How to make Minecraft grindstone

Minecraft grindstones are amazing for rerolling enchantments, keeping items around, villager trades, and even decoration (Image via Mojang)
Minecraft grindstones are amazing for rerolling enchantments, keeping items around via repairs, villager trades, and even decoration (Image via Mojang)

Minecraft's grindstone is an interesting workstation, used to repair items as well as remove enchantments and get some XP back. Since the ability to remove enchantments is useful for attempting to get the perfect weapon, tool, or armor set, the block should be a staple of any good Minecraft enchanting setup.

Detailed below is exactly how to craft a grindstone, as well as where it can be found after being naturally generated. The article will also talk about how to use it.


How to craft a Minecraft grindstone

Materials needed

Minecraft grindstones are incredibly cheap in terms of materials (Image via Mojang)
Minecraft grindstones are incredibly cheap in terms of materials (Image via Mojang)

Grindstones are thankfully very cheap to make, requiring only:

  • Two wooden planks
  • Two sticks
  • One stone slab

Grindstones can also be found naturally generated in villages. Due to this, it's easy to have it set up within the first few days of a new world. Here's how to make it.

1) Chop some trees

There tend to be trees no matter where you go, which helps keep grindstones cheap (Image via Mojang)
There tend to be trees no matter where you go, which helps keep grindstones cheap (Image via Mojang)

The first thing you need to do to make a grindstone is chop down some trees. If you already have a crafting table in a nearby Minecraft starter base, there's no need to make another one. Only a single log is required to make a grindstone. If you need a crafting table, a second log will be needed just for that.


2) Get some stone

The easiest way to get regular stone is to smelt some cobble (Image via Mojang)
The easiest way to get regular stone is to smelt some cobble (Image via Mojang)

The next step in making a Minecraft grindstone is to get a stone slab. These are crafted with three regular stones, each of which can be obtained by smelting cobblestone in a furnace, using a silk touch tool, or within mason's chests in villages. Only three stones are required for a grindstone, as that's the minimum needed to make slabs.


3) Craft a grindstone

The recipe is also easy to remember (Image via Mojang)
The recipe is also easy to remember (Image via Mojang)

With the materials collected, it's time to build a Minecraft grindstone. Start by turning the log into four planks. Use two of those planks to make sticks, and then place the latter in the two upper corners of the crafting grid. Position the slab between the sticks and the planks underneath them. This should result in the grindstone appearing in the crafting output slot.


Uses of grindstone

Minecraft grindstones are mainly used for removing enchantments from items (Image via Mojang)
Minecraft grindstones are mainly used for removing enchantments from items (Image via Mojang)

Grindstones are actually quite similar to anvils, in that both are workstations that are able to repair regular items and interact with enchanted ones. Anvils combine Minecraft's best enchantments into more powerful versions of themselves and can also be used to add them to items. On the other hand, grindstones do the exact opposite.

Since a grindstone gives XP back even if an item wasn't enchanted by you, the enchanted items obtained from many of this title's best farms can be broken down for extra enchantment levels.

Additionally, Minecraft grindstones are workstations for weaponsmiths. This means that placing one will enable weaponsmith villager trades. These transactions can involve bells as well as enchanted diamond axes and swords, depending on which the player prefers.


Where to find grindstones

An example of possible weaponsmith trades (Image via Mojang)
An example of possible weaponsmith trades (Image via Mojang)

Alongside everything mentioned thus far, grindstones happen to be among the workstations that are generated naturally within villages. This means that crafting them is often unnecessary, as many of Minecraft's best seeds will place you near villages to start. They can also be found in trail ruins, which are part of this game's archeology system.

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