Gaming > Game Play How to Get an Axe in Animal Crossing: New Horizons Find your first axe and upgrade a flimsy one By Sam Costello Sam Costello Facebook Twitter Writer Ithaca College Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on June 27, 2021 Reviewed by Jessica Kormos Reviewed by Jessica Kormos Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years' experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.com, Rosenfeld Media, and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Game Play Consoles & PCs Gaming Services Game Play & Streaming Mobile Gaming An axe is an essential tool in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. You'll need wood to build all kinds of recipes, tools, furniture, and more—and you can't get wood without an axe. You don't start with one, and the first one you get is low quality and won't last long. Read on to learn how to get your first axe in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, how to upgrade your axe, and more. How to Get Your First Axe in Animal Crossing: New Horizons The axe is one of the first tools you get in Animal Crossing, but there are a few things you need to do to get it. Follow these steps to get your first flimsy axe: If more than one person is playing the same Animal Crossing game, only the first player will need to do this. After they've done it, the axe recipe will be available to other players. Go talk to Tom Nook. He'll give you the Flimsy Net and Flimsy Fishing Rod. Use those tools to capture to bugs and catch some fish. When you've got a few of each, go to back and talk to Tom Nook again. Donate the fish and bugs to him and he'll give you the recipe for the Flimsy Axe. Collect five tree branches and two stones from the ground on your island. When you've got those, find a workbench, choose the Flimsy Axe recipes, and craft it. Once you've got the Flimsy Axe, you can get wood, cut down trees, and eventually upgrade to better axes. How to Upgrade a Flimsy Axe in Animal Crossing: New Horizons The Flimsy Axe is an essential first step to getting better tools, furniture, and buildings on your island, but the name says it all—this axe is flimsy! It will break after about 40 uses, and you'll need a new one. Don't settle for another Flimsy Axe, though. If you have suitable recipes, you can instead upgrade to the Stone Axe or metal Axe, both of which last a lot longer. Here's what you need to do: First, you need to have the recipes for those better axes to upgrade to a better ax. Perform various tasks around your island until you've amassed 3,000 Nook Miles. When you've got 3,000 Nook Miles, go to the Nook Stop terminal and select Redeem Nook Miles. From there, buy the Pretty Good Tools Recipe. This contains recipes for upgraded axes and other tools. Collect the materials you'll need to upgrade your axe. Check out the next section for the kinds of available axes and what you'll need to make them. When you've got the right materials, find a workbench and use the materials and recipe to craft the axe you want. You don't have to gather materials and craft a new axe every time you need one. Once you've unlocked the axe recipes, those axes then go on sale at the Nook's Cranny store. After an axe breaks, you can buy a new one if you have enough bells. Of course, you can still craft them from raw materials if you prefer that. A Guide to All Axes in Animal Crossing: New Horizons There are four different kinds of axes in Animal Crossing: Hew Horizons. Here's how to get each recipe, what materials they need, and how long each lasts. Axe Type Required Materials Unlock by Durability Flimsy Axe 5 tree branches1 stone Talking and donating to Tom Nook About 40 hits Stone Axe 1 Flimsy Axe3 pieces of wood Buying the Pretty Good Tools Recipe at the Nook Stop About 100 hits Axe 1 Flimsy Axe 3 pieces of wood 1 iron nugget Buying the Pretty Good Tools Recipe at the Nook Stop About 100 hits Golden Axe The Golden Axe DIY Recipe1 Axe1 gold nugget Getting the DIY Recipe after breaking 100 axes About 200 hits Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up! Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies