BEST ENCHANTMENTS FOR SHOVEL
The optimal enchantment setup for your Minecraft shovel.6 enchantments are compatible with this item.
Recommended Combination
Essential
Recommended
Fortune III on a shovel increases flint drops from gravel (100% at level III). Silk Touch lets you collect snow layers, grass blocks, and mycelium.
All Compatible Enchantments (6)
Causes the item to disappear (be deleted) upon the player's death instead of dropping.
Increases mining speed on the blocks a tool is made for, and it works on shears as well.
Increases the number of drops from mining blocks like ores, crops, and gravel.
Uses experience orbs to repair the item instead of adding to the player's experience bar.
Mined blocks drop themselves instead of their usual drops (e.g., stone instead of cobblestone).
Increases item durability by giving a chance to not consume durability on use.
Which shovel to enchant
Of these 6, 5 fit on a shovel at the same time. The rest of the list is alternatives, not extras.
Which of the 6 shovels you enchant changes what the table offers. Golden Shovel carries enchantability 22 where Netherite Shovel has 15, so gold buys better rolls for the same levels and pays for it in wear: 32 uses against 2,031.
| Item | Durability | Enchantability |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden Shovel | 59 | 15 |
| Stone Shovel | 131 | 5 |
| Iron Shovel | 250 | 14 |
| Golden Shovel | 32 | 22 |
| Diamond Shovel | 1,561 | 10 |
| Netherite Shovel | 2,031 | 15 |
Fortune and Silk Touch on a shovel
Fortune on a shovel is really about gravel. Gravel drops flint 10% of the time, Fortune I raises that to 14.3%, Fortune II to 25%, and Fortune III makes every block flint. Sand, dirt and clay don't react to Fortune at all, so a Fortune shovel only earns its keep on a gravel pile.
Silk Touch is the more useful of the two for building. It lets a shovel pick up blocks that normally break into something else: grass blocks and mycelium instead of dirt, snow blocks instead of 4 snowballs, and clay instead of 4 clay balls. Fortune and Silk Touch exclude each other, so pick the one your shovel is for.
Enchanting Cost Notes
Anvil Costs: Each time you combine items on an anvil, the prior work penalty increases. Plan your enchantment order to minimize total XP cost.
Order Matters: Combine the most expensive enchantments first, then add cheaper ones. This keeps anvil costs lower overall.
XP Limit: Anvil operations are capped at 39 levels in survival mode. If the cost exceeds this, you need to restructure your combination order.