Tool Recipes

Bear in mind that all of the tools in the game can be made form the different base resources with specifically different results in the form of durability and the number of uses, but also in their applications...  For instance certain gems or ore may require the use of specific types and materials of tools in order to harvest them -- you should always check the base resource listing to determine any special requirements before choosing the tool that you will use.

-- Axes

The Axe is the tool that is used to more efficiently and quickly gather Wood as a resource by chopping down trees.  Note that depending on the material it is made from, your Axe will have a limited number of uses.  Also note that it is always a good idea to switch to hand when you are harvesting / breaking leaves and branches because using the Axe on them wears away on it.

Axes can also be used as weapons but they do slightly less damage to the mob than a sword made of the same material.  In addition to being used for harvesting Wood, the Axe will also break items made from Wood faster than by hand.

When you use the Axe as a weapon each successful attack does twice the damage to its durability, and considering the difference between the cost of making an Axe and that of a Sword, this seems like a really bad idea.

Axe Durability Table:

Wood: 60 Uses

Stone: 132 Uses

Iron: 251 Uses

Gold: 33 Uses

Diamond: 1562 Uses

-- Flint and Steel

Flint and Steel is a tool used to place Fire and is crafted from 1 flint and 1 iron ingot.   The firestarting ability of Flint and Steel makes it a versatile tool and weapon, as it will quickly remove fences, wooden stairs, ignite and clear wooden or cloth floors, and can be used to set fire to dense areas of forest, quickly clearing them.   In the Nether it is a convenient way to set Netherrack ablaze.

In early versions of the game the player started with a Flint and Steel in their inventory, but in the complete version Flint and Steel must be crafted by the player, which means that they will need to find and smelt Iron Ore before they can craft it.

-- Hoe

Hoes are a tool used to till dirt and grass blocks into farmland blocks, which is the first step in the process of farming Melons, Pumpkins, and Wheat.   For farming it is considered indispensable, since you cannot accomplish the process of tilling the soil without it, and you will want to in order to ensure that you have a strong food supply.

To till soil the player simply right-clicks on a grass or dirt block while having the hoe selected in their Hot Bar.  Unlike the other tools wherein the material that the tool is made from has a direct effect on how fast it functions, Hoes do not as they are instant-action tools.  That being the case, there really is no good reason to use materials above Iron Ingots for their creation other than durability concerns -- and a Diamond Hoe will return the best durability results lasting a very long time.

-- Pickaxe

The most commonly used tool in the game, as it is required to mine all ores and many other types of blocks, the most efficient system for Pickaxe strategy is to use Stone Pickaxes to mine regular Stone Blocks (cobblestone) and then switch to the required type depending upon the special resource that you are minding and encounter.  In this way you can easily replace your main tool (the Stone Pickaxe) while mining due to the abundance of Stone that is encountered in the process, saving your special tools for the types of ores/gems they are required for.

Blocks that can be mined by a Pickaxe include, but are not limited to:

Coal Ore

Cobblestone

Diamond Ore

End Stone

Gold Ore

Iron Ore

Lapis Lazuli Ore

Moss Stone

Nether Brick

Netherrack

Obsidian

Redstone Ore

Sandstone

Slabs

Stone

Stone Brick

Pickaxes can be crafted using Wood, Cobblestone, Iron Ingots, Gold Ingots, and Diamond Gems, with the Diamond type being the most durable and the Gold type the least.

-- Shears

Shears are your basic clipping tool in the game, and are used to obtain Wool from sheep, to collect Red Mushrooms from Mooshrooms, collect Vines from hanging Vines, collecting Leaf Blocks from Trees, for collecting Tall Grass, for getting String from Cobwebs, and for destroying Wool Blocks.

They are constructed from two iron ingots and have a durability rating.  Shears are the only tool except the hoe that has a specific right-click action (shearing Sheep and Mooshrooms) and left-click action (collecting Leaves, Vines, Cobwebs and Tall Grass).

-- Shovels

Shovels are the tool used to speed up the process of collecting Dirt, Sand, Gravel, Clay and Snow, and are the required tool for collecting Snowballs from Snow.   Technically with the exception of Snow Balls, the Shovel is not really a required tool for advancement in the game as it really only speeds up the digging process, which can also be accomplished by hand.

The material from which the Shovel is crafted directly impacts its durability, with Diamond being the best, and Gold the worst.  Most players consider a single Diamond Shovel to be adequate as part of their standard kit.