Minecraft
How to Craft a Bow in Minecraft
To craft a bow in Minecraft you need three sticks and three string. On the Crafting Table the sticks make a C and the string fills the open column. Below are the items, the recipe, and where those pieces come from.
Stick
StringStickStringStickString
Bow| Item | Qty | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Stick |
3 | Put two Wooden Planks in a vertical pair in the inventory grid. One pair makes four sticks. This ingredient is crafted too — station below. |
| String |
3 | Kill spiders or cave spiders (0–2). Break cobwebs with a sword. Cats can drop string too. |
Bow specs
- Difficulty
- Early game
- Where it lives
- Crafted. Skeletons can also drop a bow.
- Where to get it
- Craft on a Crafting Table with three sticks and three string.
- Item ID
-
minecraft:bow - Numerical ID
-
261 - Stackable
- No
- Max stack
- 1
- Renewable
- Yes
- Material
- Item
- Diggable
- No
- Give command
-
/give @p minecraft:bow 1
Ingredient specs
Wooden Planks
Early game- Where to get it
- Punch or axe a log, then convert the log to planks in the 2×2 inventory grid. Oak, birch, spruce and the rest all count.
- Where it lives
- Overworld trees. Any wood biome.
- Item ID
minecraft:oak_planks- Legacy item ID
minecraft:planks- Numerical ID
5- Stackable
- Yes
- Max stack
- 64
- Renewable
- Yes
- Hardness
- 2
- Blast resistance
- 2
- Material
- Wood
- Diggable
- Yes
Stick
Early game- Where to get it
- Put two Wooden Planks in a vertical pair in the inventory grid. One pair makes four sticks.
- Where it lives
- Crafted anywhere you have planks. Also dropped by witches and found in some chests.
- Item ID
minecraft:stick- Numerical ID
280- Stackable
- Yes
- Max stack
- 64
- Renewable
- Yes
- Material
- Item
- Diggable
- No
String
Early game- Where to get it
- Kill spiders or cave spiders (0–2). Break cobwebs with a sword. Cats can drop string too.
- Where it lives
- Overworld night spawns, mineshaft cobwebs, spider spawners.
- Item ID
minecraft:string- Numerical ID
287- Stackable
- Yes
- Max stack
- 64
- Renewable
- Yes
- Material
- Item
- Diggable
- No
How to craft these materials
Stick
Wooden PlanksWooden PlanksStick ×4Three sticks, three string
Two planks stacked in the inventory 2×2 make four sticks, so one pair already covers this craft. String comes from spiders or cave spiders at night (up to two each), or from mineshaft cobwebs broken with a sword. Three of each is the whole recipe.
Sticks in a C
Open the Crafting Table. Put sticks in the top-middle, middle-left, and bottom-middle squares so they look like a C. Drop string in all three squares of the right column. One bow appears on the right. You can mirror it: string on the left column and the C opening that way.
Draw with an arrow in the pack
Keep at least one arrow in the inventory, hold the bow, and hold use until the bow shakes, then release. A short draw barely flies; a full draw hits much harder. Skeletons can drop a spare bow if you would rather loot than farm string.
