Best Pickaxe Enchantments in Minecraft
A fully enchanted pickaxe uses Efficiency V, Unbreaking III and Mending, plus Fortune III for more eligible drops or Silk Touch to collect eligible blocks intact. Fortune and Silk Touch conflict, so two pickaxes let you keep both options available.
Last verified 1 Nov 2026 · Source: minecraft.wiki: Pickaxe · minecraft.wiki: Enchanting
Best pickaxe enchantments
| Enchantment | Max level | Effect | Apply to the item |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unbreaking | III | Makes durability last longer. | Enchanting table or anvil |
| Mending | I | Uses collected XP to repair durability. | Anvil with a book |
| Curse of Vanishing | I | Makes the item disappear on death; avoid for a lasting build. | Anvil with a book |
| Efficiency | V | Speeds up mining. | Enchanting table or anvil |
| Silk Touch | I | Lets eligible blocks drop as blocks. | Enchanting table or anvil |
| Fortune | III | Increases eligible block drops. | Enchanting table or anvil |
Fortune vs Silk Touch: which should you pick?
Fortune pickaxe build
Choose Fortune III alongside Efficiency V, Unbreaking III and Mending when extra eligible drops are your goal. Fortune affects supported blocks; it does not multiply every block you mine.
Silk Touch pickaxe build
Replace Fortune with Silk Touch to collect supported blocks in their block form. Keep this as a separate tool if you also want a Fortune pickaxe. The toggle below swaps the incompatible pair and recalculates the plan.
Cheapest anvil order for a max pickaxe
Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, Mending I, Fortune III
Assumes an unenchanted item and one fresh book per enchantment, with no prior anvil work. Left slot is the target; right slot is the book being consumed.
Best order: 23 levels total
- Put Pickaxe on the left and Fortune III book on the right → 6 levels
- Put Efficiency V book on the left and Mending I book on the right → 2 levels
- Put Pickaxe (Fortune III) on the left and Book (Efficiency V + Mending I) on the right → 9 levels
- Put Pickaxe (Efficiency V, Mending I, Fortune III) on the left and Unbreaking III book on the right → 6 levels
Final prior work penalty: 7 levels (3 anvil uses).
These are sums of level charges, not a single XP point price. Check the XP calculator for experience points and the Too Expensive guide if your already-worked tool refuses another book.
Where to get the books
Use the enchanting table for ordinary enchantments and librarian trades for books including Mending. Mending and Curse of Vanishing cannot come from the enchanting table. A book is applied to the pickaxe with an anvil.
Only with the optional Trade Rebalance experiment, a snowy master librarian guarantees Silk Touch and a taiga master guarantees Fortune II. That Fortune book is below the maximum level; these biome guarantees do not describe normal trading.
Enchantments to avoid
Curse of Vanishing removes the pickaxe when you die. It is a curse to avoid when building a tool you want to keep.
Last verified 1 Nov 2026 · Source: minecraft.wiki: Librarian
FAQ
Can a pickaxe have Fortune and Silk Touch?
No. Choose one per pickaxe; the calculator toggle replaces one with the other.
What is the highest Efficiency level?
Efficiency V is the maximum level for a pickaxe.
Can you get Mending at an enchanting table?
No. Obtain a Mending book through trading, loot or fishing, then apply it with an anvil.
Why does my anvil say Too Expensive?
Prior anvil work increases the penalty on an item or book. See the Too Expensive guide before spending more books.
Last updated: 2026-11-01