Java and Bedrock 1.20–1.21 · 2 min read

Fortune or Silk Touch: which pickaxe should you make first?

Fortune increases the resource drop of suitable blocks; Silk Touch saves the block itself. For regular diamond mining, Fortune is more useful; for construction and ore transportation, a separate pickaxe with Silk is more useful.

LonelyCraft editors · Updated

The player returns to the illuminated house by the river at sunset
Illustration: The player returns to the illuminated house by the river at sunset. This is an artistic scene, not a snapshot of a specific server.

Choose results, not speed

Both enchantments are incompatible on one regular pickaxe. Fortune does not increase the tool material level: diamond ore still needs to be mined with an iron pickaxe or better. Reference: Minecraft: ender chest.

Diamond Ore from Fortune III yields 1–4 diamonds, but one diamond remains a possible outcome. ancient debris does not reproduce Fortune. Silk Touch does not allow you to take away the mob generator in Survival.

Scheme: what result is needed from a pickaxe
Author's diagram for guidance; not a game shot.Scroll the diagram horizontally.Open full-size diagram

When to store ore in blocks

Collect suitable ore with Silk, then place it at the base and process Fortune. This allows you to wait for Fortune III and not have to wear multiple types of placers. Experience for such ore is gained at the resource extraction stage; Silk's transfer of experience from the block itself does not give out experience.

Before processing, spread the ore over a solid floor. Name the pickaxes “Resources” and “Blocks”, but read the hint before the vein: the name does not change the enchantment.

For the diamond mine, use a separate layer and path plan: Where to mine diamonds and how to lay out your mine.

Practical uses for Silk Touch

The ender chest with Silk Touch falls out intact. Without it, you get 8 obsidian with a pickaxe and lose the Eye of End, but personal content is available through another ender chest.

For stone, Silk removes the smelting step for cobblestone. For glass, it helps to return the block when rebuilding. Move the bee nest at night, when the bees are inside, with a suitable tool with Silk; the departing inhabitants will not be drawn into the object.

Rules for transferring an occupied nest are given here: Bees, honey and honeycomb: a small apiary.

Frequently asked questions

Fortune increases experience?

No, increasing item drops does not multiply experience in the same way.

Is it possible to mine ore with Silk and then with Fortune?

Yes. Place the saved blocks and change the pickaxe.

What to do first?

For diamond stock - Fortune; for glass, stone and ender chest - Silk.

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Sources and documentation

FortuneSilk Touchpickaxeore

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Fortune and Silk Touch in Minecraft: differences and pickaxe selection — Lonely Craft