Overview
A Diamond Pickaxe is the first tool that can mine obsidian, and that single capability is why every world's progress is measured against it. Obsidian means a Nether portal and an enchanting table; the diamond tier also mines ancient debris, crying obsidian, respawn anchors and netherite blocks, none of which any lower tier touches. With 1,561 uses and a mining multiplier of 8 it is also simply comfortable — a pickaxe you can carry for weeks without thinking about it. Because it lasts so long, this is the tool that most deserves a full enchantment set. Efficiency V and Unbreaking III turn deep-slate mining from a chore into a sprint, Fortune III multiplies diamond, coal, redstone, lapis and emerald drops, and Mending keeps it alive forever from ambient experience. The one decision to make deliberately is Fortune against Silk Touch — they are mutually exclusive, and most players keep two pickaxes rather than choosing. Obsidian takes 9.4 seconds to mine unenchanted with diamond, which drops to about 2.2 seconds with Efficiency V. Once one exists in your world, every other project — portal, enchanting table, netherite — becomes a matter of time rather than luck.
Mining obsidian for a portal and an enchanting table, harvesting ancient debris for netherite, and doing every ordinary mining job with a tool that will not run out mid-trip.
Diamond Pickaxe is one of the 6 variants of this shape in the game. What changes between them is the material, and with it the hardness, the drops, the durability and the recipe — so every figure on this page is this variant's own. Stone Pickaxe is the same shape in a different material.
In Minecraft, Diamond Pickaxe is a tool item. Expect 1,561 uses before it breaks. Repair it on an anvil with Diamond, or combine two damaged copies.
It accepts enchantments at an enchanting table or anvil. Every copy occupies a full inventory slot. It is crafted from Diamond and Stick.
It goes into exactly one recipe: Netherite Pickaxe.
About the diamond tool set
How to get it
Craft 1 from 3 Diamonds and 2 Sticks. Diamonds peak at Y -59 in a triangular distribution; the ore Y-levels tool shows the exact curve.
Tips
- Keep two: one with Fortune III for ore and one with Silk Touch for glass, ice, ore blocks and beehives.
- Efficiency V cuts obsidian from 9.4 seconds a block to under 2, which matters when a portal needs 10 of them.
- Enchant before upgrading to netherite; the smithing table carries every enchantment across unchanged.
- Mending plus a mob or fishing farm makes this the last pickaxe you ever need to craft.
Damage and attack speed
Diamond Pickaxe deals 5 damage per hit and swings 1.2 times a second, which works out at 6 damage per second when every swing is fully charged.
A swing that lands before the cooldown bar refills deals a fraction of that, so waiting for the bar is worth more than clicking faster.
That is 4 hits to kill a zombie or a creeper, the same for a skeleton, and 4 hits for a spider.
Properties
Diamond Pickaxe lasts 1,561 uses before it breaks, and Diamond repairs it on an anvil. Two worn copies can also be merged, on an anvil or a grindstone. Unbreaking III roughly quadruples the lifespan, and Mending replaces the repair cost with experience. Its enchantability of 10 decides how good the enchanting table's offers are: the higher the number, the more often a level-30 table offers the top-tier enchantment rather than a weak one. Diamond Pickaxe does not stack — each one occupies an inventory slot of its own.
- Damage per second
- 6
- Enchantability
- 10
- Repaired with
- Diamond
- Category
- Tools
How it compares to the rest of the set
Every tier of pickaxe in the game, side by side, so the trade-off is visible in one place: Diamond Pickaxe sits 5 of 6.
Gold is the outlier: it enchants better than anything else (enchantability 22) and breaks almost immediately, which is why gold gear is enchanted and then upgraded rather than used.
| Item | Durability | Attack damage | Attack speed | Enchantability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wooden Pickaxe | 59 | 2 | 1.2 | 15 |
| Stone Pickaxe | 131 | 3 | 1.2 | 5 |
| Iron Pickaxe | 250 | 4 | 1.2 | 14 |
| Golden Pickaxe | 32 | 2 | 1.2 | 22 |
| Diamond Pickaxe | 1,561 | 5 | 1.2 | 10 |
| Netherite Pickaxe | 2,031 | 6 | 1.2 | 15 |
Crafting recipe
Crafting Table
Diamond Pickaxe
Enchantments it can take
5 enchantments can be applied to Diamond Pickaxe: Efficiency, Fortune, Mending, Silk Touch, and Unbreaking.
Mending is a treasure enchantment and never appears at an enchanting table — they come from loot chests, fishing or villager trades only.
Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How do you make Diamond Pickaxe in Minecraft?
Diamond Pickaxe is crafted from Diamond and Stick.
What is the stack size of Diamond Pickaxe?
Diamond Pickaxe does not stack at all. Every one you carry takes an inventory slot of its own, which is the practical limit on how many you take on a trip.
How much damage does Diamond Pickaxe do?
5 damage per fully charged hit, at 1.2 attacks per second — 6 damage per second. Strength II adds 6 damage on top of that.
How much durability does Diamond Pickaxe have?
Diamond Pickaxe has 1561 durability, and can be repaired on an anvil with Diamond.
Can Diamond Pickaxe be enchanted?
Yes — 5 enchantments apply to it, at an enchanting table with fifteen bookshelves, or from an enchanted book on an anvil. Mending is usually the one worth hunting for, because it removes the repair cost entirely.
The rest of the set
Diamond Pickaxe is one of 6 variants of the same shape. The others are made from different materials, so their numbers differ:
