Ultimate Minecraft Tools Guide: Crafting, Efficiency, Enchantments & Optimization Explained

Players often discuss the best weapons and armor types that keep them protected and aid in combat, but not everyone focuses on another important aspect of the game: tools.

Tools are the core progression of Minecraft. They dictate how fast you gather resources, how efficiently you explore, and how sustainable your survival becomes. Whether it’s mining deep for ancient debris, clearing land for a megabase, or tilling soil for a farm that fuels your world, tools make all of these tasks easier.

However, the tools' progression can become complicated to understand. So, we have created this guide that breaks down every aspect of Minecraft’s tool system, from crafting and progression to durability, mining speed, enchantments, and even hidden mechanics.

Let’s learn everything you need to know about the tools in Minecraft.

Let’s Start With Basics: Durability & Speed

Before we discuss the types of tools available in the game, it's essential to understand their basics. Every swing, every block you mine, and every enchantment you add interacts with three invisible systems that decide how useful your tools really are: durability, mining speed, and efficiency.

Most players think of tools as something that just “wears out”, but there’s a lot more happening under the surface.

1. Durability

Every tool in Minecraft has a durability value that determines how many times it can be used before breaking. Each use, whether it’s breaking a block, chopping wood, tilling soil, or attacking a mob, reduces that durability by 1 point (sometimes more depending on the action).

When durability reaches zero, the tool breaks permanently. And once it’s gone, no amount of XP or repair can bring it back.

Let’s look at the list:

Each of these tools' durability depends largely on what you do with them:

• Breaking the correct block type (like stone with a pickaxe) consumes 1 durability.
• Breaking the wrong block (like dirt with a pickaxe) consumes 2 durability, because the tool isn’t suited for it.

To increase the durability of the tools, you can add enchantments like Unbreaking and Mending that work wonders.

2. Mining or Breaking Speed

Every block in Minecraft has a hardness value, and every tool has a base mining speed.

The interaction between those two decides how long it takes to break that block.

For example, a wooden pickaxe will take a ton of time to mine stone, whereas a diamond pickaxe can do it eight times faster. To understand each material and its speed, here is a list for reference.

It is actually surprising for a lot of people how fast gold can be in breaking or mining blocks. Even though they have the worst durability, still, you can use them for special purposes like redstone builds or when you have nothing else to mine with.

Well, these are the basics of every tool you need to know. We will now learn about each of the tool types and their purpose in the game.

Tool Progression Path (Material Tiers)

In Minecraft, you start with a wooden tool, and as you progress, you aim to upgrade to the best material in the game, which is Netherite.

But what most players miss is that every tool tier isn’t just a linear upgrade; it’s a balance between speed, durability, enchantability, and practicality.

Here we will learn about each of these tools and how you can craft them:

1. Wooden Tools

This is where you start your journey. Wooden tools may not be considered the best, but they become an essential part of every beginner's journey since they help you at least break stones and upgrade them further.

To craft this, you need 2 Sticks + 3 Wooden Planks (any wood type).

It has a durability of 59 with 2x mining speed. It is recommended to upgrade them as soon as you have enough resources. Make sure not to waste any enchantments on them. Their lifespan is too short. It's best to see them only as stepping stones in your first few minutes.

2. Stone Tools

Stone tools will be your first functional set. They are super easy to make and tough enough to last through your early caves and exploration.

To craft them, you need: 2 Sticks + 3 Cobblestone

You can easily mine blocks such as iron, lapiz lazuli, and other basic ores for survival. However, they are not good for mining Redstone, Gold, or Diamond.

As we mentioned above, wood is not the ideal tool for anyone, and Stone being available everywhere, they are easy to craft and do a pretty good job of taking you to the mid part of the game.

3. Iron Tools

The next set of tools in the progression are Iron tools. They are tough, highly durable, and versatile enough to handle almost anything except Obsidian. If it's taking a lot of time finding diamonds to craft diamond tools, iron always comes in handy and makes the journey pretty easy for you till then.

To craft this, you need: 2 Sticks + 3 Iron Ingots

Iron tools are what most technical players use for “utility jobs,” clearing, scaffolding, or testing Redstone, because they’re cheap to replace but still fast. Save your diamonds for specialized tools.

4. Gold Tools

Gold tools are not something we recommend, nor do we prefer them for anything. Yes, they do have good mining speed but poor durability. It's practically useless.

To craft this, you will need: 2 Sticks + 3 Gold Ingots

Many players use this tool mainly for enchantment purposes. You can use a Gold Pickaxe to fish for Efficiency V or Fortune III cheaply, then transfer that enchantment onto a Diamond tool.

5. Diamond Tools: The Late-Game Standard

Once you get your hands on a diamond tool, you will immediately feel the difference. They are considered the backbone for surviving the late-game mechanics. Diamond tools give a superb blend of speed and durability, making them the best tool for mining without a doubt.

To craft this tool, you will need: 2 Sticks + 3 Diamonds

It works even better when you have enchanted them with Unbreaking and Mending. Their durability increases to a different level, long enough lifespan to last through multiple projects.

6. Netherite Tools: God Tier

This is the last in the list of all Minecraft tools progression. Netherite tools are not crafted from scratch like other tools; instead, they are upgraded from the Diamond category. We consider this to be the god tier in terms of tools since it has the highest durability and is built to last anything and everything you do.

To upgrade and obtain the Netherite tools you need: 1 Diamond Tool + 1 Netherite Ingot (in Smithing Table)

One amazing fact about this tool is that it is resistant to both lava and fire. Also, it is considered slightly faster than Diamond, with more consistent mining across tough blocks like Deepslate.

Note: Don’t rush to upgrade everything to Netherite. Prioritize your Pickaxe, Axe, and Sword first, tools you actually use daily. A Netherite shovel might look cool, but the upgrade cost isn’t worth it unless you’re in full endgame farming mode.

The Complete Breakdown of Every Tool Type

Now that we know that Diamond and Netherite are the endgame materials for all tools, let’s shift our focus and know more about the different types of tools Minecraft has, and which might be the best for you.

1. Pickaxes

The one tool you will need in your entire Minecraft journey is a Pickaxe. It’s the first tool you craft, the one you use most often, and the only tool directly tied to your advancement through materials and ores.

The pickaxe is designed to break blocks with stone-level hardness or higher, such as ores, stone, deepslate, and metal-based blocks. It’s also the only tool capable of mining key progression materials, like diamonds, obsidian, ancient debris, and ores that unlock every major crafting tier in the game.

Also, every pickaxe tier has a base mining speed multiplier, and every block type has a hardness value. The lower the hardness and the higher the tool tier, the faster the block breaks.

To ensure Pickaxes perform their level best, you can add a few enchantments like Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, Mending, Fortune III, and Silk Touch.

2. Axes

Axes have multiple purposes, from simply breaking blocks to mining. They are considered to be a powerhouse and are used to:

• Chop logs and wood-based blocks (like planks, fences, and crafting tables).
• Strip logs (for clean building textures).
• Disable shields in combat (Java Edition).
• Serve as a high-damage melee weapon.

When combined with a few enchantments, it kind of works much better than a sword, even. A special aspect of this tool is that it breaks wood faster than even pickaxes. In Java combat, a fully enchanted Netherite Axe with Sharpness V hits harder than any sword, up to 13 damage per swing. The trick is timing. Swing too soon, and you’ll deal minimal damage due to cooldown penalties.

Let’s look at some of the enchantments that work best with axes: Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, Mending, Sharpness V / Smite V / Bane of Arthropods V, and Silk Touch V.

This tool follows the same progression as we mentioned earlier. The best you can get is a diamond which seems to be enough, and you may not waste resources on upgrading Netherite.

Another important part of axes is that they can also be used as a weapon. They tend to deal higher single-hit damage than a sword; however, they have a slower attack cooldown, which makes them less desirable as compared to a sword.

It is recommended to use an Axe as only a tool when playing in Bedrock edition, while in Java, it can be used as both a tool and a weapon.

Note: A fully enchanted Netherite Axe with Sharpness V hits harder than any sword, up to 13 damage per swing.

3. Shovels

A Shovel is the most underappreciated tool in Minecraft. They are not the most efficient as pickaxes and axes, but they are absolutely necessary once you start shaping terrain, landscaping builds, or clearing massive areas for bases and farms.

This tool is all about speed, and they are designed to mine all soft, earth-type blocks: Dirt, grass, coarse dirt, sand, gravel, clay, powdered snow, mud, and path blocks.

You’ll notice how drastically slower mining feels without a proper shovel once you’ve played long enough. It’s not just about saving time; it’s about reducing durability strain on other tools like your pickaxe, which isn’t meant for soft materials.

Again, the best enchantments for Shovel are Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, Mending, Fortune III, and Silk Touch.

Apart from breaking the blocks at an immense speed, shovels can also be used to extinguish the campfire by right-clicking on it. Overall, it is an excellent choice to clear out an entire field for your farm or any other purpose.

4. Hoes

Another underrated tool in the game that does a lot more than simply turning dirt into farmland. You can use this tool to mine several blocks faster than any other tool in the game: leaves, sponges, hay bales, target blocks, nether wart blocks, shroomlight, and vines.

If you’re clearing leaves or nether wart blocks manually, nothing, not even shears, can beat a high-efficiency hoe. It’s one of those tools you never realize you need until you start large-scale farming or building with organic materials.

Most players use a hoe to till their farm land. This tool only uses 1 durability point to till an entire farm land making it the most efficient tool in the game. Likewise, if you use Fortune III enchantment on the hoe, it increases the crop yield massively, making it a very important enchantment in the game.

Other than this, you can also add Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, Mending, and Silk Touch. To add more here, Gold Hoe has the fastest speed in the game, but breaks after ~30 blocks, which is useful only for quick testing or enchant rerolls.

5. Shears

Shears may not be as popular among the veteran players, but they still have a good use in the name. They are now known for being powerful as axes and pickaxes, but they’re the backbone of countless farms and decorative builds.

Shears are designed to collect delicate blocks and materials that would otherwise be destroyed when mined. They’re also one of the few tools that can be used both manually and automatically via dispensers, making them invaluable for automation setups.

Here are a few things Shears can be used for: shearing sheep, harvesting leaves, collecting vines, gathering or destroying cobwebs, harvesting bee nests and honeycombs, and carving pumpkins.

The only disadvantage of this tool is that you can only add a limited number of enchantments: Unbreaking III and Mending. The fact that you cannot use Fortune and Silk Touch on this makes it a bit of a downgrade.

6. Flint and Steel

You can live without a sword or even an axe in Minecraft, but not without Flint and Steel. You literally need this tool to complete the gameplay. It’s the one tool that literally opens the gateway to the Nether, the most important progression step in the entire game.

To craft this, you need: 1 Iron Ingot + 1 Flint

Apart from creating the nether portal, there are several other uses for this tool: starting fires, lighting TNT, burning blocks, killing mobs, lighting campfires, and other things you need fire for.

When you use Flint and Steel, it ignites a fire block on the surface of the targeted block, not inside it. That fire then spreads to nearby flammable blocks if the area meets two conditions:

• The target block is flammable (like wood, logs, or leaves).
• The block above it is air.

There are multiple ways you can use it to defend yourself: ignite fire directly in front of enemies, trap opponents by lighting the ground beneath them, etc.

Conclusion

That is all you need to know about all the types of tools and the enchantments you can use on them. By now, it seems clear that these tools are not just about crafting recipes or upgrades; they’re a system of balance and strategy.

You can always start with a wooden tool and progress your way to at least a diamond or a Netherite tool for your late game. This is what differentiates a beginner from a veteran player. A new player crafts whatever’s available and replaces it when it breaks, whereas a veteran knows which tool to carry, which enchantments to prioritize, and when to repair instead of rebuild.

Make sure to learn more about each of these tools and how you can use them efficiently, because each serves a specific role in the game that will only take you forward.