To make a shear in Minecraft, you need two iron ingots which you can get by smelting raw iron in a furnace or blast furnace. Next, open a 2×2 crafting grid and place one iron ingot in the top left corner and the second iron ingot in the bottom right corner. Once they are placed, you will get a shear.
Minecraft is one of the most successful video game titles of the last decade. This iconic sandbox title is about building structures, gathering resources, and crafting blocks and items. There are many types of craftable blocks and items in Minecraft.
In order to gather resources efficiently, players will need various tools in Minecraft, such as pickaxes, hoes, axes, shears, and so on. In this guide, we focus on shear and understand its use as well as how to make shears in Minecraft.
Shears are one of the oldest tools in Minecraft. It was first added to the game in Java Edition Beta version 1.7, released way back in 2011. Without further ado, let us dive into the shear crafting guide.
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How to Make Shears in Minecraft
Shears are inexpensive tools recommended by many players in Minecraft. This tool makes various time-consuming tasks to be finished in no time. To make a shear, all you need is a couple of iron ingots.
1. Collect two iron ingots
As mentioned earlier, shears are cheap tools, and to craft them, you will just need two iron ingots. To get them, you have to smelt raw iron in a furnace or blast furnace.
There are many ways to get raw iron in Minecraft. The easiest way to get them is by mining iron ores. You can easily find iron ores on top of mountains and inside caves in Minecraft.
To mine iron ores, you will need at least a stone pickaxe or a better variant of a pickaxe. It is not possible to mine iron ores using wooden pickaxes.
After mining iron ores, you will get raw iron. Smelt raw iron in a furnace or blast furnace to obtain iron ingots.
2. Craft a shear
To craft a shear, you do not need a crafting table. The 2×2 crafting grid available in every player’s inventory is enough to make a shear.
You can make a shear by placing one iron ingot in the top left corner and the second iron ingot in the opposite corner of the crafting grid, as shown in the above image.
Once two iron ingots are placed correctly, you will get a shear. You can also use the in-game recipe book to see the crafting recipe for shear in Minecraft. As soon as you obtain an iron ingot, the game automatically unlocks all the recipes related to iron,
How to Shear a Sheep in Minecraft
The most common use of shears is cutting the wool of sheep. In Minecraft, many mobs are farmed for their resources. For example, cows drop beef, pigs drop pork chop, and so on. Like so, you can obtain wool from sheep in Minecraft.
There are two ways to obtain wool from a sheep in Minecraft. You can either kill it or use a shear to get its wool. Shearing sheep is usually recommended as it gives more wool blocks while keeping the sheep alive. On the other hand, killing a sheep will cause the player to get only a single wool block at the cost of a sheep’s life.
To cut a sheep’s wool, use your shear on a sheep. Go near a sheep and hold your shear and use it. The sheep will lose its wool and drop 1-2 wool blocks. The sheared sheep will regrow its wool after eating grass from a grass block.
Shear Usage in Minecraft
Shears have many uses in Minecraft. The first and foremost is shearing mobs and blocks. Here is a list of all mobs and blocks on which you cau use shears:
- Sheep: You can get wool from sheep by using shear.
- Mooshroom: Shearing a mooshroom will drop mushrooms.
- Snow golem: Shearing a snow golem with pumpkin headgear will remove the pumpkin.
- Beehive/bee nest: Shearing honey-filled beehive or bee nest will drop honeycombs.
- Pumpkins: Shearing a pumpkin will create a carved pumpkin and drop pumpkin seeds.
Shears are also required to obtain and break certain blocks efficiently. Many blocks cannot be obtained without using shearing. Here is a list of all the blocks that you can harvest using shears:
- Cobweb
- Leaves
- Wool
- Tallgrass
- Seagrass
- Ferns
- Dead bushes
- Nether sprouts
- Vines
- Weeping vines
- Twisting vines
- Glow lichen
A smart way to use shears is to deactivate tripwire used in tripwire hooks. As a tripwire is made of strings, shears can break it smoothly without activating the tripwire hook.
Best Enchantments for Shears in Minecraft
A shear is a tool just like a pickaxe and hoe. In Minecraft, you can enchant shears as well. Following is a list of all the enchantments applicable on shears:
- Efficiency: This enchantment increases the efficiency of a tool, making it breakthrough blocks much faster. It has a maximum level of 5.
- Unbreaking: This enchantment lowers the chances of losing durability points when an item is used. Due to this effect, tools, weapons, and armors last longer. It has a maximum level of 3.
- Mending: This enchantment restores the durability points by consuming experience orbs. It only has one level.
- Silk Touch: In Bedrock Edition, you can enchant shears with Silk Touch. This enchantment lets you obtain that are generally unobtainable with a normal tool.
- Curse of Vanishing: This is a cursed enchantment that causes an item to disappear after it user drops it upon dying.
Minecraft Shear FAQ
What villager gives shears?
You can purchase shears from shepherd villagers in Minecraft. In Java Edition, novice level shepherds have a 40% to sell shears for two emeralds, while they always sell shears in Bedrock Edition.
What animals can you shear in Minecraft?
In Minecraft, you can use shears on mooshrooms and sheep. It can also be used on snow golems wearing a carved pumpkin helmet. On shearing a snow golem, you will see snow golem’s cute face.
Can you shear creepers in Minecraft?
Creepers are one of the most common hostile mobs in Minecraft. You cannot use shears on creepers in Minecraft.
What enchantments can you put on shears?
You can put four enchantments on shears in Minecraft: Mending, Unbreaking, Efficiency, and Curse of Vanishing. If you play Bedrock Edition, shears can have Silk Touch as a fifth enchantment.
Suggested reading:
- How to Carve a Pumpkin in Minecraft
- How to Get a Rainbow Sheep in Minecraft
- How to Make Green Dye in Minecraft
- How to Make a Bucket in Minecraft
