Iron Sword

Iron Sword
Rarity tier	; Common
Attack damage	JE: 6HP; BE: 7HP
Attack speed‌[JE only]	1.6 (0.625 seconds)
Attack range	3 (3 blocks)
Hitbox margin	0
Sweep damage‌[JE only]	1HP; SE I: 3HP; SE II: 4.02HP × 2.01; SE III: 4.5HP × 2.25
Mining efficiency	1.5; 15 (on cobwebs); 30 (on bamboo)
Durability	JE: 250; BE: 251
Enchantability	14
Renewable	Yes
Stackable	No

An iron sword is a variant of sword crafted from iron ingots. It is the third-highest tier of sword, dealing more damage and having more durability than stone and copper swords.

Obtaining

Crafting

An iron sword is crafted using 1 stick and 2 iron ingots.

Ingredients	Crafting recipe
Iron Ingot + Stick

Generated loot

Item	Structure	Container	Quantity	Chance
Java Edition
Iron Sword	Buried Treasure	Chest	1	16.7% { "item": "Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.16666666666666674, "structure": "Buried Treasure", "container": "Chest" }
	Stronghold	Altar chest	1	11.9% { "item": "Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.1189215578748346, "structure": "Stronghold", "container": "Altar chest" }
	Village	Weaponsmith's chest	1	22.9% { "item": "Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.22884863260948196, "structure": "Village", "container": "Weaponsmith's chest" }
Enchanted Iron Sword^[A]	End City	Chest	1	12.7% { "item": "Enchanted Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.12714065479531, "structure": "End City", "container": "Chest" }
Damaged Enchanted Iron Sword^[B]^[C]	Bastion Remnant	Generic chest	1	19% { "item": "Damaged Enchanted Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.18999999999999995, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Generic chest" }
Bedrock Edition
Iron Sword	Buried Treasure	Chest	1	16.7% { "item": "Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.16666666666666674, "structure": "Buried Treasure", "container": "Chest" }
	Stronghold	Altar chest	1	11.5% { "item": "Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.11541180293889097, "structure": "Stronghold", "container": "Altar chest" }
	Village	Weaponsmith's chest	1	22.9% { "item": "Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.22884863260948196, "structure": "Village", "container": "Weaponsmith's chest" }
Enchanted Iron Sword^[A]	End City	Chest	1	12.7% { "item": "Enchanted Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.12714065479531, "structure": "End City", "container": "Chest" }
Damaged Enchanted Iron Sword^[B]^[C]	Bastion Remnant	Generic chest	1	19% { "item": "Damaged Enchanted Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.18999999999999995, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Generic chest" }

↑ ^a ^b Enchantment probabilities are the same as a level-20 to level-39 enchantment would be on an enchanting table that had no cap at level 30, and that was able to apply treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and where the chance of multiple enchantments is not reduced.
↑ ^a ^b All enchantments are equally probable, including treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and any level of the enchantment is equally probable.
↑ ^a ^b The item has between 10% and 90% of its total durability.

Trading

Villager		Probability		Villager wants	Player receives	Trades in stock	Villager experience	Price multiplier
Villager		JE	BE	Villager wants	Player receives	Trades in stock	Villager experience	Price multiplier
Weaponsmith	Novice	67%	100%	7–21 × Emerald	Enchanted Iron Sword^{[t 1]}	3	1	0.05

↑ Enchanted with a random experience cost in range 5–19, equivalent to the middle slot of an enchanting table with 13 bookshelves. The price is 2 plus the experience cost in emeralds.

Mob loot

Zombies, husks and zombie villagers‌^{[Java Edition only]} have a 0.67% (3.33% in Hard difficulty) chance of spawning with an iron sword. They have an 8.5% (9.5% with Looting I, 10.5% with Looting II and 11.5% with Looting III) chance of dropping that sword if they are killed by the player. The dropped sword is usually badly damaged, and may be enchanted: 0%–25% on Normal difficulty and 3.125%–25% on Hard difficulty, varying with regional difficulty, and enchanted as if on an enchanting table at level 5–22.

A vex never drops its iron sword, because its main hand's HandDropChances value is 0. This is not affected by the Looting enchantment.

In Bedrock Edition, pillagers and vindicators that spawn from raids have a 4.1% chance (or a 5.12% chance on Hard difficulty) of dropping a damaged iron sword. This sword has a 50% chance of being enchanted.

Usage

Breaking

A sword can also be used to destroy certain blocks 50% quicker, sometimes much quicker than with fists. Using a sword to destroy any block that doesn't break instantly by hand decreases its durability by 2; this includes bamboo, despite that the sword is the fastest tool for breaking it.^[1]

If a sword is enchanted with Silk Touch, either using Creative or commands, cobwebs the sword destroys drop the cobwebs themselves instead of the usual string. This is due to the sword being classified as the proper tool for cobwebs.

Creative mode

In Creative mode, swords are unable to break blocks. However, they can still break placed entities such as minecarts, paintings, item frames,‌^{[Java Edition only]} and armor stands.^[2]^[3]

Attacking

An iron sword is used to deal damage to mobs and entities by attacking them. The iron sword has 6HP base damage in Java Edition and 7HP base damage in Bedrock Edition, and can be enchanted to deal more damage. The following tables show how the Sharpness enchantment affects the damage dealt by the sword.

Extra damage of Sharpness enchantment

Sharpness extra damage
Edition	I	II	III	IV	V
Java Edition	1HP	1.5HP × 0.75	2HP	2.5HP × 1.25	3HP
Bedrock Edition	1HP	2HP	3HP	5HP	6HP

Total damage of sword with Sharpness

The tables below assume that the attack is fully charged‌^{[Java Edition only]}, the target is not wearing armor, and neither the attacker nor the target has any effects.

Java Edition

Iron sword Sharpness damage
Attack type	Base damage	Sharpness I	Sharpness II	Sharpness III	Sharpness IV	Sharpness V
Normal	6HP	7HP	7.5HP × 3.75	8HP	8.5HP × 4.25	9HP
Critical	9HP	10HP	10.5HP × 5.25	11HP × 5.5	12HP × 6	12.5HP × 6.25

Bedrock Edition

Iron sword Sharpness damage
Attack type	Base damage	Sharpness I	Sharpness II	Sharpness III	Sharpness IV	Sharpness V
Normal	7HP	8HP	9HP	10HP	12HP × 6	13HP × 6.5
Critical	10.5HP × 5.25	12HP × 6	13.5HP × 6.75	15HP × 7.5	18HP × 9	19.5HP × 9.75

Repairing

Combining

Ingredients	Crafting recipe	Notes
Damaged Iron Sword		The durability of the two swords is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.

Ingredients	Grinding recipe	Notes
2x Damaged Iron Sword		The durability of the two swords is added together, plus an extra 5% durability.

Anvil repair

Ingredients	Anvil recipe
Damaged Iron Sword + Iron Ingot	Iron Sword

An iron sword can be repaired in an anvil by adding iron ingots, with each repair material restoring 25% the sword's maximum durability, rounded down. Two iron swords can also be combined in an anvil. Both methods preserve the sword's enchantments.

Enchantments

An iron sword can receive the following enchantments:


Name	Description	Max level	Method	Weight
Sharpness^{[note 1]}	Increases the damage dealt.	V	Enchanting Table Anvil	10
Smite^{[note 1]}	Increases the damage dealt to undead.	V	Enchanting Table Anvil	5
Bane of Arthropods^{[note 1]}	Increases the damage dealt to arthropods.	V	Enchanting Table Anvil	5
Looting	Increases the amount of drops when killing an entity with the sword.	III	Enchanting Table Anvil	2
Knockback	Increases the knockback dealt.	II	Enchanting Table Anvil	5
Fire Aspect	Ignites any targets hit by the sword. In Bedrock Edition, it also lights unlit candles, campfires, and blocks of TNT when used.	II	Enchanting Table Anvil	2
Sweeping Edge‌^{[JE only]}	Increases the sweeping damage dealt.	III	Enchanting Table Anvil	2
Unbreaking	Grants a chance to negate durability consumption.	III	Enchanting Table Anvil	5
Mending	Repairs the sword when obtaining experience.	I	Anvil	2
Curse of Vanishing	The sword vanishes on death, not dropping as an item.	I	Anvil	1

↑ ^a ^b ^c Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods are mutually exclusive.

Smelting ingredient

An iron sword can be smelted into an iron nugget using a furnace or blast furnace.

Name	Ingredients	Smelting recipe
Iron Nugget	Iron Sword + Any fuel	0.1

[enchant-with-levels-20-39-1] Enchantment probabilities are the same as a level-20 to level-39 enchantment would be on an enchanting table that had no cap at level 30, and that was able to apply treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and where the chance of multiple enchantments is not reduced.

[enchant-randomly-2] All enchantments are equally probable, including treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and any level of the enchantment is equally probable.

[damaged-0.1-0.9-3] The item has between 10% and 90% of its total durability.

[Weaponsmith_Iron_Sword-4] Enchanted with a random experience cost in range 5–19, equivalent to the middle slot of an enchanting table with 13 bookshelves. The price is 2 plus the experience cost in emeralds.

[note1-8] Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods are mutually exclusive.

[A]

[B]

[C]

[t 1]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[note 1]

Sounds
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	Strong attack	Players	When a player deals an attack that does not trigger any other attack sounds	`entity.player.attack.strong`	`subtitles.entity.player.attack.strong`	varies ^{[sound 1]}	1.0	16
	Critical attack	Players	When a player deals a critical hit	`entity.player.attack.crit`	`subtitles.entity.player.attack.crit`	0.7	1.0	16
	Knockback attack	Players	When a player deals a sprinting attack	`entity.player.attack.knockback`	`subtitles.entity.player.attack.knockback`	0.7	1.0	16
	Sweeping attack	Players	When a player deals a sweep attack	`entity.player.attack.sweep`	`subtitles.entity.player.attack.sweep`	0.7	1.0	16
	Weak attack	Players	When a player deals an attack with no damage	`entity.player.attack.nodamage`	`subtitles.entity.player.attack.weak`	0.7	1.0	16
	Weak attack	Players	When a player attempts to attack without sufficient cooldown	`entity.player.attack.weak`	`subtitles.entity.player.attack.weak`	0.7	1.0	16
	Item breaks	Players	When a sword's durability is exhausted	`entity.item.break`	`subtitles.entity.item.break`	0.8	0.8–1.2	16

Sounds
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch
	Strong attack	Players	When a player deals an attack with damage	`game.player.attack.strong`	`subtitles.entity.player.attack.strong`	0.2	0.8–1.2
	Weak attack	Players	When a player deals an attack with no damage	`game.player.attack.nodamage`	`subtitles.entity.player.attack.weak`	0.2	0.8–1.2
	Item breaks	Players	When a sword's durability is exhausted	`random.break`	`subtitles.entity.item.break`	1.0	0.9


Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other	Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
		Time to Strike!	Use planks and sticks to make a sword.	Pick up any type of sword from a crafting table output.	10	Bronze
		Overkill	Deal nine hearts of damage in a single hit.	Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have nine hearts of health overall.	30	Bronze

Java Edition Indev
0.31	20091231-2147	Added swords. At this point, iron swords are the only tier of sword in the game.
	20091231-2147	Because swords only have IDs based on the coordinates for items.png, swords don't function yet, but is added to the player's inventory during world creation.
	20100110	Swords have been removed, as real item IDs have been added and is no longer added to the player's inventory during world creation.
	20100128-2200	Swords have been readded with an item ID.
		With the addition of tool tiers, the existing swords are now known as iron swords.
		Added iron swords to the item chest in the starting house.
		An iron sword held by the player is now rendered to appear more 3D.
	20100129-1447	Iron swords can now be crafted.
	20100131-2156	Iron swords now have durability which is 129 points.
		Iron swords now cost 1 durability per hit, and 2 points per block broken.
		Now iron swords deal 12HP × 6 damage.
Java Edition Beta
1.2		Iron swords' durability has been increased from 129 to 251.
1.5		Increased the damage of the iron sword by 1HP, from 8HP to 9HP, to match the increase in the player's barehanded damage.
1.8	Pre-release	Added the ability to block with an iron sword, giving the player more options in combat.
		Iron swords deflect 50% of incoming melee damage, non-magical projectiles like arrows and explosion damage, and a bit of knockback.
		The iron sword is held in front of the player and its durability is not reduced by blocking.
		The player moves at a slower rate than sneaking when blocking with an iron sword.
		Decreased the damage of the iron sword back to the damage it has before pre-Beta 1.5 (8HP).
Java Edition
1.0.0	Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3	Iron sword damage has been reduced in order to keep enchanting balanced. Reduced the iron sword's damage from 8HP to 6HP.
	Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3	Iron swords are now found in the new stronghold altar chests.
	Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4	Iron swords can now be enchanted in the enchantment table.
1.1	12w01a	Iron swords are now found in village blacksmith chests.
1.2.1	12w06a	There is a rare chance of obtaining an iron sword by killing a zombie, with a 20% chance of the sword being enchanted.
1.2.1	12w21a	Blacksmith villagers now sell iron swords for 7–10 emeralds.
1.4.2	12w32a	A zombie sometimes spawns with an iron sword, allowing it to deal extra damage.
1.6.1	13w21a	Instead of replacing the barehanded damage of (1HP), iron swords now add their damage onto the barehanded damage, which results in them doing 1HP more damage than before.
1.6.1	13w25b	In Creative mode, iron swords are no longer able to break blocks, and no sound plays when they're hit with one.^[4]
1.8	14w02a	Weaponsmith villagers now sell enchanted iron swords for 9–10 emeralds. Unenchanted swords are no longer sold.
	14w25a	Blocking immediately after attacking no longer continues the swing animation.^[5]
	14w30a	Iron sword holding position have been tweaked, and the blocking animation has changed. Blocking while mining was made impossible.
1.9	15w31a	Enchanted iron swords can now be found in End city chests.
	15w33c	Iron swords no longer block attacks. Instead, shields are used.
	15w34b	Iron swords now use the attack speed attribute. The attack speed of a sword is 1.25 or 0.8 seconds.
	15w34c	Nerfed iron swords, they now do 1HP less damage and have an attack speed of 1.45, or 0.69 seconds.
	15w34c	Iron swords can now do a sweep attack when moving at walking speed or slower, which knock back mobs near the one hit. The attack speed meter must be filled for it to work.
	15w36a	Each Sharpness level now adds 1HP damage to the base damage at level I and an additional 0.5HP × 0.25 for each additional level, instead of the flat 1.25HP × 0.625 per level it added before.
	15w37a	Iron swords now have an attack speed of 1.6, or 0.6 seconds.
	15w49a	Sweep attack now does 1HP damage to affected mobs and players.
1.11.1	16w50a	Iron swords now smelt down into one iron nugget.
1.11.1	16w50a	Added Sweeping Edge enchantment, which can be put on iron swords.
1.13	18w10a	Iron swords can now generate in buried treasure chests.
1.13.1	18w30b	The durability of iron swords has been reduced from 251 to 250 due to the fixing of a bug.^[6]
September 10, 2018		Jasper Boerstra tweets an image of updated sword textures.
1.14	18w43a	Changed the texture of iron swords.
	18w43a	Iron swords now break bamboo instantly.
	19w11a	Weaponsmith villagers now sell enchanted iron swords for 7-21 emeralds.
1.16.2	20w30a	Damaged enchanted iron swords can now be found in bastion remnant chests.
Java Edition Combat Tests
1.14.3		The attack speed for iron swords has been increased to 3.
		The base damage is now 2HP, meaning that iron swords now do 7HP points of damage.
		The attack reach of swords has been increased to 3.5 blocks.
2		The attack speed of iron swords has been decreased to 2.5.
3		The attack speed of iron swords has been reverted back to 3.0.
4		Iron swords can now perform critical, knockback (sprint) hits on 100% charge.
4		The attack reach of iron swords was decreased by 0.5 block. They now have a 3 blocks reach.
5		Weapons have been nerfed. The iron sword now does 5HP damage.
6		Iron swords' attack reach have been buffed by 0.5 block.
6		Iron swords now always do sweep attack, even in the air.
7c		All weapons' attack reach have been nerfed by 0.5 block. Iron swords now have an attack reach of 3 blocks again.
7c		Iron swords no longer sweep without Sweeping Edge and 200% charge.

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.2.0		Added iron swords. They actually function as a weapon despite being unobtainable by normal means.
v0.3.2		Iron swords can now be crafted with iron ingots and sticks.
v0.4.0		Iron swords have replaced stone swords in the creative inventory.
v0.9.0	build 1	Iron swords can now be found in stronghold altar chests and inside blacksmith chests.
v0.12.1	build 1	Instead of replacing the barehanded damage of (1HP), iron swords now add their damage onto the barehanded damage, which results in them doing 1HP more damage than before.
		In Creative mode, iron swords are no longer able to break blocks, and no sound plays when they're hit with one.
		Zombies now rarely spawn holding an iron sword that has a chance to be dropped.
	build 11	Blocks can no longer be broken while holding an iron sword in Creative mode.
v0.15.0	build 1	Iron swords are now sometimes dropped by husks that spawn holding an iron sword.
Pocket Edition
1.0.0	alpha 0.17.0.1	Enchanted iron swords can now be found in End city chests.
1.0.4	alpha 1.0.4.0	Iron swords and are now sold by weaponsmith villagers.
1.1.0	alpha 1.1.0.0	Iron swords can now be smelted into 1 iron nugget each.
1.1.0	alpha 1.1.0.0	Added vexes, which rarely drop an iron sword when killed using Looting enchantment.
Bedrock Edition
1.10.0	beta 1.10.0.3	The textures of iron swords have been changed.
1.10.0	beta 1.10.0.3	Iron swords can now be found in weaponsmiths chests in plains villages.
1.11.0	beta 1.11.0.1	Iron swords can now be found in weaponsmiths chests in savanna, snowy taiga, taiga and desert villages.
	beta 1.11.0.4	Pillagers and vindicators that spawn in raids can now drop iron swords upon death.
	beta 1.11.0.4	Trading has been changed. Iron swords sold by weaponsmith villagers now cost 2 emeralds.
1.17.30	beta 1.17.20.20	Iron swords now break bamboo instantly.
1.21.130	Preview 1.21.130.20	Iron swords can now be found in buried treasure chests.

Iron Sword

Obtaining

Crafting

Generated loot

Trading

Mob loot

Usage

Breaking

Creative mode

Attacking

Extra damage of Sharpness enchantment

Total damage of sword with Sharpness

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition

Repairing

Combining

Anvil repair

Enchantments

Smelting ingredient

Sounds

Data values

ID

Achievements

Videos

History

Before Minecraft

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition

Legacy Console Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

Data history

Issues

Trivia

Gallery

Renders

In other media

References

More in Combat

Related mods

Rarity tier	Common
Attack damage	JE: 6HP BE: 7HP
Attack speed‌^{[JE only]}	1.6 (0.625 seconds)
Attack range	3 (3 blocks)
Hitbox margin	0
Sweep damage‌^{[JE only]}	1HP SE I: 3HP SE II: 4.02HP × 2.01 SE III: 4.5HP × 2.25
Mining efficiency	1.5 15 (on cobwebs) 30 (on bamboo)
Durability	JE: 250 BE: 251
Enchantability	14
Renewable	Yes
Stackable	No

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU1	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added iron swords.
TU5		1.00					Iron swords can now block attacks, giving the player more options in combat.
TU14		1.04					Blacksmith villagers now sell iron swords for 7–10 emeralds.
TU19	CU7	1.12	1.12	1.12			Instead of replacing the barehanded damage (1HP), iron swords now add their damage onto the barehanded damage, which results in them doing 1HP more damage than before.
TU19	CU7	1.12	1.12	1.12			In Creative mode, iron swords are no longer able to break blocks, and no sound plays when they're hit with one.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3		Weaponsmith villagers now sell enchanted iron swords for 9–10 emeralds. Unenchanted swords are no longer sold.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3		Blocking immediately after attacking no longer continues the swing animation.
TU36	CU25	1.28	1.28	1.28	Patch 7		The attack damage of iron swords is now shown above the hotbar when switching to it if the sword has less than 3 enchantments.
TU46	CU36	1.38	1.38	1.38	Patch 15		Enchanted iron swords can now be found in End city chests.
TU53	CU43	1.49	1.50	1.49	Patch 23	1.0.3	Iron swords are now smeltable.
			1.90				Changed the texture of the iron sword.
			1.91				Pillagers and vindicators that spawn in raids can now drop iron swords upon death.
							Trading has been changed. Enchanted iron swords sold by weaponsmith villagers now cost 2 emeralds.
							The ability to block with an iron sword has been removed.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added iron swords.
0.1.0							Iron swords cannot block attacks.