Iron Sword


| Rarity tier |
Common |
|---|---|
| Attack damage | |
| Attack speed |
1.6 (0.625 seconds) |
| Durability | |
| Enchantability |
14 |
| Renewable |
Yes |
| Stackable |
No |
{
"title": "Iron Sword",
"rows": [
{
"field": "Common",
"label": "(link to Rarity article, displayed as Rarity tier)"
},
{
"field": "(values exceeds 1000 characters...)",
"label": "(link to Damage#Dealing damage article, displayed as Attack damage)"
},
{
"field": "1.6 (0.625 seconds)",
"label": "(link to Melee attack#Attack cooldown article, displayed as Attack speed)<sup class=\"noprint nowrap Inline-Template \" title=\"\">[<i><span title=\"This statement only applies to Java Edition\">(link to Java Edition article, displayed as JE) only</span></i>]</sup>"
},
{
"field": "'''(link to Java Edition article, displayed as JE):''' 250<br>'''(link to Bedrock Edition article, displayed as BE):''' 251",
"label": "(link to Durability article, displayed as Durability)"
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{
"field": "14",
"label": "(link to Enchantability article, displayed as Enchantability)"
},
{
"field": "Yes",
"label": "(link to Renewable resource article, displayed as Renewable)"
},
{
"field": "No",
"label": "Stackable"
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"invimages": [
"Iron Sword"
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"images": [
"Iron Sword.png",
"Enchanted Iron Sword.gif"
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}
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. It can be smelted into a single iron nugget.
Obtaining
Mob loot
A vex never drops its iron sword, because its main hand's HandDropChances 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.
In both editions, zombies have a random chance to spawn with an iron sword. The zombie has an 8.5% chance to drop the sword; this chance is also affected by Looting, with each level increasing the chance by 1% (11.5% with Looting III).
Generated loot
| Item | Structure | Container | Quantity | Chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Java Edition | ||||
| Chest | 1 | 25%{ "item": "Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.25, "structure": "Buried Treasure", "container": "Chest" }
| ||
| Altar chest | 1 | 12%{ "item": "Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.12006249999999996, "structure": "Stronghold", "container": "Altar chest" }
| ||
| Weaponsmith's chest | 1 | 25.6%{ "item": "Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.2564122099176498, "structure": "Village", "container": "Weaponsmith's chest" }
| ||
| Chest | 1 | 13.3%{ "item": "Enchanted Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.13275806146330638, "structure": "End City", "container": "Chest" }
| ||
| Generic chest | 1 | 19%{ "item": "Damaged Enchanted Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.18999999999999995, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Generic chest" }
| ||
| Bedrock Edition | ||||
| Altar chest | 1 | 11.6%{ "item": "Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.11648616558453506, "structure": "Stronghold", "container": "Altar chest" }
| ||
| Weaponsmith's chest | 1 | 25.6%{ "item": "Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.2564122099176498, "structure": "Village", "container": "Weaponsmith's chest" }
| ||
| Chest | 1 | 13.3%{ "item": "Enchanted Iron Sword", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.13275806146330638, "structure": "End City", "container": "Chest" }
| ||
| 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 enchantment 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.
Crafting
An iron sword is crafted using 1 stick and 2 iron ingots.
| Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
|---|---|
| Iron Ingot + Stick |
Trading

| Villager | Probability | Villager wants | Player receives | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JE | BE | |||
| 67% | 100% | 7–21 × | ||
- ↑ When creating an enchantment offer, the game uses a random enchantment level from 5 to 19. The enchantments are never treasure enchantments.
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, 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
| 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, 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 | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Damaged | The durability of the two swords is added together, plus an extra 5% durability. |
| Ingredients | Grinding recipe | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Ingot |
A sword can be repaired in an anvil by adding units of the tiers' repair material, with each repair material restoring 25% the sword's maximum durability, rounded down. Two swords of the same tier 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 | 10 | |
| Smite[note 1] | Increases the damage dealt to undead. | V | 5 | |
| Bane of Arthropods[note 1] | Increases the damage dealt to arthropods. | V | 5 | |
| Looting | Increases the amount of drops when killing an entity with the sword. | III | 2 | |
| Knockback | Increases the knockback dealt. | II | 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 | 2 | |
| Sweeping Edge | Increases the sweeping damage dealt. | III | 2 | |
| Unbreaking | Grants a chance to negate durability consumption. | III | 5 | |
| Mending | Repairs the sword when obtaining experience. | I | 2 | |
| Curse of Vanishing | The sword vanishes on death, not dropping as an item. | I | 1 |
Smelting ingredient
An iron sword can be smelted into an iron nugget using a furnace or blast furnace.
| Name | Ingredients | Smelting recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Iron Nugget | + Any fuel |
Sounds
Iron swords make a sound when used to attack an entity. The sound depends on how the attack is landed. Their sounds are shared with other types of swords.
Data values
ID
| Name | Identifier | Form | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|
iron_sword | Item | item |
| Name | Identifier | Numeric ID | Form | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
iron_sword | 308 | Item | item |
Achievements
| Icon | Achievement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) | Gamerscore earned | Trophy type (PS) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS4 | Other | ||||||
| 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 | |||
| Time to Strike! | Use planks and sticks to make a sword. | Pick up any type of sword from a crafting table output. | 10 | Bronze | |||
Video
History
| Java Edition Indev | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.31 | 20091231-2147 | ||||||
| Swords cannot be crafted yet, but can be added to the player's inventory during world creation. | |||||||
| 20100110 | The sword is no longer added to the player's inventory during world creation. | ||||||
| 20100128-2200 | With the addition of tool tiers, the existing swords are now known as iron swords. | ||||||
| Added iron swords to the item chest in the Indev 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 | Gave the iron swords more durability. | ||||||
| Iron swords previous only had 128 durability. | |||||||
| 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. | |||||
| 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. | |||||
| 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. | |||||
| 13w25b | In Creative mode, iron swords are no longer able to break blocks, and no sound plays when they're hit with one.[4] | ||||||
| 13w21a | 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | |||||
| Added Sweeping Edge enchantment, which can be put on iron swords. | |||||||
| 1.13 | 18w10a | Iron swords can now generate in buried treasure chests. | |||||
| September 10, 2018 | |||||||
| 1.14 | 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| Iron swords no longer sweep without Sweeping Edge and 200% charge. | |||||||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||||
| v0.2.0 | |||||||
| 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. | |||||
| Added vexes, which rarely drop an iron sword when killed using Looting enchantment. | |||||||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | |||||
| 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 | |
| TU5 | 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. | ||
| 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. | |
| 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 | |||||||
| 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 | |||||||
| Iron swords cannot block attacks. | |||||||
Data history
| Java Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.13 | 17w47a | Prior to The Flattening, these iron swords's numeral IDs was 267. | |||||
Issues
Issues relating to "Iron Sword" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.
Trivia
- The iron sword's original texture came from Notch's abandoned RPG, Legend of the Chambered. After the iron sword's texture was created, the other swords followed.
Gallery
Renders
-
Enchanted Iron Sword
In other media
-
An iron sword as it appears in Legend of the Chambered. -
Foam replica of an iron sword. -
Iron Sword in the Super Duper Graphics Pack. -
Steve holding up a freshly-crafted Iron Sword in A Minecraft Movie.
See also
References
| Material | |
|---|---|
| Building blocks | |
| Functional blocks | |
| Armor | |
| Tools | |
| Mobs | |
| edu only | |