How to make an Iron Axe in Minecraft

This Minecraft tutorial explains how to craft an iron axe with screenshots and step-by-step instructions.

In Minecraft, an iron axe is one of the many tools that you can make. An iron axe has attack damage of +5 when used as a weapon.

iron axe

Let's explore how to make an iron axe.

Supported Platforms

An iron axe is available in the following versions of Minecraft:

PlatformSupported (Version*)
Java Edition (PC/Mac) Java Edition (PC/Mac)Yes
Pocket Edition (PE) Pocket Edition (PE)Yes
Xbox 360 Xbox 360Yes
Xbox One Xbox OneYes
PS3 PS3Yes
PS4 PS4Yes
Wii U Wii UYes
Nintendo Switch Nintendo SwitchYes
Windows 10 Edition Windows 10 EditionYes
Education Edition Education EditionYes

* The version that it was added or removed, if applicable.
NOTE: Pocket Edition (PE), Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Windows 10 Edition are now called Bedrock Edition. We will continue to show them individually for version history.

Where to find an Iron Axe in Creative Mode

Required Materials to make an Iron Axe

In Minecraft, these are the materials you can use to craft an iron axe:

How to craft an Iron Axe in Survival Mode

1. Open the Crafting Menu

First, open your crafting table so that you have the 3x3 crafting grid that looks like this:

3x3 crafting area

2. Add Items to make an Iron Axe

In the crafting menu, you should see a crafting area that is made up of a 3x3 crafting grid. To make an iron axe, place 3 iron ingots and 2 sticks in the 3x3 crafting grid.

When making an iron axe, it is important that the iron ingots and sticks are placed in the exact pattern as the image below. There should be 2 iron ingots placed in the first row (the last box in the row should be left empty). In the second row, 1 iron ingot should be in the first box and 1 stick should be in the second box (the last box in the row should be left empty). In the third row, 1 stick should be in the middle box. This is the Minecraft crafting recipe for an iron axe.

Crafting recipe for iron axe

Now that you have filled the crafting area with the correct pattern, the iron axe will appear in the box to the right.

iron axe

3. Move the Iron Axe to Inventory

Once you have crafted an iron axe, you need to move the new item to your inventory.

Completed iron axe

Congratulations, you have made an iron axe in Minecraft!

Item ID and Name

Give Command for Iron Axe

Attack Damage and Durability

Attack damage is the amount of damage the item will deal when attacking a mob.

Durability represents how long the item will last. For tools, weapons and transportation, durability is the number of useful actions before the item is destroyed. For armor items, durability is the number of hits (that can be blocked by armor) before the item is destroyed. So the higher the durability number, the longer the item will last.

The following table shows the attack damage and durability for each axe in Minecraft:

Name Attack Damage Durability
Netherite Axe 10 2031
Diamond Axe 6 1561
Iron Axe 5 250
Stone Axe 4 131
Wooden Axe 3 59
Golden Axe 3 32

Enchantments for Iron Axe

In Minecraft, you can enchant an iron axe with the following enchantments:

Enchantment Description
Bane of Arthropods Increases attack damage against arthropods
Curse of Vanishing Cursed item will disappear after player dies
Efficiency Increases how fast you can mine
Fortune Increases block drops from mining
Mending Uses xp to mend your tools, weapons and armor
Sharpness Increases attack damage dealt to mobs
Silk Touch Mines blocks themselves (fragile items)
Smite Increases attack damage against undead mobs
Unbreaking Increases durability of item, in effect, by decreasing the chance of the tool, weapon, or armor taking durability damage when used

See a complete list of Minecraft Enchantments that is interactive and searchable.

Things to Make with Iron Axes

You can use iron axes to make items in Minecraft such as:

Things to Do with Iron Axes

Here are some activities that you can do with iron axes in Minecraft: