How to Make a Diamond Pickaxe in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Craft a diamond pickaxe with 3 diamonds across the top and 2 sticks down the middle. It is the first pickaxe that can mine obsidian and ancient debris, lasts 1,561 uses, and upgrades to netherite on a smithing table.

What you need

3 diamonds
2 sticks

Step by step

Mine 3 diamonds: diamond ore below Y=16, densest around Y=-59, iron pickaxe or better required. Strip mine at Y=-59 or cave the deepslate layers.
Get 2 sticks: 2 planks = 4 sticks.
Craft it: diamonds filling the top row, one stick in the center, one stick below it.
Mine what nothing else can: obsidian (for Nether portals and enchanting tables), crying obsidian, ancient debris, respawn anchors and blocks of netherite all require diamond tier or better.
Respect the durability: 1,561 uses in Java, 1,562 in Bedrock. Do not waste it on dirt and stone - use an iron pick for daily mining and save diamond for the good stuff.
Enchant it at once: Fortune III multiplies ore drops (up to 4x diamonds), Efficiency V makes it a deepslate shredder, Silk Touch grabs whole blocks, and Mending plus Unbreaking III makes it nearly eternal.
Repair it: combine two diamond pickaxes on an anvil or add Mending and repair with XP. Crafting-grid repairs work but wipe enchantments.
Upgrade it later: a smithing table with a netherite upgrade template and 1 netherite ingot turns it into a netherite pickaxe - it keeps the enchantments and gains durability.

Java vs Bedrock

Identical in both editions (durability differs by a single use: 1,561 Java, 1,562 Bedrock). Mining speed is the same - diamond mines at efficiency 8, well below netherite's 9 but far above iron's 6.

Versions: Describes the current Java and Bedrock releases. See the edition note above for differences.

Frequently asked questions

What can a diamond pickaxe mine that iron cannot?

Obsidian, crying obsidian, ancient debris, blocks of netherite and respawn anchors - the diamond tier is the gate to Nether portals, enchanting tables and netherite gear.

Is it worth enchanting a diamond pickaxe before netherite?

Yes - enchantments carry over when you upgrade to netherite on the smithing table. A Fortune III or Silk Touch diamond pickaxe is never wasted; you will use both forever.

Fortune or Silk Touch on a diamond pickaxe?

Both, on two different pickaxes if you can: Fortune III for mining ores (diamonds, redstone, lapis, coal multiply), Silk Touch for grabbing blocks whole (stone, glass, ore blocks, bee nests). They are mutually exclusive on one tool.