | 250 s | 250 s | 250 s | 9.4 s | 250 s |
| Block of Diamond | 25 s | 25 s | 25 s | 1.25 s | 0.95 s | 25 s |
| Block of Iron | 25 s | 25 s | 2.5 s | 1.25 s | 0.95 s | 25 s |
| Enchantment Table | 25 s | 3.75 s | 1.9 s | 1.25 s | 0.95 s | 0.65 s |
| Iron Bars | 25 s | 3.75 s | 1.9 s | 1.25 s | 0.95 s | 0.65 s |
| Iron Door | 25 s | 3.75 s | 1.9 s | 1.25 s | 0.95 s | 0.65 s |
| Monster Spawner |
25 s | 3.75 s | 1.9 s | 1.25 s | 0.95 s | 0.65 s |
| Dispenser | 17.5 s | 2.65 s | 1.35 s | 0.9 s | 0.65 s | 0.45 s |
| Furnace | 17.5 s | 2.65 s | 1.35 s | 0.9 s | 0.65 s | 0.45 s |
| Block of Gold | 15 s | 15 s | 15 s | 0.75 s | 0.6 s | 15 s |
| Coal Ore | 15 s | 2.25 s | 1.15 s | 0.75 s | 0.6 s | 0.4 s |
| Diamond Ore | 15 s | 15 s | 15 s | 0.75 s | 0.6 s | 15 s |
| Dragon Egg | 15 s | 2.25 s | 1.15 s | 0.75 s | 0.6 s | 0.4 s |
| End Stone | 15 s | 2.25 s | 1.15 s | 0.75 s | 0.6 s | 0.4 s |
| Gold Ore | 15 s | 15 s | 15 s | 0.75 s | 0.6 s | 15 s |
| Iron Ore | 15 s | 15 s | 1.15 s | 0.75 s | 0.6 s | 15 s |
| Lapis Lazuli Block | 15 s | 15 s | 1.15 s | 0.75 s | 0.6 s | 15 s |
| Lapis Lazuli Ore | 15 s | 15 s | 1.15 s | 0.75 s | 0.6 s | 15 s |
| Redstone Ore | 15 s | 15 s | 15 s | 0.75 s | 0.6 s | 15 s |
| Brick Stairs | 10 s | 1.5 s | 0.75 s | 0.5 s | 0.4 s | 0.25 s |
| Bricks | 10 s | 1.5 s | 0.75 s | 0.5 s | 0.4 s | 0.25 s |
| Cauldron | 10 s | 1.5 s | 0.75 s | 0.5 s | 0.4 s | 0.25 s |
| Cobblestone | 10 s | 1.5 s | 0.75 s | 0.5 s | 0.4 s | 0.25 s |
| Moss Stone | 10 s | 1.5 s | 0.75 s | 0.5 s | 0.4 s | 0.25 s |
| Nether Brick | 10 s | 1.5 s | 0.75 s | 0.5 s | 0.4 s | 0.25 s |
| Nether Brick Fence | 10 s | 1.5 s | 0.75 s | 0.5 s | 0.4 s | 0.25 s |
| Nether Brick Stairs | 10 s | 1.5 s | 0.75 s | 0.5 s | 0.4 s | 0.25 s |
| Slabs | 10 s | 1.5 s | 0.75 s | 0.5 s | 0.4 s | 0.25 s |
| Stone Stairs | 10 s | 1.5 s | 0.75 s | 0.5 s | 0.4 s | 0.25 s |
| Stone | 7.5 s | 1.15 s | 0.6 s | 0.4 s | 0.3 s | 0.2 s |
| Stone Brick | 7.5 s | 1.15 s | 0.6 s | 0.4 s | 0.3 s | 0.2 s |
| Stone Brick Stairs | 7.5 s | 1.15 s | 0.6 s | 0.4 s | 0.3 s | 0.2 s |
| Sandstone | 4 s | 0.6 s | 0.3 s | 0.2 s | 0.15 s | 0.1 s |
| Rails (including detector and powered) |
1.05 s | 0.55 s | 0.3 s | 0.2 s | 0.15 s | 0.1 s |
| Brewing Stand | 2.5 s | 0.4 s | 0.2 s | 0.15 s | 0.1 s | 0.1 s |
| Ice | 2.5 s | 0.4 s | 0.2 s | 0.15 s | 0.1 s | 0.1 s |
| Stone Pressure Plate |
2.5 s | 0.4 s | 0.2 s | 0.15 s | 0.1 s | 0.1 s |
| Netherrack | 2 s | 0.3 s | 0.15 s | 0.1 s | 0.1 s | 0.05 s |
Achievements
| Icon | Achievement | In-game description | Prerequisites | Actual requirements (if different) | Version restriction | Xbox points earned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Time to Mine! | Use planks and sticks to make a pickaxe | Benchmarking | Pick up a Wooden Pickaxe from a Crafting Table. | None | 10G |
|
Getting an Upgrade | Construct a better pickaxe | Time to Mine! | Pick up a Stone Pickaxe from a Crafting Table. | None | 15G |
| MOAR Tools | Construct one type of each tool (one pickaxe, one spade, one axe and one hoe). | Benchmarking | Xbox | 15G |
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.
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
References
