You’ve finally found that Mending book. It’s sitting in your chest, a glowing promise of infinite durability for your diamond pickaxe, but there is a problem. You can’t actually use it yet. To combine that enchanted book with your gear, or to rename your favorite sword "The Widowmaker," you need an anvil.
It sounds simple. It’s just an anvil. But for newer players or those starting a fresh world, figuring out how to make anvil in minecraft is often the first real "resource wall" they hit. It isn't like crafting a furnace or a crafting table where you just toss some stone or wood together. An anvil is heavy. It is dense. It is, quite literally, one of the most iron-expensive items in the entire game.
If you don't have an iron farm running, you're going to be spending a lot of time in the mines.
The Brutal Math of Iron Ingots
Let’s be real: the recipe is expensive. To craft an anvil, you need three blocks of iron and four iron ingots. That sounds like a small number until you do the mental math of how many raw ingots actually go into those blocks. Since one iron block requires nine ingots, you are looking at 27 ingots just for the top of the anvil, plus the four at the base.
That is 31 iron ingots for a single utility block.
Think about that for a second. A full suit of iron armor only costs 24 ingots. You could clothe yourself in metal and still have enough left over for a sword and a pickaxe for the cost of one anvil. It’s a massive investment in the early game. You’ll want to arrange these in your crafting table with the three blocks filling the top row, one ingot in the very center square, and the remaining three ingots filling the bottom row.
Why the Iron Cost Actually Matters
Why did Mojang make it so expensive? Balance.
👉 See also: Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket Upcoming Events: What Most People Get Wrong
Anvils are incredibly powerful. They aren't just for decoration—though they do look great in a blacksmith build. They allow you to bypass the randomness of the enchantment table. If you have two damaged Silk Touch axes, you can combine them at an anvil to get one full-durability Silk Touch axe. More importantly, you can apply specific enchantments from books.
There is a catch, though. Every time you use an anvil to work on a specific item, that item gets a "prior work penalty." The XP cost goes up. Eventually, the game will tell you "Too Expensive!" and you won't be able to repair that item anymore. This is why players obsess over the order of enchantments. If you do it wrong, you waste that 31-iron investment because your sword becomes unfixable.
Sourcing Your Materials Without Losing Your Mind
If you’re staring at your crafting table wondering where you’re going to find 31 pieces of iron, you have a few options. Honestly, caving is the most fun, but it’s inconsistent. Since the 1.18 Caves & Cliffs update, iron distribution has shifted. You’ll find the most iron around Y-level 16, but massive "ore veins" can be found deeper down if you get lucky. These veins are surrounded by Tuff blocks and can contain hundreds of raw iron blocks.
If you're lazy? Find a village.
Iron Golems are the best source of iron if you don't want to mine. It feels a bit cruel, but taking down a golem yields 3 to 5 ingots. It’s faster than digging through dirt. Just make sure you’re standing three blocks up so the big guy can't hit you back.
Gravity: The Anvil’s Secret Weapon
One thing most people forget when they first learn how to make anvil in minecraft is that this block obeys the laws of physics. Well, Minecraft physics. Like sand and gravel, an anvil will fall if there is no block underneath it.
This makes it a weapon.
A falling anvil deals significant damage to whatever it hits. It scales based on how far it falls. If you drop an anvil from high enough, it can one-shot a player in full armor. Just remember that every time an anvil falls and hits something, it has a chance to take damage. It will eventually crack and break into nothingness.
The Three Stages of Decay
Anvils aren't permanent. They have three visual states:
- Anvil: Perfectly smooth and shiny.
- Slightly Damaged Anvil: You'll see some cracks starting to form on the top.
- Very Damaged Anvil: It looks like it’s about to crumble.
On average, an anvil lasts for about 25 uses. That means every time you repair your shovel, you're effectively spending about 1.2 iron ingots in "wear and tear." It’s a hidden tax that most players don't realize they're paying until they hear that metallic clink and the anvil disappears from their screen.
Avoiding the "Too Expensive" Trap
Knowing how to craft the thing is only half the battle. Using it efficiently is the real pro skill.
When you combine items, the game calculates the level cost based on the enchantments already on the tools. Here’s a tip: always put the more expensive item in the left slot. If you're combining a book with a sword, the sword goes on the left. If you're combining two swords, put the one with the better enchantments on the left.
Also, rename your gear! It used to be that renaming an item would "cap" the work penalty, but that was changed in older versions. Now, it just costs one level. It’s purely aesthetic now, but seeing "Zombie Slayer 3000" is much more satisfying than "Diamond Sword."
👉 See also: Why Sunset Riders Super Nintendo is Still the Best Way to Play This Classic
Final Tactical Advice
Once you have your 31 ingots, clear a space in your base that is at least two blocks high. Don't place it near a ledge where a stray click could knock it off.
Next Steps for Your Blacksmithing Setup:
- Gather 31 Iron Ingots: Mine at Y-16 or "borrow" from an Iron Golem.
- Craft 3 Iron Blocks: Use 27 of those ingots.
- Open Crafting Table: Fill the top row with the blocks, put one ingot in the center, and three ingots on the bottom.
- Set Up an XP Farm: Anvils are useless without levels. A simple mob grinder or a fletcher villager trade loop will give you the XP needed to actually use the anvil once you've built it.
- Check for Cracks: Always keep a spare stack of iron in a chest nearby. Nothing is worse than having a perfect Enchanted Book and a broken anvil.
The anvil is a milestone. Once you have it, you’ve moved from the "surviving" phase of Minecraft into the "mastery" phase. Just watch your toes when you place it down.