Pickaxes are one of the most commonly used tools in the game, being required to mine ores of any type. Different qualities of pickaxes are required to mine certain blocks:
- Wood or better can mine stone, cobblestone, coal, stairs, furnaces and .netherrack.
- Stone or better can mine iron and Lapis Lazuli.
- Iron or better can mine gold, diamond and redstone.
- Diamond can mine obsidian.
- Stone (or better) pickaxes can mine netherrack in one hit.
Pickaxes are created with 2 sticks and 3 units of a tool material:
| Name | Ingredients | Input » Output | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickaxes | Sticks + Wood or Cobblestone or Iron Ingots or Gold Ingots or Diamond Gems |
File:CraftingPickaxesIOanim.gif | Required to mine stone-related blocks and ore. |
The following table summarizes the speed at which different quality pickaxes perform. Values marked with (*) indicate that although the block can be destroyed with said quality pickaxe, it will yield no resource.
| Pickaxes | Bare hands | Wood | Stone | Iron | Diamond |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smooth Stone | 7.68 sec* | 1.44 sec | 0.89 sec | 0.68 sec | 0.59 sec |
| Cobblestone | 10.19 sec* | 1.79 sec | 1.04 sec | 0.79 sec | 0.68 sec |
| Coal Ore | 15.22 sec* | 2.54 sec | 1.44 sec | 1.04 sec | 0.89 sec |
| Iron Ore | 15.22 sec* | 15.22 sec* | 1.44 sec | 1.04 sec | 0.89 sec |
| Gold Ore | 15.22 sec* | 15.22 sec* | 15.22 sec* | 1.04 sec | 0.89 sec |
| Diamond Ore | 15.22 sec* | 15.22 sec* | 15.22 sec* | 1.04 sec | 0.89 sec |
| Iron Block | 25.58 sec* | 25.58 sec* | 2.19 sec | 1.54 sec | 1.24 sec |
| Gold Block | 15.22 sec* | 15.22 sec* | 15.22 sec* | 1.04 sec | 0.89 sec |
| Diamond Block | 25.28 sec* | 25.28 sec* | 25.28 sec* | 1.54 sec | 1.24 sec |
| Obsidian | 50.29 sec* | 50.29 sec* | 50.29 sec* | 50.29 sec* | 15.35 sec |
| Stair Block | 10.26 sec* | 1.79 sec | 1.04 sec | 0.79 sec | 0.68 sec |
| Stone Slabs | 10.26 sec* | 1.79 sec | 1.04 sec | 0.79 sec | 0.68 sec |
| Furnace | 17.67 sec* | 5.52 sec | 5.52 sec | 5.52 sec | 5.52 sec |
Also note that pickaxes are the only technically required wood tools in the game. This is because they can mine stone; a much better tool building material. Therefore, you really only ever need to have 1 wood pickaxe.
Since the Beta 1.2 update, wood and stone tools have increased durability, meaning that wood tools have 64 uses, and stone tools have 128.