How to Make a Pickaxe in Minecraft? 6 Simple Steps
Minecraft has a large variety of tools each with its unique functions, but the best tool for mining stones and ores is the Pickaxe. It is a standard tool and like others in the game, the pickaxe also exists or can be crafted in several various forms(i.e Wood, Stone, Iron, Gold, Diamond, Netherite). Although it might seem like a basic tool in-game, players would be lost without it, so how can I craft a pickaxe in Minecraft?
Crafting a Pickaxe requires you to first place two sticks in the middle cell of the second and third row. Next place 3 wooden planks (That is if you are crafting a wooden pickaxe) in the entire cells of the first row. Afterward, you right-click the crafted pickaxe and add it to your inventory.
Ever since their introduction into Minecraft, the Pickaxe and its variants have remained one of the most useful if not the most useful basic equipment in the entire game. Given the nature of the game, pickaxe has always remained essential especially when you have to upgrade into newer and better sets of tools and armors because you need the Pickaxe to mine better ores.
From the slow wooden pickaxe to its almost unbreakable Netherite variant, the journey has always been a thriller for every Minecraft player.
Despite being a basic tool, most players still don’t completely understand the mechanics of a pickaxe. Today, I’ll be giving you a brief run through the most important details of a pickaxe, how to make it and its variants, and also how to upgrade it to the strongest form in the game. So just relax and read on.
What Materials Do You Need to Craft a Pickaxe?
To craft a Pickaxe in Minecraft, players will need to gather the following materials.
- 2 Sticks
- Relevant material (That is either, Wood planks, cobblestone, iron ingots, gold ingots, diamond, and netherite)
- A Crafting table
- A Smithing table (for the netherite upgrades)
How Do You Craft a Pickaxe in Minecraft?
The first pickaxe every player gets in Minecraft is the Wooden pickaxe because its materials are always available as soon as you spawn into a world. This wooden pickaxe is a good starting tool and you can use it to mine stones which can also be used to make a stone pickaxe.
So you move from wood to stone before you can reach other more useful ores like Iron, gold, diamond(Because Wood can only mine stone and coal in the game, mining any other ore with a wooden pickaxe will destroy the ore).
This is an easy step-by-step guide on how to perfectly craft a Pickaxe in Minecraft. Bear in mind that all pickaxe variants can be crafted with these steps.
Step 1
Start by first cutting down trees with your hands to get the Wooden logs. Next, turn the logs into wooden planks by using your crafting menu. Finally, create a crafting table by placing 4 wooden planks in your crafting menu.
Step 2
Place your new crafting table in a suitable position and use it to craft some Sticks. To craft sticks, place a plank in a column and another plank directly underneath it. Take out the crafted sticks and place them in your inventory.
Step 3
Open your crafting table and go to the 3×3 crafting grid.
Step 4
On the first row, place 3 wooden planks in each of the 3 cells.
Step 5
Next, place one stick in the middle cell of the second row, and place another stick in the middle cell of the third row.
Step 6
Finally right-click the crafted Wooden Pickaxe from the crafting table and place it in your inventory.
If you have all the required materials, just skip over to step 3 and start from there.
What Next?
You can begin your mining career with a wooden pickaxe, it’ll get you pretty much everything you need to start your new world. The wooden pickaxe can get you both stone and coal, out of which you can use the stones to make a stone pickaxe and the coal to make torches. Just look for the nearest mountain or dig directly below you and you’ll be surrounded by enough stones to mine.
Once you have a stone pickaxe, you can now start mining the next best ore in the early game which is Iron. You can find iron ore almost everywhere in a cave system, and they are easy to spot that’s to their brownish specks. Having an Iron pickaxe means you can mine every other ore in the game and that includes gold and Diamond.
A Diamond pickaxe is the highest natural variant that players can craft, but to upgrade your pickaxe to its strongest form, you’ll need some supernatural ores from the Nether.
How to Make a Stone Pickaxe in Minecraft?
To make a Stone Pickaxe, you first need to mine the cobblestones either with your hand or a wooden pickaxe. You’ll need 3 cobblestones to make a Stone Pickaxe. Once you have all the required materials, follow the steps above on how to make a stone pickaxe, but this time you will replace the 3 wooden planks with 3 Cobblestones.
The process can craft 1 stone Pickaxe if carried out successfully.
How to Make an Iron Pickaxe in Minecraft?
To make an Iron pickaxe, you’ll need to mine some iron ores which will later be converted to iron ingots. You can only mine iron ore with a stone Pickaxe, which breaks the iron ore block into raw iron. The raw iron is then smelted in a furnace and converted to iron ingots.
You will need 3 iron ingots to make an Iron pickaxe. Simply follow the steps above on how to make a Pickaxe, but instead of the relevant material being 3 wooden planks, replace it with 3 iron ingots.
How to Make a Diamond Pickaxe in Minecraft?
To successfully mine diamonds, you’ll need at least an Iron Pickaxe. Diamonds do not need to be smelted after they are mined because they exist in their natural state. You’ll need 3 Diamonds to make a diamond pickaxe.
Simply follow the steps above on how to make a Pickaxe but replace the 3 wooden planks with 3 Diamonds.
Is a Gold Pickaxe Worth It?
Anything made from gold is created with a low life span. That is to say, a golden tool doesn’t last long when it is being used. So crafting a golden tool can be considered a waste if you aim to constantly use it to work.
How Do You Make a Strong Pickaxe in Minecraft?
A Netherite variant of a Pickaxe is the Strongest form it can exist in but the process to craft one is not exactly the easiest. So here’s a step-by-step process on how to make the strongest pickaxe in Minecraft.
Step 1
Get the required materials which in this case is Ancient Debris. It generates between “Y” level 8 to level 22(The best place to find Ancient Debris is around Y level 15) and you can get one or 4 pieces at a time. The Ancient Debris only spawns in the Nether Realm, so you’ll need to either find or create a Nether Portal to gain access to this Realm.
Step 2
Find and Mine the Ancient Debris in the Nether Realm. You can identify it by the Rocky exterior and the swirl teMinecraftxture at the top and bottom of the block. Ancient debris can only be mined with a diamond pickaxe.
Step 3
To make 1 Netherite ingot, you need 4 Ancient Debris and 4 gold ingots. So smelt the 4 Ancient debris in a furnace and collect the 4 smelted Netherite scrap.
Step 4
Once you have the 4 Smelted Netherite scrap, you have to combine them with 4 gold ingots in your crafting table. The recipe can be arranged in any order.
Step 5
Collect the crafted Netherite ingot and add it to your inventory. A Netherite ingot can upgrade your Diamond tool or armor to its Netherite variant. To achieve this, you’ll need a Smithing table, check out this guide on how to make a Smithing table in Minecraft.
Step 6
Once you have a Smithing table, ace it at a suitable location and right-click on it to open its GUI.
Step 7
Next place your diamond Pickaxe on the left cell and your Netherite ingot on the right cell.
Step 8
Collect your Netherite Pickaxe and add it to your inventory. That’s all.
Bear in mind that the Smithing table will keep all the Enchantments you initially had on your Diamond pickaxe when it is upgraded to a Netherite Pickaxe.