If you’ve ever tried to mine a diamond ore block to move it to your base, or harvest a glass pane without shattering it, you already know how game-changing Silk Touch is. Learning how to get silk touch minecraft isn’t just a nice-to-have for survival runs—it’s a core skill that saves you hours of grinding resources and lets you pull off builds you couldn’t otherwise pull off. I’ve been playing Minecraft for over 10 years, across Java and Bedrock editions, and I’ve tested every possible way to get this enchantment, from lucky chest finds to intentional enchanting table grinds. This guide breaks down all the reliable methods, plus what to avoid so you don’t waste your hard-earned XP or lapis lazuli.
How to Get Silk Touch in Minecraft Via Enchanting Table (Most Reliable Method)
The enchanting table is the most consistent way to get Silk Touch if you already have a mid-game setup. First, you’ll need a fully powered enchanting table, which requires 15 bookshelves placed exactly one block away from the table, with no blocks in between the shelves and the table. You’ll also need at least 3 XP levels per enchant roll, plus lapis lazuli to pay for the enchant.
You can only get Silk Touch on pickaxes, axes, shovels, hoes, and shears, so don’t waste lapis trying to enchant armor, swords, or bows with this enchantment. When you open the enchanting menu, you’ll see three enchant options; Silk Touch will only appear in the level 30 (top) slot, so you need to have at least 30 XP levels to access that option, even though you only spend 3 levels per enchant.
Silk Touch has a lower weight than most combat or efficiency enchants, so you might need to re-roll 3-5 times on average to see it pop up. To re-roll, simply enchant a cheap disposable item like a wooden shovel or a book with the lowest level enchant available, then close and re-open the menu to get new options. If you’re playing Bedrock edition, you don’t even need to enchant a disposable item—just exit and re-open the menu to refresh the enchant list for free.
Alternative Ways to Get Silk Touch Without an Enchanting Table
If you’re still early in your survival run and don’t have enough diamonds, books, or obsidian to build an enchanting table setup, you don’t have to wait to get Silk Touch. There are several low-resource methods to get this enchantment, and some are even faster than grinding for XP and lapis if you get lucky.
- Librarian villager trades: The most consistent non-enchanting table method, with prices as low as 1 emerald if you cure the villager first
- Naturally generated chest loot: Found in 5-8% of ancient city, stronghold library, and mineshaft chests across both Java and Bedrock editions
- Fishing: A low-effort, slow method that works even if you’re stuck on a small island with no access to diamonds for an enchanting table
- Raids and mob drops: Vexes spawned during raids have a 0.8% chance to drop an enchanted iron pickaxe that may have Silk Touch
You can reset a librarian’s trades by breaking and replacing their lectern if they don’t offer Silk Touch, so you don’t have to kill them or search for a new village to find the right trade. If you find a zombie villager, you can cure it with a splash potion of weakness and a golden apple to get massive discounts on all their trades. Curing a zombie librarian can cut the cost of a Silk Touch book down to just 1 emerald, which is way cheaper than spending 3 levels and lapis every time you re-roll an enchant.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Trying to Get Silk Touch
Even if you know the basic methods to get Silk Touch, it’s easy to waste time and resources if you make these common beginner mistakes. I made almost all of these myself when I first started playing, so learning to avoid them will save you a lot of frustration.
First, don’t try to enchant high-value diamond tools directly if you’re rolling for Silk Touch. It’s way more efficient to enchant a book first, then use an anvil to apply the enchantment to your tool of choice. That way, you don’t end up with a diamond pickaxe with a bunch of useless enchants you don’t want if you don’t roll Silk Touch on the first try. Always have at least 15 XP levels saved before you start rolling for Silk Touch so you can re-roll 4-5 times if needed, instead of running out of XP halfway through and having to go grind more.
Another common mistake is forgetting that Silk Touch and Fortune are mutually exclusive. You can’t have both enchants on the same tool, so don’t get frustrated if you keep rolling Fortune instead of Silk Touch—they can’t spawn together. If you want both effects, you’ll need two separate tools: one with Silk Touch, one with Fortune. Also, don’t waste time trying to get Silk Touch from novice-level librarians; it only appears in their master-level trade slots, so you’ll need to trade with them a few times to level them up first if you don’t reset their trades.
Best Uses for Silk Touch Once You Have It
Once you’ve got your first Silk Touch tool, you’ll wonder how you ever played without it. It opens up so many new build possibilities and quality of life improvements for survival runs, and it’s worth the grind even if you only use it for a few specific tasks.
The most obvious use is mining ore blocks to move them. You can mine diamond ore, emerald ore, nether gold ore, and even ancient debris with Silk Touch to move the full block to your base, instead of breaking it and collecting the raw resource. This is perfect for building resource display areas, or setting up mob farms that use specific ore blocks as spawn triggers. You can also harvest glass, ice, packed ice, and frosted ice without breaking them, so you don’t have to carry extra sand or ice blocks with you when you’re building far from base.
One of the most underrated uses for Silk Touch is mining Ender Chests—if you break an Ender Chest with a normal pickaxe, you only get 8 obsidian blocks, but with Silk Touch, you get the full Ender Chest to move wherever you want. This is a game-changer for long exploration trips, since you can carry your Ender Chest in your inventory and place it anywhere to access your stored items. You can also harvest beehives and bee nests with Silk Touch without angering the bees inside, so you can move your bee farm to a new location without losing your bee population.
At the end of the day, getting Silk Touch doesn’t have to be a frustrating grind if you use the method that fits your current game progress. Whether you’re just starting out and trading with librarians, or you have a full XP farm and are rolling enchants at the table, you can pick the approach that saves you the most time and resources. Now that you know how to get silk touch minecraft, you can start planning those builds that require moving full blocks, or cut down on resource grinding for your next big project. If you try any of these methods, drop a comment below and let me know how fast you got your first Silk Touch enchant.