Shears are one of the cheapest tools in Minecraft and one of the most useful. Two iron ingots buys you a pair, and from then on you can collect things the game otherwise won’t let you keep: full leaf blocks, intact cobwebs, wool straight off a living sheep, and honeycomb from a hive.
If you have only ever used shears to grab wool, you are missing most of what they do. This guide covers how to craft them, every block and mob they work on, the enchantments worth putting on a pair, and the small tricks that earn shears a permanent slot in your hotbar.
How to craft shears
Shears take two iron ingots and nothing else. You can make them in the 2×2 grid in your inventory or at a crafting table. Place the two ingots on a diagonal. In the 2×2 grid, put one ingot in the top-right box and one in the bottom-left box. At a crafting table, the same diagonal works: one ingot in the second box of the top row and one in the first box of the middle row.
That diagonal is the only valid shape. If you lay the ingots side by side or stack them vertically, the recipe won’t fill the output slot. You cannot smelt or trade for shears directly, though wandering traders and some loot chests occasionally carry a pair, so check before you spend the iron.
A fresh pair of shears has 238 uses before it breaks. Most actions cost one point of durability, so a single pair lasts a long time across normal play. When you need them to last even longer, enchantments help, and there is a section on those below.
Shearing sheep and other mobs
The first thing most players do with shears is collect wool. Point at a sheep and use the shears on it. The sheep drops one to three wool in its body color and walks away unharmed. Killing a sheep gives you only one wool, so shearing is the better way to farm it. A sheared sheep regrows its wool after it eats a grass block, which means a small pen of sheep over grass becomes a renewable wool supply.
You can dye a sheep before you shear it, and the wool comes out in that color. White sheep are the most flexible because you can dye the wool itself after collecting it, but a pen of pre-dyed sheep saves you the extra step if you always want the same color.
Mooshrooms react to shears too, and the result is permanent. Using shears on a mooshroom drops five mushrooms and turns the animal into a regular cow. A red mooshroom gives red mushrooms, and a brown mooshroom gives brown mushrooms. Because the change cannot be undone, breed up your mooshrooms before you shear any of them.
Snow golems also respond to shears. Using shears on a snow golem removes the carved pumpkin from its head and shows the face underneath. The golem keeps working after that, so this is purely a cosmetic choice.
Getting honeycomb from bees
Shears are how you harvest honeycomb without breaking a bee nest or hive. Wait until the nest reaches its full honey level, shown by the honey dripping from the front and the block looking visibly fuller. Use shears on it to collect three honeycomb.
Harvesting this way angers every bee inside unless you calm them first. Place a campfire one to five blocks directly under the nest, with the smoke rising into it. The smoke pacifies the bees, and you can shear the honeycomb without getting stung. A small ledge or carpet over the campfire stops the smoke from setting anything on fire while still letting it through.
Honeycomb is worth the effort. You use it to craft beehives, candles, and honeycomb blocks, and you rub it on copper to wax the block and stop it from oxidizing further.
Harvesting blocks with shears
Shears change what a block drops when you break it, and that is where most of their value hides. Several blocks only give you their actual item if you cut them with shears.
Leaves are the clearest example. Break a leaf block by hand or with most tools and you get the occasional sapling, stick, or apple. Break it with shears and you get the leaf block itself, which is useful for topiary, hedges, and color in builds. Shears also break leaves much faster than your fist.
Cobwebs work the same way. Hit a cobweb with anything other than a sword or shears and it takes a long time to break and drops string. Cut it with shears and you get the cobweb block back, which you can place again to slow mobs or decorate a spooky build. A sword breaks cobwebs quickly too, but it returns string rather than the block.
Many plants only drop as an item when sheared. This list covers the common ones:
- Vines, weeping vines, and twisting vines
- Glow lichen
- Tall grass, short grass, and ferns
- Dead bushes and seagrass
- Nether sprouts and hanging roots
- Small dripleaf
Break any of these by hand and most of them drop nothing at all, or just seeds in the case of grass. Shears let you keep the plant for decoration and replanting.
Wool blocks are also faster to mine with shears than with any other tool, which matters if you are tearing down a large wool structure and want to keep the blocks.
Carving a pumpkin
Place a pumpkin, then use shears on it to carve a face. The block becomes a carved pumpkin and drops four pumpkin seeds. You need a carved pumpkin to build a snow golem or iron golem, and you can wear one on your head to walk past endermen without provoking them. Carving in place is handy when you want the seeds and the carved block from the same pumpkin.
Cutting tripwire
Shears disarm tripwire traps cleanly. Cutting the tripwire string with shears removes it without sending the redstone signal that a snapped string normally triggers. If you find a trapped corridor in a jungle temple or a player-made base, shears let you take the string apart without setting off whatever it was wired to.
Enchantments for shears
You cannot enchant shears at an enchanting table. Instead, combine a pair of shears with an enchanted book on an anvil. Three enchantments apply, and all three are worth considering.
Unbreaking gives each use a chance to skip the durability cost, so the shears last several times longer before breaking. Mending repairs them with experience orbs you pick up, which turns a single pair into a tool you may never have to replace. Efficiency speeds up the blocks shears can mine, most noticeably leaves and wool.
If you only add one enchantment, Mending is usually the pick for a tool you plan to keep. Pair it with Unbreaking and a single pair of shears can outlast an entire world.
Tips and common mistakes
Keep a spare pair of iron ingots or a second pair of shears in your storage. Shears are cheap, but running out mid-project while clearing leaves or collecting wool is annoying.
Use shears, not a sword, when you want to keep leaf blocks or cobwebs. A sword clears them but gives you the wrong drop. Save the sword for when you just want them gone.
Shear your mooshrooms only when you mean to, since the change to a normal cow is permanent and you lose the mushroom-making animal for good.
When harvesting honeycomb, set the campfire before you shear, not after. Reaching the nest first and then realizing the bees are loose usually ends with several stings.
Frequently asked questions
How many iron ingots do shears need?
Two iron ingots, placed on a diagonal in the crafting grid. There is no cheaper recipe, and shears cannot be made from any other material.
How much durability do shears have?
A pair of shears has 238 uses. Unbreaking and Mending both extend that, and Mending can keep a pair going indefinitely if you pick up experience while you use them.
Do shears hurt sheep?
No. Shearing a sheep collects its wool without dealing any damage, and the sheep grows the wool back after eating grass.
Can you enchant shears?
Yes, but only on an anvil with an enchanted book, not at an enchanting table. The available enchantments are Efficiency, Unbreaking, and Mending.
What is the fastest way to collect honeycomb?
Place a campfire under a bee nest or hive, wait for the honey level to fill, and use shears on it. The smoke keeps the bees calm so they don’t attack.
Are shears faster than a sword on leaves?
Shears break leaves quickly and return the leaf block, while a sword breaks them at a similar speed but gives you the usual sapling or stick drops instead of the block.
Worth a permanent slot
For two iron ingots, shears unlock wool farming, honeycomb harvesting, full leaf and cobweb collection, pumpkin carving, and a quiet way past tripwire. Add Mending to a pair early and you will rarely think about them again, which is exactly what you want from a tool you reach for this often.