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. It chops wood, strips logs and scrapes copper, and it can take Sharpness, Smite or Bane of Arthropods for fights. However, it can't take Looting, Fire Aspect or Knockback, so it is not a farming weapon.

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. Still, most Bedrock players fight with a sword, because the axe can't take Fire Aspect or Knockback.

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

Bedrock 26.60 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 +6.25 damage (3.125 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

Unbreaking III skips three out of four durability losses on average, so the item lasts about four times as long. Mending then repairs 2 durability per experience point, so each point you collect pays for about 8 uses.

In Bedrock, Sharpness V adds 6.25 damage to every hit. Smite V adds 12.5 against undead and Bane of Arthropods V adds 12.5 against spiders, bees and silverfish, but neither adds anything against other mobs. Bedrock has no attack-charge meter, so every hit gets the full bonus.

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.

Which books to get first

Roll Efficiency and Unbreaking at the table, or trade for them. Sharpness and the other damage books come from librarians or loot just as easily.

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.

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.
• 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 Bedrock 26.60: 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