Enchantments are a feature in Minecraft that’s useful for getting certain more challenging tasks done more quicker. There are even some things that enchantments get done that you can’t even do otherwise.
One enchantment that gets tasks like that done is Silk Touch. In this article, we will go over the basics surrounding the enchantment, how to obtain it, how to use it, and what the best situations to use it are.
How to obtain the Silk Touch enchantment in Minecraft
Minecraft Silk Touch is a tool enchantment that can be applied to pickaxes, axes, shovels, and hoes. In Bedrock Edition, it can also be applied to sheers, but not in Java Edition.
You can add the Silk Touch enchantment to these types of items in two ways. One way is to add it by using an enchantment table and placing it there and then picking the enchantment from the list. Another option is to combine a tool with an enchanted book you found somewhere.
It is mutually incompatible with Fortune, which means you can’t have both enchantments on the same weapon. In Java Edition, it is technically also incompatible with Looting and Luck of the Sea.
What does the Silk Touch enchantment do in Minecraft?
Silk Touch causes some blocks to drop themselves if they normally drop something else. The simplest example is ore blocks, such as diamond ore. When you mine diamond ore with a pickaxe enchanted with Silk Touch, you’ll get the diamond ore block rather than a diamond as the drop.
There is a long list of blocks this applies to, but the most common are ores, different types of plants, stone, leaves, different types of ice, different types of sculk, glass, and others.
It has only one enchantment level.
Where can you use the Silk Touch enchantment?
Silk Touch in Minecraft is primarily a utility and building enchantment. For building, you could use it to get certain materials easier than usual. One example is mining stone with Silk Touch to get it to drop stone instead of cobblestone and then using the acquired stone to make stone bricks.
Another example is using Silk Touch to mine a Bee Nest or Beehive block so that you can transfer bees to put them on your farm. As you can see, there are many possibilities.
Key Takeaways
When talking about this item enchantment, you should take note of the following things and try to remember them:
- Silk Touch is a tool enchantment that can be applied to pickaxes, axes, shovels, and hoes. In Bedrock Edition, it can also be applied to sheers.
- You can acquire it the same way you acquire other enchantments, through an enchantment table or through an anvil.
- It is mutually exclusive with Fortune, although it is also technically mutually exclusive with Looting and Luck of the Sea in Java Edition.
- The item allows you to get certain blocks as their own blocks rather than their usual item drops. For example, if you mined emerald ore with Silk Touch, you’d get emerald ore rather than emeralds.
- It has only one enchantment level.
- It is a useful enchantment for building.