Overview
Silk Touch makes a block drop itself rather than what it normally breaks into, and that turns a pickaxe into a moving tool for things that could not otherwise be moved. Glass, ice and packed ice, glowstone, bookshelves, grass blocks, mycelium, bee nests full of bees, amethyst clusters, sea lanterns, coral and ore blocks in their original form all come home intact. For builders it is the single most useful enchantment in the game, because a palette gathered from the world is a palette you did not have to craft. The classic uses are worth naming precisely: harvesting ice for a packed-ice road, taking a bee nest with the colony inside, collecting glowstone whole instead of dust, and mining ore blocks to smelt later at a better Fortune ratio. In Java Edition it does not pick up spawners, no matter what an old video claims. It is mutually exclusive with Fortune, and the answer to that is two pickaxes rather than an agonised choice. Its weight of 1 makes it one of the rarest table rolls, so a librarian book is usually the sensible route to it.
Collecting blocks in their original form — glass, ice, glowstone, bee nests, amethyst and ore blocks — which is what makes a builder's palette gatherable rather than craftable.
Makes blocks drop themselves instead of their normal drop — glass, ice, ore blocks, grass blocks, bee nests and amethyst clusters all keep their original form. It does not work on spawners in Java Edition. Mutually exclusive with Fortune.
Silk Touch goes up to I and has a single level. It is a standard enchantment, so an enchanting table can roll it directly.
It carries a weight of 1, which is roughly 3–6% of everything a table can roll for gear that takes it — so that is about how often you should expect to see it.
How to get it
Enchant a pickaxe, axe, shovel or shears at a table with 15 bookshelves, or apply a book. There is only 1 level, and its weight of 1 makes it among the rarest table offers — librarian trading is far more reliable.
Tips
- It does not collect spawners in Java Edition, whatever an old tutorial says.
- Ice harvested with it makes the fastest travel surface in the game once you have a boat.
- Keep it on a second pickaxe so Fortune III stays on your ore-mining one.
- A bee nest taken with Silk Touch keeps the bees inside, which is the only way to move a colony.
What each level does
Silk Touch has one level, so there is nothing to upgrade — a second book of it on an anvil adds nothing but cost.
Silk Touch has a single level.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | blocks drop themselves instead of their normal drop |
Properties
An enchanting table can offer it directly, and a librarian villager will sell it as a book — rerolling a librarian's trade by breaking and replacing their lectern is the cheapest route to it.
- Weight
- 1 (3–6%)
- Incompatible enchantments
- Fortune
What it can be applied to
Silk Touch can be applied to Pickaxe, Axe, Shovel, Hoe, and Shears.
- Pickaxe
- Axe
- Shovel
- Hoe
- Shears
Gear it goes on
Incompatible enchantments
Silk Touch cannot share an item with Fortune.
Combining them costs levels and still leaves you with only one of the two. Decide which you actually want before the book goes on the anvil.
How to get it
Enchanting table or an enchanted book.
Fifteen bookshelves and the level-30 slot is the fastest route; anything less lowers both the level and the pool you draw from.
Command
Cheats on: the first command enchants what is in your hand with Silk Touch I, and the second spawns the finished item. The component syntax below replaced the old NBT tag in 1.20.5.
Apply it
/enchant @s minecraft:silk_touch 1Give an enchanted item
/give @s wooden_shovel[enchantments={levels:{"minecraft:silk_touch":1}}]Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum level of Silk Touch?
Silk Touch has a single level.
How do you get Silk Touch in Minecraft?
Enchanting table or an enchanted book.
What does Silk Touch conflict with?
Silk Touch cannot be combined with Fortune.
What does Silk Touch I do?
Silk Touch I blocks drop themselves instead of their normal drop.