What is Golden Shovel in Minecraft?
A golden shovel is a digging tool in Minecraft made from gold. Just like other gold tools, it is a tool of extremes. It is the fastest shovel in the game for digging soft blocks like dirt, sand, and gravel, even faster than a netherite shovel. However, it has the worst durability of any shovel and will break after only 33 uses. This makes it not very useful for large landscaping projects unless you have a lot of gold to spare. Its main advantage is its very high enchantability, which means you can get better enchantments on it for a lower experience cost compared to other materials.
How to get Golden Shovel in Minecraft
You can easily craft a golden shovel. The recipe is very cheap, requiring only one gold ingot and two sticks. On a crafting table, place the gold ingot in the top middle slot and the two sticks directly below it in a vertical line. You can also find a golden shovel as loot. They have a chance to appear in chests inside ruined portals and bastion remnants. Piglins and zombified piglins can also sometimes spawn holding a golden shovel, and they may drop it when you defeat them, though it will probably be damaged.
How to use Golden Shovel in Minecraft
The main use for a golden shovel is to dig soft blocks like dirt, sand, and gravel at a very high speed. You can also use it on a grass block to create a path block. Because it breaks so quickly, it is not recommended for everyday use. Its high enchantability makes it a good tool for "cycling" enchantments at an enchanting table. If you do not like the enchantments being offered for your diamond tools, you can place a cheap item like a golden shovel in the table and enchant it for one level. This will reset the available enchantments, hopefully giving you a better selection for your more valuable tools.
How to craft Golden Shovel in Minecraft
Crafting Table
What can Golden Shovel make in Minecraft
Available Enchantments
Efficiency
Increases mining and digging speed
Fortune
Increases block drops from mining
Silk Touch
Mined blocks drop themselves instead of their usual drops
Unbreaking
Increases item durability
Mending
Repairs item using experience orbs
Curse of Vanishing
Item disappears when player dies
How to Enchant: Use an Enchanting Table, Anvil with Enchanted Books, or find enchanted items in loot chests. Higher levels require more experience and lapis lazuli.