Minecraft Repair Guide: How to Fix Tools, Weapons, and Gear

Nothing in Minecraft is more frustrating than hearing that dreaded “snap” sound, signaling the end of your favorite enchanted diamond pickaxe. Just as you were about to mine that last block of obsidian, your trusty tool shatters into nothingness. All those hours spent enchanting, all the resources gathered, gone in an instant. This experience is a rite of passage for every player, but it doesn’t have to be your reality. You can save your valuable items from the brink of destruction.

This comprehensive guide will teach you everything you need to know about repairing your tools, weapons, and armor in Minecraft. We will explore every method, from the simple crafting grid to the powerful anvil and the game-changing Mending enchantment. You’ll learn the costs, benefits, and best-use cases for each technique, ensuring you never lose a treasured item again. Prepare to become a master of maintenance and keep your gear in peak condition for every adventure.

Why Bother Repairing Items in Minecraft?

Before we dive into the “how,” let’s talk about the “why.” You might wonder if it’s easier to just craft a new item when the old one gets low on durability. While that can be true for basic stone or iron tools, repairing becomes essential as you progress in the game.

The primary reason to repair is to preserve enchantments. Finding or creating the perfect combination of enchantments like Unbreaking III, Efficiency V, Fortune III, and Mending on a single tool can take hours of effort and a significant amount of XP. Letting such an item break means losing all that investment. Repairing allows you to keep these powerful, customized items in service indefinitely.

Furthermore, repairing is often more resource-efficient. Crafting a new diamond chestplate costs eight diamonds. Repairing a heavily damaged one on an anvil might only cost one or two diamonds, saving you precious resources for other projects like enchanting tables or jukeboxes. For rare items like Elytra, which cannot be crafted, repair is the only way to keep them functional.

The Basics of Durability

Every tool, weapon, and piece of armor in Minecraft has a property called durability. This is essentially the item’s health bar, representing how many “uses” it has before it breaks. Each time you use an item—mining a block, hitting a mob, or taking damage while wearing armor—its durability decreases by at least one point.

Here’s a quick look at the base durability of items made from different materials:

Note: Gold tools are fast but have extremely low durability. Netherite items are an upgrade to diamond items and have the highest durability in the game.

An item’s durability bar appears beneath its icon in your hotbar or inventory. It starts as a full green bar and gradually shifts to red as durability depletes. Understanding this system is the first step toward effective item maintenance.

Repair Method 1: The Crafting Grid

The simplest way to repair items is by using the 2×2 crafting grid in your inventory or a 3×3 crafting table. This method is straightforward, requires no extra resources like XP, and is available from the very beginning of the game.

How It Works

To repair an item using the crafting grid, you combine two of the same type of item. For example, place two damaged iron pickaxes side-by-side in the crafting grid. The result will be a single iron pickaxe with more durability than either of the originals.

The formula for the resulting durability is:
Durability of Item 1 + Durability of Item 2 + 5% of the item's maximum durability

For instance, two iron pickaxes (max durability 251) with 100 durability each would combine to create one iron pickaxe with:
100 + 100 + (0.05 * 251) = 212.55 (rounded down to 212 durability).

Pros and Cons of Crafting Grid Repair

Pros:

• Free: Requires no experience points.
• Accessible: Can be done anywhere using your inventory’s crafting grid.
• Simple: No complex mechanics to learn.

Cons:

• Loses Enchantments: This is the biggest drawback. When you combine two items, any enchantments on them are completely wiped out. The resulting item will be a plain, unenchanted version.
• Inefficient for High-Tier Gear: You need two of the same item, which can be expensive for diamond or netherite gear. Sacrificing an entire diamond sword just to repair another is a poor trade.

When to Use This Method

The crafting grid is best used for early-game, unenchanted items. If you have a couple of nearly-broken stone pickaxes or iron swords lying around in a chest, combining them is a great way to get a bit more use out of them without wasting resources. Never use this method for any item with enchantments you want to keep.

Repair Method 2: The Anvil

The anvil is the workhorse of item repair. It’s a versatile block that allows you to repair items using raw materials or by combining them with other items, all while preserving their precious enchantments. Crafting an anvil requires three Blocks of Iron (27 iron ingots) and four Iron Ingots, making it a mid-game investment.

How Anvil Repair Works

The anvil has a three-slot interface.

• Slot 1 (Left): Place the damaged item you want to repair.
• Slot 2 (Middle): Place the repair material.
• Slot 3 (Right): The repaired item will appear here.

You have two main ways to repair on an anvil:

1. Repairing with Raw Materials

You can repair tools, weapons, and armor using the base material they are made from.

• Iron Items: Use Iron Ingots.
• Diamond Items: Use Diamonds.
• Netherite Items: Use Netherite Ingots.
• Chainmail Armor: Use Iron Ingots.
• Turtle Shells: Use Scutes.
• Elytra: Use Phantom Membranes.

Each unit of the repair material restores 25% of the item’s maximum durability. This means you need a maximum of four units (e.g., four diamonds for a diamond item) to fully repair an item from 1 durability. This method costs both the raw materials and some experience levels.

2. Repairing by Combining Items

Similar to the crafting grid, you can combine two of the same item type. However, the anvil offers a crucial advantage: it preserves and can even combine enchantments.

Place the item you want to keep (usually the one with better enchantments) in the first slot and the “sacrificial” item in the second slot. The anvil will consume the second item, adding its durability to the first. If both items have enchantments, the anvil will attempt to merge them. For example, combining two swords with Sharpness I will create one sword with Sharpness II.

The Cost of Anvil Repair: XP and Prior Work Penalty

Every action on an anvil costs experience levels. The cost depends on several factors:

• Extent of Damage: More damaged items cost more to repair.
• Number and Level of Enchantments: High-level enchantments add significantly to the cost.
• Combining Enchantments: Merging enchantments from two items also increases the XP price.
• Prior Work Penalty: This is a hidden cost that increases every time you use an item on an anvil. The first time you work on an item, the penalty is low. The second time, it’s higher, and so on. This mechanic prevents you from repairing the same item infinitely. Eventually, the cost will become “Too Expensive!” (over 39 levels), and the anvil will refuse the repair.

Pros and Cons of Anvil Repair

Pros:

• Preserves Enchantments: The primary reason to use an anvil.
• Combines Enchantments: You can upgrade your enchantments by merging two items.
• Efficient Material Use: Repairing with raw materials is often cheaper than crafting a new item.

Cons:

• Costs Experience: Can be very costly for highly enchanted gear.
• Prior Work Penalty: Limits the number of times you can repair a single item.
• Requires an Anvil: Anvils themselves are expensive to craft and have their own durability, eventually breaking after about 25 uses on average.

When to Use This Method

The anvil is your go-to method for any enchanted gear that does not have the Mending enchantment. It’s perfect for maintaining your primary set of diamond armor, your Fortune pickaxe, or your Looting sword. To manage the “Too Expensive!” issue, try to perform repairs when the item is significantly damaged to get the most value out of each anvil use. Also, plan your enchantments carefully to minimize the number of anvil operations needed.

Repair Method 3: The Mending Enchantment

Mending is a Treasure Enchantment, meaning you cannot get it from an enchanting table. It completely changes the repair game, making item maintenance virtually automatic.

How Mending Works

When you have an item with the Mending enchantment equipped (in your main hand, off-hand, or an armor slot), any experience orbs you collect have a chance to repair that item instead of adding to your experience bar.

• If multiple Mending items are damaged, one is chosen at random for repair with each XP orb collected.
• If all your Mending items are at full durability, the XP goes to your experience bar as usual.
• The conversion rate is 2 durability points repaired per 1 point of experience.

This means you can repair your gear simply by performing actions that grant XP, such as mining coal, smelting items, breeding animals, or fighting mobs.

How to Get Mending

Since Mending is a Treasure Enchantment, you have to find it in the world:

1. Librarian Villagers: This is the most reliable method. A Librarian villager can offer a Mending enchanted book for trade. You may need to break and replace their lectern workstation multiple times to “reroll” their trades until you find Mending. Once you lock in the trade by trading with them once, they will offer it permanently.
2. Fishing: You can catch enchanted books, including Mending, as a treasure item while fishing. Using a fishing rod with Luck of the Sea III increases your chances.
3. Chest Loot: Mending books can be found in chests located in dungeons, mineshafts, desert temples, and End Cities.
4. Raids: In Bedrock Edition, Evokers have a chance to drop a Mending book upon death during a raid.

Once you have a Mending book, you use an anvil to apply it to any tool, weapon, or piece of armor that can be enchanted.

Pros and Cons of Mending

Pros:

• “Free” Repairs: Repairs are fueled by XP, which is an infinitely renewable resource. You don’t spend diamonds, iron, or other materials.
• Bypasses Anvil Limits: Since you are not using an anvil for repairs, the Prior Work Penalty never applies. An item with Mending can be kept and repaired forever.
• Automatic Maintenance: Your gear is passively repaired as you play the game.

Cons:

• Hard to Obtain: Finding Mending can be a challenge, often requiring significant exploration or villager breeding.
• Diverts XP: While repairing items, you are not gaining experience levels, which can slow your progress toward your next big enchantment.
• Repairs One Item at a Time: If you’re wearing a full set of Mending armor and holding a Mending tool, the XP is distributed randomly, so it can take a while for a specific item to get repaired.

When to Use This Method

Mending is the ultimate end-game solution for item repair. It is best applied to your most valuable and frequently used items: your Netherite pickaxe, your god-tier sword and bow, your full set of Netherite armor, and your Elytra. An Elytra with Mending is especially powerful, as you can repair it simply by killing mobs with a bow or sword while gliding.

A common strategy is to build an “XP farm” (such as a mob grinder) to quickly and efficiently repair all of your Mending gear whenever it gets low.

Common Mistakes and Practical Tips

Becoming a repair expert involves avoiding common pitfalls and using smart strategies.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Repairing Enchanted Items on a Crafting Table: This is the cardinal sin of item repair. Always check for enchantments before combining items in a crafting grid.
2. Letting Items Break: Pay attention to the durability bar. Once an item with valuable enchantments breaks, it’s gone forever. Repair it before it’s too late. Mending won’t bring back a broken item.
3. Over-using the Anvil on One Item: Don’t enchant a tool one book at a time. Combine enchanted books first to create a multi-enchantment book, then apply that to your tool in a single anvil operation. This minimizes the Prior Work Penalty. For example, combine an Efficiency IV book with another Efficiency IV book to get Efficiency V. Then combine that with an Unbreaking III book. Apply the final book to your pickaxe.
4. Wasting Materials on Trivial Repairs: Don’t use a diamond on an anvil to repair a tiny bit of damage on your pickaxe. Wait until the durability is lower to get more value from your repair material and the XP cost.

Pro Tips for Efficient Repair

• Create an XP Farm: A simple mob spawner-based grinder or a more advanced Enderman farm can provide a steady stream of XP, making Mending repairs and anvil costs trivial.
• The Mending Switch: Keep a non-Mending sword (like one with Sharpness V and Looting III) to kill mobs when you need to gain XP levels for enchanting. Switch to your Mending gear when you need to perform repairs.
• Armor Swapping: If your Mending chestplate needs repair, take it off and hold it in your off-hand while you mine or smelt. This guarantees that all collected XP goes directly to that item.
• Plan Your “God” Tool: Before you start enchanting your perfect Netherite pickaxe, plan the enchantments. Aim to apply them in the fewest anvil uses possible. For example, get a pickaxe with one or two enchantments from the table, then add a single, powerful, combined book from an anvil.

Conclusion: Master Your Gear, Master the Game

Your tools, weapons, and armor are extensions of your will in the world of Minecraft. They allow you to shape the land, defend against threats, and explore the unknown. Learning to properly maintain them is a critical skill that separates novice players from seasoned veterans.

By understanding the unique strengths of the crafting grid, the anvil, and the Mending enchantment, you can choose the right method for any situation. Use the crafting grid for disposable early-game items. Rely on the anvil to preserve and combine enchantments on your mid-game diamond gear. And strive to acquire Mending to grant your ultimate end-game items true immortality.

With the knowledge from this guide, you are now equipped to face any challenge without the fear of your best gear failing you. Keep an eye on those durability bars, manage your experience wisely, and your adventures will be limitless.

What’s the best item you’ve ever saved with a last-minute repair? Share your stories and tips in the comments below