You've finally reached that point in Minecraft where your trusty diamond pickaxe feels like a plastic toy. We've all been there. You're staring at a wall of obsidian or a massive strip-mining project, and the durability bar is draining faster than your patience. You want the black, sleek, lava-proof upgrade. But figuring out how do you make a netherite pickaxe isn't as simple as clicking a crafting table with some wood and stone. It's a multi-step grind that involves literally tearing apart the underworld.
It's dangerous. It's hot. It's honestly a bit of a slog if you don't know the shortcuts.
Most players think they can just find "netherite ore" sitting around like iron. Nope. That doesn't exist. You’re looking for Ancient Debris, which is arguably the rarest block in the game. You'll need to head to the Nether, dive down to the lowest depths, and pray to the RNG gods that you don't hit a pocket of lava that ruins your whole day.
Why diamond isn't enough anymore
Let's be real for a second. Diamond was the king for over a decade. But netherite changed the math. A netherite pickaxe isn't just a flex; it’s a mechanical powerhouse. It has 2,031 durability points. Compare that to the 1,561 of a diamond pickaxe. That’s nearly 500 extra blocks you can break before you even have to think about Mending or an anvil.
Plus, it's faster. It breaks most blocks roughly 10% quicker than diamond. That sounds small. It isn't. When you're clearing out a 100x100 perimeter, that 10% saves you hours of real-world time. And the best part? It doesn't burn. If you die in a lava lake—which, let's face it, happens to the best of us—your netherite gear will just bob on the surface like a dark, indestructible buoy.
The hunt for Ancient Debris
Before you can even think about a smithing table, you need the raw materials. You need Ancient Debris. This stuff only spawns in the Nether, specifically between Y-levels 8 and 22. Most veterans swear by Y-level 15.
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Don't use a pickaxe to find it. Well, use one to mine it, but don't use it to find it. That’s a rookie mistake. You want beds. Or TNT. Since beds explode in the Nether, they are the most cost-effective way to blast away massive chunks of netherrack to reveal the debris hidden inside.
- Go to Y-15.
- Dig a long tunnel.
- Poke a hole in the side every five blocks.
- Place a bed, click it, and run.
- Shield up.
Ancient Debris has incredibly high blast resistance. The explosion will vaporize the netherrack but leave the debris untouched. You'll need four pieces of Ancient Debris for a single ingot. That means four successful finds just for one tool.
Smelting and the Scrap problem
Once you’ve survived the explosions and the Ghast fireballs, take that debris back to a furnace. Or a blast furnace if you’re fancy. Smelting one block of Ancient Debris gives you one Netherite Scrap.
Wait. Just scrap? Yeah.
You can't make a pickaxe out of scrap. It’s too brittle, or at least that's the lore implication. To get a functional ingot, you have to combine that scrap with gold. Specifically, four Netherite Scraps and four Gold Ingots. This is where the cost starts to hurt. Gold is easy enough to get if you have a piglin farm, but if you're mining it by hand, it’s another layer of the grind.
Mix them together in any pattern in your crafting grid. You don't need a specific shape. Just throw the four scraps and four gold bars in there, and you'll get one shiny, heavy Netherite Ingot.
The Smithing Table is your best friend
Back in the day, you used a crafting table for everything. Not anymore. If you try to craft a netherite pickaxe using the old T-shape recipe with netherite ingots, nothing will happen. You’ll just be standing there looking silly.
You need a Smithing Table. You also need something called a Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template.
This is the part that trips up returning players. Since the 1.20 "Trails & Tales" update, you can't just upgrade gear with an ingot alone. You have to find a Smithing Template first. These are found exclusively in Bastion Remnants. They are guarded by Piglin Brutes who really, really don't want you touching their treasure.
How to use the template without losing it
The template is a "consumable" item, meaning it disappears when you use it. However, you can duplicate it. Before you use your first one, grab seven diamonds and a block of netherrack. You can craft a copy of the template so you never have to raid a Bastion again. It’s expensive in terms of diamonds, but it’s better than dying to a Brute for the tenth time.
The actual upgrade process
Now you're ready. Open the Smithing Table interface. You’ll see three slots.
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In the first slot, place the Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template.
In the second slot, place your Diamond Pickaxe.
In the third slot, place your Netherite Ingot.
The preview window will show your brand-new Netherite Pickaxe. Click it. Take it. Feel the power.
One huge relief: all your enchantments carry over. If your diamond pickaxe had Efficiency V, Unbreaking III, and Silk Touch, your new netherite version will keep every single one of them. You don't have to re-enchant anything. This is why you should always enchant your diamond gear before upgrading it to netherite. It’s much cheaper to repair diamond on an anvil while you’re still working on it.
Common pitfalls and gear loss
I’ve seen people lose their first netherite pickaxe within minutes. Just because it's lava-proof doesn't mean you are. If you fall into the void in the End, that pickaxe is gone forever. Lava-proof isn't void-proof.
Also, watch the cactus. Cacti in Minecraft are weirdly destructive. Even netherite items will vanish if they toss into a cactus block. It’s a strange quirk of the game’s code that persists to this day.
Another thing to consider is the "Netherite Hoard" mentality. Some players wait until they have enough ingots for a full set of armor before they upgrade their tools. Don't do that. The pickaxe should be your first priority. Why? Because the pickaxe helps you mine more gold and more debris faster. It’s an investment that pays for itself.
Maintenance and the Mending trick
Now that you have the best tool in the game, don't let it break. Repairing a netherite pickaxe with netherite ingots is a massive waste of resources.
You need the Mending enchantment.
Find a Librarian villager, cycle their trades until they offer Mending, and slap that book on your pickaxe immediately. With Mending, every time you pick up an experience orb (from mining coal, quartz, or killing mobs), your pickaxe heals itself. If you have a decent gold or enderman farm, your netherite pickaxe will literally last forever. You will never need to craft another one.
Actionable steps for your next session
- Stockpile Gold: Spend thirty minutes in a Badlands biome or the Nether mining gold ore. You need four ingots for every one netherite ingot.
- Beds over TNT: Don't waste sand and gunpowder. Sheep are easy to farm. Craft 20-30 beds and head to Y-15 in the Nether for a "blast mining" session.
- Secure the Template: Raid a Bastion Remnant specifically for the Smithing Template. If you find one, leave immediately. Don't get greedy.
- Duplicate First: Use the 7-diamond crafting recipe to copy your template before you use it on your pickaxe. This saves you from having to find another Bastion for your shovel or sword.
- Enchant Early: Ensure your diamond pickaxe has Efficiency IV or V before the upgrade. Mining netherite-grade blocks feels sluggish without it.
Making a netherite pickaxe is a rite of passage. It marks the transition from the mid-game struggle to late-game mastery. It takes effort, and yeah, it’s kinda dangerous, but the first time you instamine through a wall of deepslate, you’ll realize it was worth every explosion.