Can you put Mending on a spear?
Yes. You can put Mending on a spear 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 spear on an anvil: Mending costs 2 levels on a fresh spear.
/give @p netherite_spear[enchantments={mending:1}]What it does on a spear
Every spear hit uses durability, and Lunge costs 1 more each time it dashes you forward. Mending pays that back from the experience you collect. A Netherite Spear has 2,031 durability, so with Unbreaking III and Mending it practically never breaks. Mending also leaves room for Sharpness, Looting and Lunge, since it conflicts with none of them.
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 spear in the left slot of an anvil and the book in the right slot.
- Finally, pay the cost shown: 2 levels on a fresh spear, plus any prior work penalty the spear already has.
- If the spear is getting more books, plan the order first so no step costs 40 levels or more.
Why it works
Mending lists spear 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 a spear, so it has to come from a book.
It conflicts with nothing else a spear can take, so it fits into any spear build.
What it costs on the anvil
First, the base price: on a fresh spear, 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 spear already has Lunge III, Sharpness V, Fire Aspect II, Knockback II, Looting III and Unbreaking III, put on in the cheapest order. That took 3 anvil uses, so adding Mending last costs 9 levels: 7 for the prior work penalty plus 2 for the book. Planning everything from the start costs 46 levels in total, with no step above 13.
Plan your own version in the calculator or follow the spear 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 mace, Mending on crossbow, Mending on fishing rod, Mending on shears, 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 netherite_spear[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 a spear can take
Besides Mending, a spear can take Lunge, Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Fire Aspect, Knockback, Looting and Unbreaking. Then the best spear enchantments page ranks them and gives the max build.
Related questions: Sharpness on spear, Looting on spear.
Questions
Can you put Mending on a spear?
Yes. You can put Mending on a spear in Java 26.3.
What else can Mending go on?
helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots, elytra, sword, axe, 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.
Is Mending worth it on a spear?
Yes, especially with Lunge, because every lunge costs durability. Mending turns the experience from your kills into repairs.
How many levels does Mending cost on a spear?
Mending costs 2 levels as a book on a fresh spear. Earlier anvil work adds its prior work penalty on top.