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This post was last updated on April 1, 2026
Grindstones are useful blocks in Minecraft that let you remove unwanted enchantments from, and repair your tools, armor, and weapons in Minecraft.
There are so many utility blocks in Minecraft, and understanding how to maximize their functions is essential for the best gameplay experiences and progression.
Specific situations make using a grindstone in Minecraft advantageous over other tools, read on to find out!
How to Get a Grindstone in Minecraft
There are two methods to obtain a Grindstone in survival mode – either by crafting them or taking one from a village.
Obtaining a Grindstone From a Village
You can find grindstones in villages. Not every village will have one, but if you find a weaponsmith in a village then you will be able to find a grindstone. You can identify weaponsmith villagers by their unique eye-patch.
If you want to take the grindstone you have to break it with a pickaxe (any type will work), otherwise, the item won’t drop.
How to Make a Grindstone in Minecraft
Because grindstones only require a small number of resources, it’s generally quicker to just build one yourself, rather than trying to find a village where they have one.
There are only three required materials to craft a grindstone:
- Two sticks.
- One stone slab.
- Two wooden planks (they don’t need to be the same type of wooden planks).
To make a grindstone, simply:
- Place the stone slab in the middle of the top row of the crafting table.
- Place two sticks on either side of the stone slab in the top row of the crafting area.
- Now place the two planks in the second row below the sticks.
- Easy!
To make stone slabs you need to place three blocks of stone in a row in the crafting menu. It can be anywhere, but the first row is probably the quickest.
Remember, it has to be a stone slab, not just a cobblestone slab. To make stone slabs, you need stone blocks. You make stone blocks by smelting cobblestone in a furnace.
What are Grindstones Used for in Minecraft?
Grindstones have a couple of uses in Minecraft. We wouldn’t say that are the most useful block, but they do have some unique features that make them helpful in specific situations.
Repairing Weapons, Items, and Tools With a Minecraft Grindstone
One of the main uses of Grindstones is repairing items. They can repair weapons, tools, or armor.
To repair items using a grindstone you simply have to put two items of the same type in the two input slots of the grindstone interface.
This then gives you the option of pulling out a repaired, non-enchanted item from the item slots. Any buffs on items will be removed when you take the output item.
In essence, it adds the two durability values together into one item, plus an extra 5% durability bonus.
So if you mixed an item with 30% durability remaining, and another with 40%, you would receive a single item with 75% combined durability.
Removing Enchantments
The other main job of a Grindstone is to remove enchantments from items.
This is useful if you have a particular item that is enchanted with an enchantment that you don’t like. Some enchantments don’t suit everybody’s playstyle, so you might want to remove the buff from enchanted items sometimes.
Also, some enchantments are mutually exclusive, in this case, if you want to swap to the other enchantment, then you will need to disenchant your enchanted item.
Removing enchantments with the grindstone is easy, all you need to do is:
Place an enchanted item in the first of the two slots – you will now have the option of removing the new item which has the buffs removed.
Note: You can only remove non-curse enchantments. You cannot remove curses – which are essentially de-buffs that degrade the quality of your items.
Also, the grindstone will have no effect if used with non-enchanted items. You won’t get the option to disenchant them, obviously…
Gaining Experience Points
Whenever you remove an enchantment, you will collect xp based on the amount of xp required to create an enchanted item of that level.
Changing Villager Jobs
Another use for a grindstone is to act as a job site block to change a villager into a weaponsmith.
Weaponsmiths can be pretty useful villagers and sell players weapons in return for emeralds. They also sell emeralds for coal and flint.
Making a weaponsmith villager is easy. All you need to do is:
- Place the grindstone near a villager without any profession to use it as a job block.
- After a few seconds, you will see green particles fly out of them.
- Their outfit will change.
- Voila, you now have a happy weaponsmith villager
Conclusion: Get Grinding!
Grindstones are surprisingly useful items given their low resource cost – they have a few helpful and unique features.
These are one of the few methods for repairing items in Minecraft, and the only tool for disenchanting your gear. That said, I would recommend looking into anvils, as these make it easier to repair your stuff.
FAQs
How do you Craft a Grindstone in Minecraft?
To make a grindstone in Minecraft, all you need is a stone slab, two wooden planks, and two sticks. You’ll need to craft the stone slab out of a proper stone block, not just a cobblestone one. You can use any combination of wood planks.
Is Anvil Better than Grindstone?
While they are both have different purposes, the anvil is generally better than the grindstone because it has more features in total.
The anvil can repair items like the grindstone, but it also has deeper mechanics. That said, the grindstone is the only item that can remove enchantments.
How Does the Grindstone Repair?
To repair with a grindstone in Minecraft, you simply need to put two input items of the matching types into the interface. Then you’ll have the option of pulling out a repaired item.
Does Grindstone Give XP Back?
Yes, a grindstone will give xp back whenever you disenchant an item. The amount of xp returned to the player is equal to the minimum amount of experience points needed to enchant an item with the buff level.
