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How to Craft Iron Sword in Minecraft

Iron Sword in Minecraft, drawn from the game's own item texture. Melee combat.

Stand at a Crafting Table with 2 Iron Ingots and 1 Stick and you can make an Iron Sword. Place them as two Iron Ingots stacked in the middle column and a single Stick in the bottom-middle cell. Done once, that is 1 Iron Sword. One lasts 250 uses.

Iron Sword Item ID and Give Command

The item ID for Iron Sword is minecraft:iron_sword. In commands the namespace may be left off, so iron_sword works too. Checked against Minecraft Java 26.2.

Give yourself one
/give @p iron_sword
Give several at once
/give @p iron_sword 5
Give it to a named player
/give Steve iron_sword 1

Cheats have to be on for Iron Sword to appear this way, and the same command works on Bedrock Edition, where the name is written the same.

Repairing Iron Sword

Iron Sword lasts 250 uses, and it does not have to be thrown away when it runs low: an anvil and some Iron Ingot put it back, and every enchantment on it stays.

There is a cheaper way, and a catch. A grindstone merges two worn Iron Sword items without costing levels, but it removes every enchantment while it does so.

Mending can go on Iron Sword, and that is the only repair that costs nothing at all: the experience you pick up flows into the item instead of into your own level, so it never sees an anvil again.

Overview

The Iron Sword deals 6 attack damage and has 250 durability. A reliable mid-game weapon. Iron Sword uses a shaped recipe: the ingredients only work in the pattern shown.

The iron sword was already in the game in Minecraft Beta 1.0, the oldest release with an English language file to read, so this recipe is at least that old. The recipe itself last changed in Minecraft 1.21.2. Guides written before that release show a different set of ingredients for the iron sword, so check the grid above rather than the video.

The materials come together from a few sources: you will be working with iron ingot (smelt iron ore) and stick (craft from planks).

Stack Maths

Per craft 2 iron ingots buy 1 iron sword; per stack 64 buys 32. Bring 32 sticks along for the ride. It divides evenly, no iron ingots left over.

Which Material Lasts Longest

Durability of every material this item comes in, weakest first.
Golden SwordGolden SwordGold32
Wooden SwordWooden SwordWood59
Stone SwordStone SwordStone131
Iron SwordIron SwordIron250
Diamond SwordDiamond SwordDiamond1561
Netherite SwordNetherite SwordNetherite2031

What It Does In A Fight

Swings before it breaks
125 swings
Attack damage
6
Attacks per second
1.6
Enchantability
14

Calculated from Minecraft Java 26.2’s own block hardness and tool speed values, without enchantments, Haste or Mining Fatigue. Bedrock Edition publishes no equivalent figures, so these are Java only.

Materials Needed

ItemAmountWhere to Find
Iron IngotIron IngotIron Ingot2xSmelt iron ore
StickStickStick1xCraft from planks

Gather 2x Iron Ingot (smelt iron ore) and Stick (craft from planks), then take the lot to a Crafting Table.

The Full Chain

Stick, then Iron Ingot, then the Iron Sword. All in: 2 Iron Ore and 2 Planks.

  1. 1
    2StickStick4Stick
  2. 2
    2Iron IngotIron Ingot2Iron IngotFurnace, repeat 2x
  3. 3
    Iron SwordIron SwordIron Swordthis page

Gather this first

2Iron Ore2Planks

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. 1

    Iron IngotIron Ingot2x Iron Ingot

  2. 2

    StickStickStick

  3. 3

    Iron Sword

Minecraft crafting recipe for Iron Sword: 2 x Iron Ingot, 1 x Stick in a crafting table, making 1 Iron Sword.

Tips & Notes

  • Shopping list: 2x Iron Ingot and 1x Stick. Plan the Iron Ingot first: smelt iron ore.

Uses for Iron Sword

  • Melee combat
  • Mob farming

View detailed item stats, durability and properties for Iron Sword on the Astroworld Items Database.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I need to craft an Iron Sword in Minecraft?
Bring 2 Iron Ingots and 1 Stick to a Crafting Table and you can make an Iron Sword. Copy the grid above cell for cell, and one craft produces one Iron Sword.
What do you need to make an Iron Sword from scratch?
Counting all the way down, an Iron Sword comes to 2 Iron Ore and 2 Planks, spread over 3 crafts.
How many hits does an Iron Sword last?
An Iron Sword lasts 125 swings. A hit costs two durability out of 250, where breaking a block costs one, which is why the same material lasts half as long in a fight as it does in a mine.
Where do you find the materials for an Iron Sword?
The materials for an Iron Sword each come from somewhere different. Iron Ingot: smelt iron ore. Stick: craft from planks.
How many Iron Swords do you get from one craft?
The Iron Sword recipe makes one Iron Sword per craft.
What is the item ID for Iron Sword in Minecraft?
The Iron Sword item ID is minecraft:iron_sword, and in a command you can drop the namespace and write iron_sword on its own. Checked against Java 26.2.
What is the give command for Iron Sword?
The command for Iron Sword is /give @p iron_sword, with an optional count after it. It only runs with cheats enabled.
Is the Iron Sword recipe the same in Java and Bedrock Edition?
Yes, the Iron Sword recipe is the same in both editions. Java and Bedrock both build an Iron Sword from 2 Iron Ingots and 1 Stick at a Crafting Table, in the same layout, one at a time.
What version of Minecraft added the Iron Sword?
The iron sword was older than we can prove: already there in Minecraft Beta 1.0, and that is the oldest language file Mojang still publishes, so the trail simply stops. Today the game builds it from 2 Iron Ingots and 1 Stick, as shown above.

Sources

Grid, ingredients and yield
2 Iron Ingots and 1 Stick in, 1 Iron Sword out, Crafting Table. Java 26.2, .
That Bedrock agrees
Bedrock 1.26.40.05, same 2 ingredients.
How far back it goes
Present in Minecraft Java Beta 1.0, the oldest release that exists to check. From all 163 released Java clients, rd-132211 to 26.2.
When the recipe last changed
Walked forward through 50 Java releases from 1.13 onwards; 1.21.2 is the last one that altered it.
Stack size, durability, enchantments
The Astroworld Items Database, built from the same jar.
Break times, damage and wear
Hardness and tool speed, Java 26.2. Calculated, not timed.
The recipe book unlock
What unlocks it in the recipe book. Java 26.2.
The stack sum
Counted, not played: 1 Iron Sword per craft against the stack size.

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