Anvil
Anvil repairs, renames, and combines enchanted gear — the only practical way to merge enchantments and restore high-tier tools.
Description
Three primary functions cover most use cases. Repair: combining a damaged tool with raw materials or another copy of itself restores durability without losing enchantments. Combine: merging two enchanted items consolidates their enchantments into the left-hand item, with experience cost scaling by enchantment count and prior-work penalty. Rename: typing in the name field renames the item and changes the colour of its display name to italic white. Critically, the device is one of two gravity-affected tools — it falls when nothing supports it, dealing damage to whatever is below — and it slowly degrades through three damage tiers before finally breaking.
Java Edition Guide
How to use an Anvil in Minecraft
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1
Craft the Anvil
Fill the entire top row with three Iron Blocks and place Iron Ingots in the left, center, and right slots of the bottom row plus the single center slot of the middle row — 4 ingots total. The full cost is 31 iron ingots (3 blocks × 9 ingots + 4 loose ingots).
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2
Repair tools and armor
Open the anvil, place the damaged item in the left slot and either the same item or the material it is made from in the right slot. Using the matching material repairs 25 % durability per unit; using a second copy of the item transfers its durability and enchantments. The XP cost shown must be paid before you can take the result.
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3
Combine enchantments
Place an enchanted item in the left slot and an enchanted book (or another enchanted item of the same type) in the right slot. Compatible enchantments merge and, where both items share the same enchantment, the result is one level higher — up to the enchantment's maximum. Incompatible enchantments (e.g. Silk Touch + Fortune) are silently dropped.
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4
Rename an item
Place any item in the left slot and type a name in the text field at the top of the interface. Renaming costs 1 XP level. In Java Edition, custom names appear in italic text.
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5
Watch the prior work penalty
Every time an item is used on an anvil, its prior work penalty doubles in subsequent operations. In Java Edition, any operation whose XP cost exceeds 39 levels shows 'Too Expensive' and cannot be completed. Plan your enchanting order carefully to minimize uses.
Anvils are affected by gravity and fall when the block beneath them is removed. A falling anvil deals damage to entities below it. Anvils degrade through three stages — Anvil → Chipped Anvil → Damaged Anvil — and are eventually destroyed. Each use has roughly a 12 % chance to degrade the anvil one stage.
How to craft this block
Frequently asked questions
How many iron ingots does it take to craft an Anvil?
An Anvil requires 31 iron ingots in total: 3 iron blocks (each costing 9 ingots) in the top row plus 4 loose iron ingots arranged in the middle and bottom rows.
What does 'Too Expensive' mean on an Anvil?
In Java Edition, 'Too Expensive' appears when an operation would cost more than 39 XP levels. This is caused by the prior work penalty accumulating over multiple anvil uses. The item cannot be modified further at the anvil once this threshold is reached.
Does an Anvil take damage when used?
Yes. Each use has roughly a 12 % chance to degrade the anvil one stage. Anvils progress through three stages — Anvil, Chipped Anvil, Damaged Anvil — and are destroyed when the final stage degrades.
Can I combine any two enchantments on an Anvil?
No. Mutually exclusive enchantments such as Silk Touch and Fortune, or Protection and Blast Protection, cannot be combined. Incompatible enchantments are silently discarded and the XP is still consumed.
Does renaming an item affect gameplay?
Renaming has no effect on item stats or enchantments. The most notable gameplay use is renaming a Nametag, which lets you apply that name to a mob. In Java Edition, renamed items display their name in italic text.
Is an Anvil affected by gravity in Minecraft?
Yes. Like sand and gravel, anvils fall when the block beneath them is removed. A falling anvil deals damage proportional to fall distance to any entity it lands on, making it a situational weapon or trap.
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