What does the Silk Touch enchantment do in Minecraft and how to get it?

Sometimes it takes a special touch.

Image via Microsoft

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Enchantments in Minecraft can sometimes give you abilities and boosts that make them feel like a cheat at times. Certain enchantments can even change the very way you interact with the blocky scenery around you. Probably the best example of that is the Silk Touch enchantment because of the way it completely transforms how you interact with the countless blocks you encounter in the game. Here is what Silk Touch does and how you can get it.

Related: Best Minecraft enchantments for PvP

What is Silk Touch?

Screenshot by DoubleXP

Silk Touch is an enchantment that can be applied to a Pickaxe, Axe, Shovel, or Hoe. These tools are your main way of interact with the environment around you. When put on, any block you break with that tool will be dropped as it currently is instead of any resource dropping from it. For example, if you break a Diamond Block with a Silk Touch Pickaxe, a Diamond Block will drop for you to pick up instead of the individual Diamond item. You can also use this to mine fragile blocks that would usually be destroyed, like Glass, Ice, or Sculk blocks in the Deep Dark biome.

How to get the Silk Touch enchantment?

Getting the Silk Touch enchantment is much like getting other ones. Our recommended way is to get a Fishing Rod with enchantments like Luck of the Sea, Lure, and Mending. Keep fishing until you get a Silk Touch I Enchantment Book. Additionally, you can sometimes trade for Enchantment Books or get the enchantment at an Enchantment Table by paying some experience and Lapis Lazuli, but the fishing method is the most reliable way to get them that we have found.