Can you put Mending on shears?
Yes. You can put Mending on shears in Java 26.3.
How to add it
Mending is a treasure enchantment, so the enchanting table never offers it. Instead, combine an enchanted book with the shears on an anvil: Mending costs 2 levels on fresh shears.
/give @p shears[enchantments={mending:1}]What it does on shears
Shears lose 1 durability each time you shear a sheep or cut a block. Shearing gives no experience, so Mending only repairs them while you hold them during other XP sources, such as a mob farm. Shears have 238 durability, which lasts a long time for most players. Still, Mending saves the iron if you use one pair every day.
Step by step
- First, get Mending as an enchanted book. Sources: a librarian villager (10–38 emeralds for a top-level book), fishing, chest loot or trial chamber vaults.
- Then put the shears in the left slot of an anvil and the book in the right slot.
- Finally, pay the cost shown: 2 levels on fresh shears, plus any prior work penalty the shears already have.
- If the shears are getting more books, plan the order first so no step costs 40 levels or more.
Why it works
Mending lists shears among its supported items. That matters because each enchantment's data file lists the items it supports, and the anvil checks that list. The enchanting table never offers Mending on shears, so it has to come from a book.
It conflicts with nothing else shears can take, so it fits into any shears build.
What it costs on the anvil
First, the base price: on fresh shears, Mending costs 2 levels. Java charges the full new level of each book, so upgrading later costs the whole level again. Each anvil use also raises the item's prior work penalty for the next step.
Order matters. Say your shears already have Efficiency V and Unbreaking III, put on in the cheapest order. That took 2 anvil uses, so adding Mending last costs 5 levels: 3 for the prior work penalty plus 2 for the book. Planning everything from the start costs 14 levels in total, with no step above 5.
Plan your own version in the calculator or follow the shears enchant order. The prior work penalty calculator shows how the penalty grows.
Where Mending goes
- Mending goes on helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots, elytra, sword, axe, spear, mace, trident, bow, crossbow, pickaxe, shovel, hoe, fishing rod, shears, brush, flint and steel, shield, carrot on a stick and warped fungus on a stick. The enchanting table never offers it, so every one of them needs a book. Related questions: Mending on bow, Mending on elytra, Mending on shield, Mending on trident, Mending on spear, Mending on mace, Mending on crossbow, Mending on fishing rod, Mending on pickaxe, Mending on helmet, Mending on flint and steel, Mending on brush.
Commands and creative mode
In creative or with cheats, one command does it: /give @p shears[enchantments={mending:1}]. Holding the item, /enchant @s mending 1 works too. Creative mode also ignores the anvil's 40-level limit. The command generator writes the right syntax for your edition.
Java and Bedrock
As far as the item list goes, the answer is also the same in Java and Bedrock. The anvil differs, though: Java charges the full new level of every book. This page follows Java 26.3.
About Mending
Mending repairs an item with experience orbs. When you pick up experience while holding or wearing a Mending item, the XP goes into repairing it first, at 2 durability per XP point.
Mending has a max level of I. If you need a book, you can get it from librarian villagers, trial chamber vaults and enchanted loot from fishing and chests. A librarian sells a Mending book for 10 to 38 emeralds. Before you buy, read everything about Mending, including what each level does.
What else shears can take
Besides Mending, shears can take Efficiency and Unbreaking. Then the best shears enchantments page ranks them and gives the max build.
Related questions: Efficiency on shears, Silk Touch on shears.
Questions
Can you put Mending on shears?
Yes. You can put Mending on shears in Java 26.3.
What else can Mending go on?
helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots, elytra, sword, axe, spear, mace, trident, bow, crossbow, pickaxe, shovel, hoe, fishing rod, brush, flint and steel, shield, carrot on a stick and warped fungus on a stick.
Is Mending worth it on shears?
Only if you use them a lot. Shears cost two iron ingots, so many players just craft a new pair.
Can you enchant shears at an enchanting table?
No. Shears have no enchantability, so every enchantment comes from books on an anvil.
How many levels does Mending cost on shears?
Mending costs 2 levels as a book on fresh shears. Earlier anvil work adds its prior work penalty on top.