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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).

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.

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

Main article: Achievements
Icon Achievement In-game description Prerequisites Actual requirements (if different) Version restriction Xbox points earned
Advancement-plain-raw Time to Mine! Use planks and sticks to make a pickaxe Benchmarking Pick up a Wooden Pickaxe from a Crafting Table. None 10G
Advancement-plain-raw Getting an Upgrade Construct a better pickaxe Time to Mine! Pick up a Stone Pickaxe from a Crafting Table. None 15G
MOAR Tools
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


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