Can you put Silk Touch on shears?
No. You can't put Silk Touch on shears in Java 26.3, not even with an anvil.
Why not
Silk Touch is not on the shears' list. Here is what shears can take instead: Curse of Vanishing, Efficiency, Unbreaking, Mending.
What that means in practice
Shears already collect leaves, vines, cobwebs, grass and ferns as items. That is what Silk Touch would do for them anyway, so Java leaves it off their list.
What to use instead
Spend the levels on the shears' own enchantments instead: Efficiency, Unbreaking and Mending. Those cover everything shears do. Bedrock, by contrast, does allow Silk Touch on shears. On fresh shears, Efficiency V costs 5 levels and Unbreaking III costs 3 levels as a book.
If you want leaves without shears, Silk Touch on a hoe works too. Hoes break leaves quickly, and the Silk Touch hoe keeps them as blocks.
See Efficiency and Unbreaking, or the full shears build.
Why the game says no
Silk Touch only goes on axe, pickaxe, shovel and hoe. Shears are not on that list. That matters because each enchantment's data file lists the items it supports, and the anvil checks that list. So the anvil gives no result, and the enchanting table never offers it.
No survival trick changes that. Combining two items, renaming or using a grindstone first all leave the list the same.
The best shears build instead
So max shears have Efficiency V, Unbreaking III and Mending. In the cheapest order it costs 14 levels over 3 anvil steps, and no step goes above 5. Open it in the calculator.
The best shears enchantments page explains every book, and the shears enchant order shows each anvil step.
Where Silk Touch goes
- Silk Touch goes on axe, pickaxe, shovel and hoe. The enchanting table can offer it on all of them.
Commands and creative mode
The /enchant command refuses too, because shears can't support Silk Touch. Only /give with the enchantments component can attach it, which makes a command-only item that survival can never produce. The command generator writes the right syntax for your edition.
Java and Bedrock
This is a real edition difference: Bedrock lets shears take Silk Touch, Java does not. The anvil also differs: Java charges the full new level of every book. This page follows Java 26.3.
About Silk Touch
Silk Touch makes blocks drop themselves instead of their usual drop: ores, glass, ice, grass blocks, bookshelves and more. Blocks mined this way give no experience.
Silk Touch has a max level of I. If you need a book, you can get it from the enchanting table, librarian villagers, trial chamber vaults and enchanted loot from fishing and chests. A librarian sells a Silk Touch book for 5 to 19 emeralds. Before you buy, read everything about Silk Touch, including what each level does.
What else shears can take
Instead, shears can take Efficiency, Unbreaking and Mending. Then the best shears enchantments page ranks them and gives the max build.
Related questions: Mending on shears, Efficiency on shears.
Questions
Can you put Silk Touch on shears?
No. You can't put Silk Touch on shears in Java 26.3, not even with an anvil.
What else can Silk Touch go on?
axe, pickaxe, shovel and hoe.
Do shears work like Silk Touch?
For plants, mostly. Shears collect leaves, vines, cobwebs and grass as items. For glass or ice you still need a Silk Touch tool.
What enchantments can shears have?
Curse of Vanishing, Efficiency, Unbreaking and Mending. Efficiency V, Unbreaking III and Mending is the max build.
Can shears get Silk Touch from an enchanting table or a villager?
No. The enchanting table only offers enchantments an item supports. A villager's Silk Touch book still can't go on shears, because the anvil checks the same list.