Best Axe Enchantments

Every axe enchantment, ranked

Enchantment	Max	Verdict	Why
Sharpness	V	Max build	More damage per hit.
Smite	V	Alternative	Excludes Sharpness, so you pick one.
Bane of Arthropods	V	Alternative	Excludes Sharpness, so you pick one.
Fortune	III	Max build	More drops from some blocks (like melons).
Silk Touch	I	Alternative	Collects blocks like bookshelves and leaves intact. Excludes Fortune, so you pick one.
Efficiency	V	Max build	Chops wood faster.
Unbreaking	III	Max build	Part of every max axe.
Mending	I	Max build	Part of every max axe.
Curse of Vanishing	I	Avoid	A curse: it only makes the item worse.

What matters on an axe

The axe is a tool first and a weapon second. A netherite axe hits for 10 damage, more than any sword, but it swings only once per second. It also disables a shield it hits for 5 seconds. So it is a strong PvP weapon and a fine backup in PvE.

Your main choice is Fortune or Silk Touch, and that depends on what you chop. Efficiency V, Unbreaking III and Mending go on every axe.

Builds for different playstyles

Lumberjack axe

Efficiency V, Unbreaking III and Mending. Then add Fortune or Silk Touch for whatever else you harvest. Sharpness still helps as a backup weapon and costs only 5 levels.

Silk Touch axe

Silk Touch collects bookshelves, melons, mushroom blocks and campfires as blocks instead of their usual drops. It also lets you move a bee nest with the bees inside. So builders and anyone moving an enchanting setup want this one.

Melon farm axe

Fortune III raises melon slice drops, and the axe is the right tool for melons. On a large farm that adds up fast.

PvP axe

Sharpness V, Unbreaking III and Mending, with Efficiency kept for utility. Hit a blocking player and their shield goes down for 5 seconds. Then switch to your sword or keep swinging.

Undead axe

Smite V instead of Sharpness turns the axe into a strong undead weapon. It suits a backup for the wither fight, while your sword stays on Sharpness.

Conflicts and which one to pick

Java 26.3 has 4 conflicts on the axe: Sharpness with Smite, Sharpness with Bane of Arthropods, Smite with Bane of Arthropods and Fortune with Silk Touch. An anvil refuses a book that clashes with an enchantment already on the item, so decide before you start.

Fortune or Silk Touch

Silk Touch is more useful on most axes, because bookshelves, bee nests and mushroom blocks need it. Pick Fortune only for a melon farm axe. The max build here uses Fortune, and the Silk Touch version appears under other builds. See Fortune vs Silk Touch.

Sharpness or Smite

Sharpness V for a general axe, Smite V for an undead-only one. Bane of Arthropods is rarely worth a slot.

Each enchantment on the axe

Sharpness V

Sharpness adds melee damage against every mob and player. At level V that means +3 damage (1.5 hearts). More damage per hit. The book costs 5 levels on a fresh axe. More about Sharpness.

Fortune III

Fortune gives extra drops from ores, crops and some other blocks. At level III that means up to 4× ore drops, about 2.2× on average. More drops from some blocks (like melons). The book costs 6 levels on a fresh axe. More about Fortune.

Efficiency V

Efficiency makes tools mine faster. At level V that means +26 mining speed. Chops wood faster. The book costs 5 levels on a fresh axe. More about Efficiency.

Unbreaking III

Unbreaking gives items a chance to not lose durability when used. At level III that means tools skip 75% of durability loss, armor 30%. The book costs 3 levels on a fresh axe. More about Unbreaking.

Mending

Mending repairs an item with experience orbs. At level I that means each experience point you pick up repairs 2 durability. The book costs 2 levels on a fresh axe. More about Mending.

The numbers behind the build

A netherite axe has 2031 durability. Unbreaking III skips three out of four durability losses on average, so it lasts about 8124 uses instead of 2031. Mending repairs 2 durability per experience point, so a full repair from almost broken takes about 1016 points. That is roughly the XP needed to go from level 0 to level 26. With both books, each point of experience pays for about 8 uses.

In Java, a netherite axe deals 10 damage per fully charged hit. Sharpness V adds 3, for 13. At 1 attacks per second that is about 13 damage per second. Smite V instead adds 12.5 against undead, for 22.5 per hit. Try other setups in the sword damage calculator.

Efficiency V adds 26 mining speed, the biggest jump of any level because the bonus grows with the square of the level. That is the difference between a tool that drags and one that breaks its blocks almost on click.

Where to get the books

You need 5 books for this build. Mending is a treasure enchantment, so the enchanting table won't give it. Plan to trade or loot for it first. Here is where each one comes from:

• Sharpness V: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, gear worn by trial chamber mobs, trial chamber vaults, random chest loot and fishing.
• Fortune III: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, trial chamber vaults, random chest loot and fishing.
• Efficiency V: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, trial chamber vaults, random chest loot and fishing.
• Unbreaking III: the enchanting table, librarian villagers, random chest loot and fishing.
• Mending: librarian villagers, trial chamber vaults, random chest loot and fishing.

Librarians are the most reliable source for exact books, because you can reroll them until they offer the one you want. The trading hall guide shows how, and the villager trade tool lists the prices. Combine the books in the cheapest anvil order so no step becomes too expensive.

Put an axe in the enchanting table and it can roll Fortune, Silk Touch, Efficiency and Unbreaking. Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods and Mending never show up there on an axe, so those come from books only. The enchanting table calculator shows the odds for each slot.

Which books to get first

Roll Efficiency, Unbreaking and Fortune or Silk Touch at the table. In Java the table never puts Sharpness, Smite or Bane on an axe, so those come from books.

Get Mending next. Add Sharpness V last if you want the axe as a weapon: it costs only 5 levels on a fresh axe.

Which material to enchant

Put your best books on a netherite axe: it has the most durability (2031), so every enchantment lasts longest, and it also survives lava. The golden axe has the highest enchantability (22), so it rolls the best results at an enchanting table, but it wears out fast. Enchantments stay on when you upgrade diamond gear to netherite at a smithing table, so you can enchant diamond first and upgrade later.

Netherite has 2031 durability against diamond's 1561, about 30% more, and it hits 1 harder. Copper is the cheap middle step: 190 durability, against 250 for iron, with enchantability 13. It is fine for a first enchant, but don't spend treasure books on it. Gold rolls the best table enchantments (22 enchantability) yet has only 32 durability, so it suits throwaway gear.

Mistakes to avoid

• Trying to put Looting or Fire Aspect on an axe. The anvil won't accept them, so keep those books for a sword or spear.
• Using a Fortune axe on bookshelves. You get 3 books back instead of the shelf.
• Swinging the axe like a sword in Java. It needs a full charge, about one second, to hit for its full damage.
• Stripping logs with your best axe by accident. Stripping costs durability, and stripped logs can't go back.

Axe enchantment questions

Every enchantment an axe can take in Java 26.3: Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Fortune, Silk Touch, Efficiency, Unbreaking, Mending.

Quick answers: can you put Sharpness on an axe?, can you put Looting on an axe?, can you put Smite on an axe?, can you put Fire Aspect on an axe?, can you put Efficiency on an axe?, can you put Knockback on an axe?

See also the full list of incompatible enchantments and the god gear command generator.

Cheapest order

Combining these books in the wrong order can cost twice as many levels or hit Too Expensive! The cheapest order for the max axe costs 32 levels in 5 steps, with no step above 11. So you never need more than 11 levels at once.

Spend the levels step by step as you earn them: that costs about 462 experience points in total. If you saved up to level 32 first, you would need 1628 points, because each level costs more XP the higher you climb. Afterwards the axe has been on the anvil 3 times, so later repairs start at a penalty of 7.

See every step

Other gear

• Full armor set
• Helmet
• Chestplate
• Leggings
• Boots
• Elytra
• Sword
• Spear
• Mace
• Trident
• Bow
• Crossbow
• Pickaxe
• Shovel
• Hoe
• Fishing Rod
• Shears
• Brush
• Flint and Steel
• Shield
• Carrot on a Stick
• Warped Fungus on a Stick