Updated 25 October 2026. Facts on this page come from minecraft.wiki, minecraft.net and the live Artemis PvP server; sources are listed at the bottom.
Pickaxe in Minecraft: Tiers, Damage and Uses
A pickaxe is the tool for stone, ores and anything made from them. Without one, these blocks break slowly and drop nothing. Its tier decides what it can collect: stone for iron, iron for diamonds, gold and redstone, and diamond or netherite for obsidian and ancient debris.
What is a pickaxe used for?
- Mining stone, cobblestone, deepslate and ores
- Breaking furnaces, anvils, rails and other metal or stone blocks
- Collecting obsidian and ancient debris (diamond tier or better)
- Breaking ice and packed ice faster
How do the pickaxe tiers compare?
| Tier | Damage (Java) | Damage (Bedrock) | Uses (Java) | Uses (Bedrock) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | 2 | 3 | 59 | 60 |
| Gold | 2 | 3 | 32 | 33 |
| Stone | 3 | 4 | 131 | 132 |
| Copper | 3 | 4 | 190 | 191 |
| Iron | 4 | 5 | 250 | 251 |
| Diamond | 5 | 6 | 1561 | 1562 |
| Netherite | 6 | 7 | 2031 | 2032 |
Pickaxes swing at 1.2 attacks per second on Java and lose 2 durability per hit, so they are poor weapons. Their best enchantments are Efficiency, Fortune or Silk Touch, Unbreaking and Mending.
How do you craft one?
Craft it with 3 units of the tier's material across the top and 2 sticks down the middle. Wood uses planks, stone uses cobblestone, cobbled deepslate or blackstone, and copper, iron, gold and diamond use ingots or gems. Every tool comes in seven tiers. Higher tiers last longer and work faster, and gold is the odd one out: very fast and easy to enchant, but it breaks after 32 uses on Java (33 on Bedrock). Netherite tools are not crafted; you upgrade diamond ones at a smithing table with a netherite ingot and an upgrade template. Repair any tool in an anvil with its tier's material, where each unit restores 25% of its durability, or combine two damaged tools of the same kind. Mending repairs them with experience.
Related pages
See all tool tiers and pickaxe enchantments.
Does ArtemisPvP have its own gear?
Frequently asked questions
What pickaxe do you need for diamonds?
Iron or better.
What is the best pickaxe?
Netherite: it lasts 2,031 uses on Java and mines faster than every tier except gold.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.