How to Make a Brush in Minecraft (1.20)

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Craft a brush with a feather, a copper ingot and a stick in a vertical line. Use it to brush suspicious sand and suspicious gravel in ocean ruins, desert temples and trail ruins to unearth pottery sherds, sniffer eggs and other loot.

What you need

Feather x1
Copper ingot x1
Stick x1
Crafting table

Step by step

Gather the parts: one feather (kill chickens), one copper ingot (smelt raw copper) and one stick.
Open a crafting table and place the feather on top, the copper ingot in the middle and the stick on the bottom - a vertical line in any column.
Take the brush: it has 64 durability in Java and 65 in Bedrock, and each suspicious block you excavate costs 1 point.
Find suspicious sand or suspicious gravel: warm and cold ocean ruins, desert temples, desert wells and trail ruins all hide these slightly rougher-looking blocks.
Hold use on the suspicious block: after 4.8 seconds the item inside pops out and the block turns into plain sand or gravel. Loot depends on the structure - pottery sherds everywhere, sniffer eggs in warm ocean ruins.
Commit to each block: if you stop mid-brush the block slowly resets to its unexcavated state.
Repair on the road: two worn brushes combine in a crafting grid or grindstone into one repaired brush - no anvil needed.
Bonus use: brushing an armadillo drops an armadillo scute, but it costs 16 durability, so save a fresh brush for it.

Java vs Bedrock

Brushing works identically in Java and Bedrock. The only real difference is durability: 64 uses in Java versus 65 in Bedrock, which is why an armadillo can be brushed four times per brush in Java but five in Bedrock.

Versions: Added in 1.20 (23w07a behind the experimental pack, fully available from 23w12a) with the Trails & Tales archaeology system. Brushing armadillos for scutes arrived in 1.20.5 (23w51a).

Frequently asked questions

What is the brush recipe in Minecraft?

A feather on top, a copper ingot in the middle and a stick on the bottom in a vertical line on a crafting table. The original snapshot recipe used string and sticks, but it changed before release.

Where can you use a brush in Minecraft?

On suspicious sand and suspicious gravel in warm and cold ocean ruins, desert temples, desert wells and trail ruins - each structure has its own loot table of pottery sherds and treasures. You can also brush armadillos for armadillo scutes.

Can you get a sniffer egg with a brush?

Yes: suspicious sand in warm ocean ruins can unearth a sniffer egg as rare loot. It is the only way to get your first sniffer without commands.