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Shears Guide

Two iron ingots, a lot of jobs no other tool can do.

Shears surrounded by white wool, a carved pumpkin, honeycomb and oak leaves on grass
Quick answer
  • Craft Shears from 2 iron ingots placed diagonally.
  • They shear sheep, carve pumpkins, collect honeycomb and pick up leaves, cobwebs and grass as blocks.
  • They have 238 durability and can get Efficiency, Unbreaking and Mending.

Shears are cheap and do jobs no other tool can. Keep a pair in your hotbar.

Materials PlannerPlan Minecraft build materials and calculate stacks, shulker boxes and chests

Mobs

Use onWhat happens
SheepDrops wool. It grows back, so you can shear the same sheep again
MooshroomDrops 5 mushrooms and turns it into a normal cow
Snow golemTakes off its pumpkin head
BoggedDrops 2 mushrooms
Saddled animalTakes the saddle off (Java 1.21.6 and later)

Blocks

  • Pumpkin: turns it into a carved pumpkin and drops pumpkin seeds.
  • Beehive or bee nest at full honey: drops 3 honeycomb.
  • Tripwire: cuts it without setting off the trap.
Angry beesPut a campfire under the hive first, or the bees will attack when you take the honeycomb.

Collecting blocks

Breaking these with shears gives you the block itself instead of nothing or a different drop:

BlockWithout shears
LeavesSaplings, sticks or apples
CobwebString, with a sword
Short grass and fernSometimes seeds
Dead bushSticks
VineNothing

Shears also break wool and leaves much faster than your hand.

Enchantments

Efficiency, Unbreaking and Mending all work on shears. On Bedrock they can also get Silk Touch.

Cheat sheet

  • 2 iron ingots, diagonal
  • Sheep, mooshrooms, pumpkins, hives
  • Collect leaves, cobwebs and vines
  • Cut tripwires safely
Materials PlannerPlan Minecraft build materials and calculate stacks, shulker boxes and chests

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