Sharpness

Overview

Sharpness adds flat damage to every melee hit against everything in the game, and that universality is precisely its argument. Smite hits harder against undead and Bane of Arthropods hits harder against spiders, but both spend most of their existence doing nothing, whereas Sharpness contributes to every swing you ever make. For a single sword carried everywhere, it is the correct choice and the other two are not. It goes on axes as well as swords, and on an axe the flat bonus sits on top of an already higher base damage, which is why an enchanted netherite axe out-damages the equivalent sword per hit — at the cost of a slower recovery between swings and no Sweeping Edge. Its weight of 10 makes it one of the easiest strong enchantments to roll, so most players reach level V by combining books rather than by luck. The exclusivity list is long: Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Impaling, Density and Breach all refuse to share a weapon with it. Decide once, put it on the sword you carry, and keep the specialists for the second weapon in the chest.

The everyday weapon you carry everywhere, because it raises damage against every mob in the game rather than against one family you may not meet today.

Adds flat extra damage to every melee hit, against every mob. The default damage enchantment: it is not the strongest against any single mob type, but it never does nothing.

The highest level of Sharpness is V. It is standard, so it sits in the enchanting table's own offer pool.

Its weight of 10 is about 26–28% of what an enchanting table can roll for an item that accepts it, which is roughly how often a level-30 table will put it in front of you.

How to get it

Enchant a sword or axe at a table with 15 bookshelves for 3 levels and 3 lapis, or combine 2 level IV books for level V. Weight 10 makes it one of the commonest offers, and level V adds 3 damage per hit.

Tips

• On an axe the same bonus sits on a higher base, which is why axes out-damage swords per swing.
• It conflicts with Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Impaling, Density and Breach, so one weapon carries one of them.
• Full-charge every swing; the attack cooldown matters far more to your damage than one extra level does.
• Combine two level IV books rather than rerolling a table — the enchantment calculator shows the anvil cost.

What each level does

What each level actually gives you. The jump from I to V is where most of the value sits, and an anvil can combine two IV books into one V.

Sharpness V adds 3 extra damage per hit.

Properties

The enchanting table can roll it, and librarians sell it as a book — breaking and replacing a lectern rerolls the trade until one does.

What it can be applied to

Sharpness can be applied to Sword and Axe.

• Sword
• Axe

Gear it goes on

Wooden SwordWooden AxeStone SwordStone AxeGolden SwordGolden AxeIron SwordIron AxeDiamond SwordDiamond AxeNetherite SwordNetherite Axe

Incompatible enchantments

Sharpness cannot share an item with Bane of Arthropods, Breach, Density, Impaling, and Smite.

Try it on an anvil and the clashing enchantment is quietly dropped while the levels are still spent, so check the pair before committing a rare book.

Bane of ArthropodsBreachDensityImpalingSmite

How to get it

Enchanting table, anvil or villager trading.

Fifteen bookshelves and the level-30 slot is the fastest route; anything less lowers both the level and the pool you draw from.

Command

With cheats on, the first command applies Sharpness V to whatever you are holding; the second hands you an item that already has it. Since 1.20.5 the item form uses the "enchantments" component rather than the old NBT tag.

Guides and tools that cover this

• GuidesThe Complete Minecraft Enchanting Guide (1.21.4)→
• ToolsEnchantment Order Calculator→

Frequently asked questions