Shears are one of the most useful early tools in Minecraft, and they only cost two iron ingots. This guide covers the exact crafting recipe, everything shears can do, how long they last, and which enchantments are worth putting on them.
The shears crafting recipe
Shears are made from 2 iron ingots placed diagonally in a crafting grid. The recipe fits in the 2x2 grid in your inventory, so you do not even need a crafting table.
Place the ingots like this:
| Left | Middle | Right | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | Iron Ingot | ||
| Middle | Iron Ingot | ||
| Bottom |
One iron ingot goes in the top-middle slot and one goes in the middle-left slot, forming a diagonal. Crafting gives you one pair of shears.
You will need to smelt iron ore into iron ingots in a furnace first if you do not have any ingots yet.
What shears are used for
Shears do far more than cut wool. Here is the full list of jobs they handle better than any other tool:
- Shearing sheep gives you 1 to 3 wool without harming the sheep, and the wool grows back after the sheep eats grass. Killing a sheep only drops one wool, so always shear.
- Harvesting leaves as actual leaf blocks instead of destroying them. This is the only way to collect leaves for building.
- Collecting cobwebs, vines, grass, ferns, and dead bushes as the item itself rather than string or nothing.
- Carving pumpkins. Right-click an uncarved pumpkin with shears to turn it into a carved pumpkin and pop out 4 pumpkin seeds.
- Shearing mooshrooms drops 5 mushrooms and permanently turns the mooshroom into a regular cow, so do this carefully.
- Shearing a snow golem's pumpkin removes its hat without killing it.
- Disarming tripwires safely instead of triggering the attached hook.
Shears durability
Shears have 238 uses before they break. Different actions cost different amounts of durability, but for most players a single pair lasts a long time. You can combine two damaged shears on an anvil or crafting grid to repair them and keep their enchantments.
Best enchantments for shears
You can apply several enchantments to shears using an enchanting table or anvil:
- Efficiency makes them cut leaves and wool faster.
- Unbreaking extends how long they last.
- Mending repairs them with experience orbs so they effectively never break.
- Silk Touch lets them collect a few extra blocks intact.
Frequently asked questions
Can you make shears without iron? No. Iron ingots are the only ingredient. There is no wooden or stone version.
Do shears work in the 2x2 inventory grid? Yes. The diagonal recipe fits, so you can craft them without a crafting table.
Can shears be enchanted? Yes, with Efficiency, Unbreaking, Mending, Silk Touch, and Curse of Vanishing.
Think you know your recipes by heart? Put it to the test on the interactive crafting quiz below and see how much of a noob you really are.