# The Ideal Shovel Enchantments

_Published September 13, 2026_

Fortune III turns gravel into a 100% flint drop — the one shovel fact worth knowing before you enchant.

Shovels get overlooked, but they carry the same enchantment categories as a pickaxe — mining and mining loot — plus one genuinely great, specific use case.

## Fortune III (yes, really)

Mining a block of gravel has a flat 10% chance to drop flint instead of the block. Fortune changes that chance dramatically: Fortune I brings it to 16%, Fortune II to 25%, and **Fortune III makes it 100%** — every single gravel block breaks into flint. If you've ever needed flint for arrows without hunting down a river of gravel piece by piece, a Fortune III shovel through a gravel patch (or a gravel duper/generator) is the fastest source in the game.

## Efficiency V

Shovels already break gravel, sand, dirt, clay, snow, and soul sand quickly; Efficiency V makes large-scale terraforming or clay farming near-instant.

## Silk Touch — situational swap

Swap Fortune for Silk Touch when you specifically want intact grass blocks, mycelium, or podzol rather than their dirt drop — useful for building, less useful for flint farming, and mutually exclusive with Fortune for the same reason as a pickaxe.

## Unbreaking III + Mending

Standard durability pairing — reduced damage rate plus XP-funded self-repair.

## The Fortune Shovel

**Diamond Shovel:** Efficiency V, Fortune III, Unbreaking III, Mending I

[Build the Fortune Shovel →](https://anvilcalc.com/#eyJpIjoiZGlhbW9uZF9zaG92ZWwiLCJlIjpbXSwicCI6MCwibiI6IiIsInQiOltbImVmZmljaWVuY3kiLDVdLFsiZm9ydHVuZSIsM10sWyJ1bmJyZWFraW5nIiwzXSxbIm1lbmRpbmciLDFdXX0)

**Give this build in-game**

Java 26.3:

```
/give @s minecraft:diamond_shovel[enchantments={"minecraft:efficiency":5,"minecraft:fortune":3,"minecraft:mending":1,"minecraft:unbreaking":3}]
```

Bedrock 26.60:

```
/give @s diamond_shovel
/enchant @s efficiency 5
/enchant @s fortune 3
/enchant @s mending 1
/enchant @s unbreaking 3
```

## The Silk Touch Shovel

Keep a second one for grass blocks, mycelium, podzol, or snow layers you want to pick up whole rather than as their converted drop.

**Diamond Shovel:** Efficiency V, Silk Touch I, Unbreaking III, Mending I

[Build the Silk Touch Shovel →](https://anvilcalc.com/#eyJpIjoiZGlhbW9uZF9zaG92ZWwiLCJlIjpbXSwicCI6MCwibiI6IiIsInQiOltbImVmZmljaWVuY3kiLDVdLFsic2lsa190b3VjaCIsMV0sWyJ1bmJyZWFraW5nIiwzXSxbIm1lbmRpbmciLDFdXX0)

**Give this build in-game**

Java 26.3:

```
/give @s minecraft:diamond_shovel[enchantments={"minecraft:efficiency":5,"minecraft:mending":1,"minecraft:silk_touch":1,"minecraft:unbreaking":3}]
```

Bedrock 26.60:

```
/give @s diamond_shovel
/enchant @s efficiency 5
/enchant @s mending 1
/enchant @s silk_touch 1
/enchant @s unbreaking 3
```

See also [Best Enchantments in Minecraft](/guides/best-enchantments-minecraft), which lists the best enchantments for every item with the one decision that matters for each.

To see where this build sits among all your gear, see [Minecraft Enchanting Order](/guides/minecraft-enchanting-order).

## Frequently asked questions

**Does Fortune really work on a shovel for gravel and flint?**

Yes, and the effect is dramatic. Gravel has a flat 10% chance to drop flint instead of the block with no enchantment. Fortune raises that to 16% at level I, 25% at level II, and a full 100% at level III — every gravel block you break with a Fortune III shovel drops flint.

**Can a shovel have Silk Touch and Fortune at the same time?**

No. Fortune and Silk Touch both live in the mining_loot category and explicitly exclude each other on a shovel, exactly as they do on a pickaxe, axe, or hoe — you need two shovels if you want both effects available.

**What blocks does a shovel actually mine faster?**

Gravel, sand, dirt, clay, snow, mycelium, podzol, and soul sand all count as the shovel's correct tool, meaning it breaks them faster than an axe, pickaxe, or bare hands. Efficiency V on top of that makes large-scale terraforming or clay farming close to instant.

**Is it worth keeping a separate Silk Touch shovel?**

Only if you specifically want intact grass blocks, mycelium, or podzol for building rather than their converted dirt drop. In Java Edition it also changes how you harvest snow layers: a non-Silk-Touch shovel drops a snowball per layer, while Silk Touch instead picks up the snow layer block itself. For flint farming or general terraforming, the Fortune shovel is strictly better.