Grindstone Minecraft: Recipe, XP & Enchantment Guide

A grindstone in Minecraft is a utility block that removes enchantments (except curses), repairs gear by merging two matching items and gives back some experience points (XP). It is also the job site block for weaponsmith villagers and it works in both Java and Bedrock Edition.

This Grindstone Minecraft guide covers the crafting recipe, how disenchanting and repairing work, how much XP you get, and when an anvil is the better choice. You will also find an XP chart, Java vs Bedrock differences and fixes for when your grindstone is not working.

Grindstone Minecraft: Quick Facts

• Grindstone Minecraft uses: Remove enchantments (curses stay), repair gear by merging two matching items, and reset an item’s prior work penalty.

• XP: Gives back some XP when it removes enchantments.

• Recipe: 2 sticks, 1 regular stone slab and 2 planks of any wood type.

• Mined with: Any pickaxe (it drops nothing without one).

• Stack size: 64.

• Renewable: Yes.

• Found naturally in: Village weaponsmith buildings.

• Villager role: Weaponsmith job site block.

• Added in: Java Edition 1.14 and Bedrock Edition 1.11.

How to Make a Grindstone in Minecraft?

You can craft a grindstone with 2 sticks, 1 regular stone slab and 2 wooden planks. The planks can be any wood type and you can mix different types in the same recipe. You need a crafting table, because the recipe does not fit in the 2×2 inventory grid.

Grindstone Minecraft Recipe 

Place the items in the 3×3 crafting grid like this:

Leave the bottom row empty. Then drag the grindstone from the result slot into your inventory.

Use a regular stone slab. Cobblestone slabs, smooth stone slabs and other slab types are different blocks and the recipe does not accept them.

How to Get the Crafting Materials?

You do not need much to make a grindstone. In total you need two logs and three cobblestone, plus a furnace and some fuel. If you already have a crafting table one log is enough.

Start with the wood. Put one log in the crafting grid to get 4 planks then place 2 of those planks vertically to get 4 sticks. That leaves you with the 2 planks the recipe needs and you will have extra sticks to spare. If you do not have a crafting table yet turn a second log into 4 planks and craft one.

Next, make the stone slab. Smelt 3 cobblestone in a furnace to get 3 stone blocks, or mine stone directly with a Silk Touch tool and skip the furnace. 

Place the 3 stone blocks in a horizontal row on the crafting table to get 6 stone slabs. You only need one and it must be a regular stone slab, because cobblestone slabs will not work in this recipe. 

If you already have a stonecutter, you can cut a single stone block into 2 stone slabs instead. Once you have the sticks, planks and slab, follow the grindstone recipe above to craft it.

Where to Find a Grindstone Minecraft Villages Have?

If there is a village nearby, you can skip crafting altogether. Grindstones generate inside weaponsmith buildings which are easy to spot because the grindstone sits next to the workbench.  Break it with any pickaxe to collect it. The block drops nothing without a pickaxe, so make sure you bring one.

What Does a Grindstone Do in Minecraft?

A grindstone in Minecraft does two main jobs, it removes enchantments from gear and it repairs gear by merging two matching items. It has two input slots and one output slot. Put in one enchanted item to disenchant it or two matching items to repair them. 

How to Disenchant Items With a Grindstone in Minecraft?

To disenchant with a grindstone in Minecraft, place one enchanted item in either input slot. The output is the same item with all non curse enchantments removed and you get some XP back.

You cannot pick which enchantment to remove. The grindstone strips all of them, including Mending and there is no undo, so check the item first. Curses always stay and durability, custom names and armor trims are kept. An enchanted book becomes a plain book.

Repairing Items

To repair gear with a Minecraft grindstone, place two items of the same type and material in the input slots, such as two iron swords or two diamond pickaxes. You get one repaired item in return.

The new durability is the remaining durability of both items added together plus a bonus of 5% of the item’s maximum durability (rounded down). The result cannot go above the maximum durability.

For example an iron pickaxe has 250 maximum durability. If two iron pickaxes each have 100 durability left the result is 100 + 100 + 12 = 212 durability.

Both input items are used up and the output keeps the custom name and armor trim of the item in the top slot. Any regular enchantments on either item are removed (curses can remain) and you get XP back for them. 

This makes the grindstone best for ordinary gear, or for enchanted gear you no longer need in its current form. If you want to keep the enchantments, use an anvil instead.

Resetting the Prior Work Penalty

Every item has a hidden prior work penalty. Each time you combine or repair an item at an anvil, the penalty grows and so does the XP cost of the next anvil operation on that item. 

The cost climbs quickly, roughly doubling with each use. In Survival and Adventure modes, an anvil refuses any operation that would cost 40 or more levels and shows the message “Too Expensive!”

A grindstone fixes this by resetting the prior work penalty on its output, so the item becomes cheap to work on again. The trade off is that its non curse enchantments are gone and you will need to enchant it again.

How Much XP Does a Grindstone Give?

A grindstone in Minecraft gives anywhere from a few XP points to around 50 for a single enchantment, depending on which enchantment it is and its level. It only drops XP when at least one item in the input slots has non curse enchantments. 

The item’s material and durability make no difference, and merging two plain items gives nothing. Each enchantment has a fixed value based on its type and level. 

The grindstone adds the values together, then drops a random amount between half of the total (rounded up) and the total itself. If the total is an even number, the maximum is one point lower than the total.

Grindstone Minecraft XP Chart 

This chart shows the XP range for a single enchantment at the level listed. Lower levels of the same enchantment give less.

For example, Sharpness V has a value of 45, so the grindstone drops between 23 and 45 XP. Every whole number in that range is equally likely, so the average is about 34 XP.

How XP Is Calculated for Multiple Enchantments?

When an item has several enchantments, the game adds their full values first and then rolls once. It does not add the individual ranges together.

Take a sword with Sharpness V (45), Unbreaking III (21), and Mending I (25). The combined value is 91, so the grindstone drops between 46 (half of 91, rounded up) and 91 XP. If you added the three minimums from the chart instead (23 + 11 + 13), you would get 47, which is one point too high.

The grindstone does not refund the levels you originally spent on enchanting or anvil work. Treat the XP as a small bonus for recycling gear, not as a way to level up. For quick top ups, Bottles o’ Enchanting give 3 to 11 XP per throw and if you need XP in bulk our XP farm guide compares farm designs for Survival mode.

Does a Grindstone Give XP When Repairing?

Yes, but only if at least one of the two items has non curse enchantments. The grindstone counts the enchantments on both items, adds their values and drops XP from that total. Curses never add to the refund because the grindstone cannot remove them.

When Is a Grindstone Worth Using?

A grindstone is most useful when you want to get rid of an enchantment not keep it. If an enchanting table gives you a poor result you can strip it and get part of the XP back, though the lapis lazuli you spent is not returned. 

Enchanted gear from villagers, fishing, or dungeons that you will never use can also become XP instead of sitting in a chest.

A grindstone also helps when enchantments conflict. A trident can have Riptide or Loyalty, but not both, so if you end up with the wrong one, you can wipe the trident and enchant it again. 

It is just as useful when an anvil says an item is “Too Expensive!” Resetting the prior work penalty makes the item cheap to work on again, as long as you accept losing its enchantments. 

Grindstone Minecraft vs Anvil vs Crafting Table 

All three can merge two matching damaged items, but they treat enchantments very differently.

Choose a grindstone when you want to remove enchantments, recover some XP, or clear an item’s repair cost. It keeps custom names, and unlike an anvil it never wears out.

Choose the crafting grid for plain, unenchanted gear. It gives the same durability bonus without needing a separate block but it removes custom names.

Choose an anvil when you want to keep or combine enchantments, rename an item or repair with materials. A grindstone can fix durability but it destroys the enchantments that make valuable gear worth keeping. Most Survival bases are better off with both a grindstone and an anvil nearby.

How to Use a Grindstone With Villagers?

The grindstone is the job site block for the weaponsmith villager. To get one, place an unclaimed grindstone near a villager who has no profession yet, then give them a little time to claim it. Once they do check their profession and trades.

A nitwit cannot take a profession, and a villager who already has a profession and has traded may not switch. Weaponsmiths trade tools and weapons but offers differ between versions and levels, so check the trades in your own world.

Java vs Bedrock: Grindstone Differences

The grindstone Minecraft added in Java 1.14 and Bedrock 1.11 works almost the same way in both editions. 

The main practical difference is placement, in Java it does not need a supporting block, but in Bedrock it pops off if the block it is attached to is removed. If yours disappears on Bedrock, place it on solid ground.

Grindstone Minecraft Not Working? Common Fixes 

The interface shows a red cross over the arrow when the action does not apply. The most common cause is the items you put in. 

A single unenchanted item has nothing to remove, so add an enchanted item or a second item of the same type. 

Merging also only works with two items of the same type and material, such as two iron swords, and some items cannot be placed in the grindstone at all. 

If two enchanted books will not combine, process them one at a time. If the grindstone works but the result is not what you expected check these points:

• No XP: XP only comes from removed enchantments, so merging two plain items gives none.

• A curse is still there: This is by design. A grindstone cannot remove Curse of Binding or Curse of Vanishing.

• Nothing dropped when you mined it: You need a pickaxe to collect a grindstone.

Conclusion 

The grindstone in Minecraft is a utility block that removes enchantments, gives back some XP, and repairs gear by merging two damaged items. Its biggest limit is that it strips every non curse enchantment, including Mending, so check your item before using it. 

Use a grindstone for spare gear and unwanted enchantments and use an anvil when you want to keep or combine enchantments. Keep both nearby and you will never have to lose a valuable upgrade by accident. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you make a grindstone in Minecraft?

You can make a grindstone with 2 sticks, 1 regular stone slab and 2 wooden planks. On a crafting table, put the sticks in the top corners, the slab in the top middle and the planks in the left and right slots of the middle row. Leave the bottom row empty.

Does a grindstone remove Mending?

Yes, a grindstone removes Mending along with every other non-curse enchantment. You cannot choose which enchantments to keep, so use an anvil instead if you want to repair a Mending item without losing the enchantment.

How much XP does a grindstone give?

It depends on the enchantments you remove. A single enchantment gives from a few XP up to about 50, such as 23 to 45 XP for Sharpness V. The grindstone adds the values of all removed enchantments and drops a random amount between half of the total and the total. Items with no enchantments give no XP.

Can a grindstone remove curses?

No, a grindstone cannot remove Curse of Binding or Curse of Vanishing. It removes all other enchantments, but both curses stay on the item and they do not add to the XP you get back.

Is a grindstone better than an anvil?

Neither is better in every case. A grindstone removes enchantments, gives back some XP and repairs two matching items without costing XP levels, but the result loses its enchantments. An anvil keeps and combines enchantments, renames items and repairs with materials, but it costs XP levels. Most players keep both nearby.