Axes are one of those Minecraft tools you should almost always carry. They let you break various blocks and do far more than just chop trees. On the other hand, they’re also a melee weapon you can defend yourself with. Especially early on, axes can play a strong double role, and even later they’re a great choice when heading into combat. Today we’ll look at both sides of the axe—as a tool and as a weapon—what makes it so good, and whether it’s worth using instead of a sword.
Crafting a Minecraft axe: recipes, where to find them, and villager trades
An axe is probably the first tool you’ll craft in Minecraft. You make one from two sticks and three items of a specific material placed in either corner of the crafting table. The recipe can be mirrored.
Axes can be made from the following resources:
- Wood
- Stone
- Iron
- Gold
- Diamond
- Netherite (upgrade with the Netherite Upgrade smithing template)
Axes are also often part of loot and chests you can find in structures in your world. You can find almost any type of axe there, from a simple wooden axe to an enchanted diamond axe. You’ll primarily find the latter in Trial Chambers if you want to search for them.
Villagers can also sell you axes, and at higher levels even enchanted ones. Since an axe serves two purposes, both the Toolsmith and the Weaponsmith can offer them. Each tends to have different enchantments tailored to its use. A large trading hall is perfect for always having the right offers and locking them in long-term. Rent a Minecraft server and start building such a hall in multiplayer to avoid long grinding.
Minecraft axe as a tool: chop trees and break wooden blocks faster
With axes you primarily chop trees. They break logs faster and are therefore one of the tools you’ll craft right at the start—because you always need wood. But axes can do much more. They let you break all blocks faster that are made of wood. This includes many blocks such as the crafting table, chests, doors, signs, or note blocks.
Axes are also used to harvest some natural blocks. Use them for pumpkins and melons, as well as cocoa beans, bee nests, mushroom blocks, or mangrove roots. They’re a wonderfully useful tool you’ll always find handy.
Axes have another function in Minecraft: scraping certain blocks. This feature was first introduced with logs, from which you can remove the bark with a right-click. What’s left is a neat texture and another block to build with.
You can do the same with copper blocks. On the one hand, you can reverse oxidation and turn already turquoise blocks back to orange. On the other hand, you can also scrape wax off them if you no longer want it applied.
Best Minecraft axe enchantments for tools
Like any tool, you can enchant your axe, find an enchanted one, or trade for it with a villager. Here are the practical enchantments for an axe used as a tool:
- Silk Touch: Mine blocks in their true form.
- Efficiency: Increases mining speed.
- Fortune: Increases drops in some cases, for example from melons.
- Unbreaking: Makes your axe last longer.
- Mending: Restores durability with XP.
Minecraft axe as a weapon: damage, shield break, and sword comparison
Axes are also weapons you can use as an alternative to a sword. Generally, they’re slower and their cooldown takes longer to recharge—but they deal more damage. Axes focus on a single target and have no sweeping attack. However, they can disable a shield and force a shield break if the opponent is blocking. As with swords, you can land critical hits. Axes are the weapon of choice for both Vindicators in Woodland Mansions and Piglin Brutes in the Nether.
Let’s compare the axe and the sword more closely. Early on you’ll craft both from stone, with the stone axe dealing 4.5 to 6.75 hearts of damage. The stone sword, on the other hand, deals only 2.5 to 3.75 hearts. With Netherite in the late game, the differences remain clear. A Netherite axe can deal 5 to 7.5 hearts of damage, while a Netherite sword deals only 4 to 6 hearts.
Note: These values don’t apply in the Bedrock Edition, since the 1.9 combat overhaul was never introduced there. Swords are the better choice on Bedrock.
Best combat enchantments for axes in Minecraft
Enchantments can push your axe as a weapon even further. Most overlap with sword enchantments, but you won’t get a sweeping attack.
- Sharpness: Increases general damage against all mobs.
- Smite: Increases damage against the undead, such as zombies and skeletons.
- Bane of Arthropods: Increases damage against arthropod-type mobs.
Axes really should have received more enchantments—these were tested in the 2019 and 2020 Combat Snapshots. Enchantments like Looting, Knockback, or Fire Aspect are still missing from axes. A new enchantment called “Cleaving,” designed specifically for axes, was also tested. Unfortunately, these ideas never made it into the actual game.
Conclusion: Minecraft axe as a versatile tool and weapon
Axes are a true multitool in Minecraft. They let you not only break or tweak a range of different blocks, but also serve as a weapon. As a regular tool, an axe is practically indispensable. You should always keep one in your inventory and use suitable enchantments. As a weapon, an axe can be a strong alternative if you fight deliberately and want to deal maximum damage. It’s slower than a sword but hits harder—and it saves you an inventory slot.
