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This article is about the handheld items. For program enhancing software, see Programs and Editors.

Tools are items used by the player while held to perform actions faster, to gather materials not obtainable by hand, or to perform completely new actions. Note: All tools, except for the fishing rod, are not stackable.

List of tools

Beginner info

Use any item's special ability by right or left clicking with your mouse.

Shovel

Main article: Shovel

Shovels are used for removing dirt, sand, gravel, clay and snow faster. You can only get snowballs by using a shovel.

Pickaxe

Main article: Pickaxe

Pickaxes are used for removing stone, cobblestone, moss stone, coal, iron ore, lapis lazuli ore, gold ore, diamond, obsidian, netherrack, glowstone, stairs, Iron Doors and Ice faster.

Wooden Pickaxe or better: Stone, Cobblestone, Coal Ore, Netherrack.

Stone Pickaxe or better: Iron Ore, Lapis Lazuli Ore.

Iron Pickaxe or better: Redstone Ore, Gold Ore, Diamond Ore.

Diamond Pickaxe: Obsidian.

Axe

Main article: Axe

Axes are used for removing logs, and planks faster.

Bucket

Main article: Bucket
Bucket

Buckets are used to hold water, lava, or milk for transport. They can only pick up water springs and lava springs and not the "runoff" from these blocks. Springs can be identified by being the “upstream-most” block in rivers; lakes and oceans are also made of spring blocks.

Flint and Steel

Main article: Flint and Steel

Flint and Steel is used to light trees, wood, mobs, and other players on fire.

Hoe

Main article: Hoe

Hoes can be used to till dirt blocks into field blocks. Tilling Grass can cause seeds to drop, which can then be grown on tilled ground that is near water (see Farming).

Sword

Main article: Weapons

Swords are used to attack mobs. They can also be used to remove some blocks (for example, glass and leaves) slightly faster; however, this damages the sword for two uses. They can, however, remove minecarts in a single swipe, and take no damage from doing so.

Saddle

Main article: Saddle
Saddle

Saddles are items only found in the chests found in map-generated underground dungeons; they cannot be crafted. They can be placed on pigs which will allow the player to ride them by right clicking the saddle. However, the player cannot control the pig.

Fishing rod

Main article: Fishing rod

Fishing rods one main purpose: to catch fish. They can also be used on other mobs to reel them close to the player.

Tool Material and Efficiency

The primary tools can be made out of four different materials: wood, stone, iron, and diamond. A fifth material, gold, is equal to wood. Each material has a limited durability and a specific action time. The better the material used, the more uses it has and, usually, but not always, a shorter action time. Wood tools have 65 uses, Gold, 33 uses, Stone, 129 uses, Iron, 257 uses, and the best, Diamond, a full 1025 uses. The following chart, courtesy of Crixnmix [1], portrays the average time, in seconds, required to break a block depending on what material is used to craft a tool. In the Beta 1.2 patch gold tools were made to have increased speed at removing stone and wood than their diamond counterparts, but continuing to have the same durability. Wood, stone and iron and possibly diamond tools have had their durabilty increased.

Bare hands Wood/gold Stone Iron Diamond
Shovels
Dirt 1.05 sec 0.70 sec 0.49 sec 0.44 sec 0.39 sec
Gravel 1.19 sec 0.74 sec 0.54 sec 0.44 sec 0.44 sec
Sand 1.05 sec 0.70 sec 0.49 sec 0.44 sec 0.39 sec
Pickaxes
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
Moss stone ?* ? sec ? sec ? sec ? 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
Lapis Lazuli ? ? ? ? ?
Redstone ore ?* ?* ? ? ?
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
Axes
Log 3.34 sec 1.44 sec 0.89 sec 0.68 sec 0.59 sec
Plank 3.34 sec 1.79 sec 1.04 sec 0.79 sec 0.68 sec
Workbench 4.06 sec 4.06 sec 4.06 sec 4.06 sec 4.06 sec
Chest 4.06 sec 2.15 sec 1.21 sec 0.91 sec 0.76 sec
Swords**
Glass 0.74 sec 0.58 sec 0.58 sec 0.58 sec 0.58 sec
Leaves 0.59 sec 0.50 sec 0.50 sec 0.50 sec 0.50 sec

(*) These values represent tools which yield no block drops.
(**) There is double durability damage to weapons when they are used to break glass and leaves.

Crafting recipes

Name Ingredients Crafting recipe Description
Axe Any Planks or
Iron Ingot or
Gold Ingot or
Diamond +
Stick

Stone Axe Any stone-tier block +
Stick

Can use cobblestone and its other variants interchangeably.
Axe Damaged Matching Axe


The durability of the two axes is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.
Brush Feather +
Copper Ingot +
Stick

Brush Damaged Brush


The durability of the two brushes is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.
Bundle String +
Rabbit Hide

[only experimental "bundle"]
Clock Gold Ingot +
Redstone Dust

Clock
Compass Iron Ingot +
Redstone Dust

Compass
Fishing Rod Stick +
String

Fishing Rod Damaged Fishing Rod


The durability of the two fishing rods is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.
Flint and Steel Iron Ingot +
Flint


Flint and Steel Damaged Flint and Steel


The durability of the two tools is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.
Hoe Any Planks or
Iron Ingot or
Gold Ingot or
Diamond +
Stick

Stone Hoe Any stone-tier block +
Stick

Can use cobblestone and its other variants interchangeably.
Hoe Damaged Matching Hoe


The durability of the two hoes is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.
Lead String +
Slimeball
Pickaxe Any Planks or
Iron Ingot or
Gold Ingot or
Diamond +
Stick

Stone Pickaxe Any stone-tier block +
Stick

Can use cobblestone and its other variants interchangeably.
Pickaxe Matching Damaged Pickaxes


The durability of the two pickaxes is added together, plus an extra 5% of the tool type's total durability.
Recovery Compass Echo Shard +
Compass
Compass
Recovery Compass
Shears Iron Ingot

Shears Damaged Shears


The durability of the two shears is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.
Shovels Any Planks or
Iron Ingot or
Gold Ingot or
Diamond +
Stick

Stone Shovel Any stone-tier block +
Stick

Can use any variant of cobblestone
Shovel Damaged Matching Shovel


The durability of the two shovels is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.
Spyglass Amethyst Shard +
Copper Ingot

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