One of the most frustrating elements of Minecraft is the tool degradation system. The more you use an item, the more it degrades, until eventually it breaks. There are ways to make this process take longer, such as using Minecraft enchantments to improve the durability of your items, but you can also repair your tools. Here's how.
By placing two items of the same type and material on the crafting grid or grindstone, you can retrieve one of that item with improved durability. The new item's durability will equal the sum of the two old items' durability, plus 5% of the item's maximum uses, up to the maximum durability of the item. Repairing can help to conserve your inventory space: If you have two almost-broken pickaxes and combine them to get a new pickaxe with better durability, you also save a space in your inventory.
However, if the original items were enchanted, you will lose the enchantments by following this process. Therefore, you can combine an item you don't want with one that you do to remove any "wrong" enchantments the item has. This is also handy if you just want to remove enchantments altogether.
You can also use an anvil to repair items in two different ways. These methods cost XP, but the anvil will preserve or enhance the enchantments on your items. Add two items of the same type--for example, axes--into the anvil. The one with the lowest durability should go in the first slot, and the second item's durability will be added to it alongside some or all of the second item's enchantments.
You can also repair things by covering the damage with a material. Add the item you want to repair into the first slot, and add the corresponding material into the second slot, such as diamonds. Each material item will restore 25% of the item's durability.
To do this, you need the material that matches the type used to make the tool. Wooden items need planks; leather items need leather; stone items need cobblestone, cobbled deepslate, or blackstone; iron items need iron ingot; gold items need gold ingot; diamond items need diamond; turtle shells need scutes; elytra need phantom membrances; and netherite items need netherite ingot.
Now that you know how to fix your breaking items, check out our Minecraft guides hub for more helpful tips.
The way to survive in modern society is to be an ascetic. It is to retreat from society. There’s too much society everywhere you go…The only solution is turn it off.
2025-07-07 16:57
Intel will launch a refreshed lineup of its Intel Core Ultra 200 CPUs later this year, with the chips based on a refreshed variant of the Intel Arrow Read More
2025-07-07 16:37
There are some things you just can't help but associate with a long, hot summer. A nice cold ice cream. The smell of freshly cut grass. The loving pu Read More
2025-07-07 16:37
While once upon a time I believed that World of Tanks was a hyper-realistic military simulator, I've discovered over the years that it's anything but Read More
2025-07-07 16:03
Borderlands 4 is an all-new adventure in the iconic looter shooter series, with a fresh story set on the unfamiliar planet Kairos that serves as a per Read More
2025-07-07 15:40
ctivision has pulled a specific PC version of Call of Duty: WW2 just days after release, following reports that the game suffers from a remote code e Read More
2025-07-07 15:38
Farming Simulator 25 erhält die erste große Erweiterung: Highlands Fishing erscheint am 4. November für PC und Konsolen und bringt die Aquakultur i Read More
2025-07-07 15:32
The July 2025 Humble Choice games are now available, including Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, Daemon X Machina, and more. Read More
2025-07-07 15:31
Charlie Cleveland, the former CEO and co-founder of Subnautica 2 studio Unknown Worlds Entertainment, has released a statement after leaving the comp Read More
2025-07-07 15:30
Monster Hunter Wilds is in a weird spot—it's being buried under an avalanche of negative Steam ratings and community sentiment. At the time of writ Read More
2025-07-07 15:28
When even Microsoft themselves start promising a version of Windows 11 that can launch with half its functions turned off, it’s time to accept that Read More