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How to Make Flint and Steel in Minecraft Download Article Learn how to craft this essential Minecraft tool Co-authored by Zac Churchill
Last Updated: April 20, 2025 References
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Gathering Flint and an Iron Ingot
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Crafting Flint and Steel
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Using Flint and Steel
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Video
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Q&A
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Tips
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Warnings
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This article was co-authored by Zac Churchill. Zac Churchill is a Minecraft Specialist based in Davidson, North Carolina. Zac has played Minecraft for over 10 years and has extensive knowledge of how to play Minecraft and how the game has changed over the different versions. Specifically, Zac has expert experience in survival worlds, large builds on creative mode, and server design/upkeep. He graduated in 2023 with a BA in Sociology and English from Tufts University. This article has been viewed 356,029 times.
The flint and steel item is your basic Minecraft fire starter, alongside the Fire Charge. The recipe is simple, but you do need to know the basics of gathering flint and smelting iron. Listen to Smokey Bear before you use this tool, or that forest fire could take out your base with it.
How to Quickly Craft Flint and Steel in Minecraft
Gather flint by breaking gravel. Mine for iron and smelt it in a furnace to get an iron ingot. If you’re playing Minecraft with advanced crafting enabled, plane an iron ingot and a piece of flint anywhere in the crafting grid to create flint and steel. Drag it into your inventory.
Steps
Part 1 Part 1 of 3:
Gathering Flint and an Iron Ingot
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1 Look for gravel. Gravel is a light grey block that falls when nothing is under it. You can find it in large quantities underwater, on beaches, on village pathways, and occasionally in caves. If you're not near any of these features, just dig underground until you come across it. However, be cautious when digging straight down.
2 Break gravel until you get flint. About 1 in 10 gravel blocks drop a piece of flint instead of gravel when destroyed.[1]XResearch source Using a shovel will let you dig through gravel much faster, and if enchanted with Fortune, it will increase the chances of getting flint.
A shovel requires one material of your choice (wood planks, cobblestone, iron ingot, gold ingot, or diamond) and two sticks, plus a crafting table. On the computer edition, place these in a vertical column with the material on top.
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3 Mine for iron. Iron is fairly common underground and in caves, so you shouldn't have to dig deep to find it. It looks like stone with flecks of beige. You must use a stone pickaxe or better to mine it.
4 Smelt the iron in a furnace. You can't use iron ore until you separate the iron from the stone. Here's how to do it:
Build a furnace out of eight cobblestone using a crafting table. (In the computer edition, fill every square except the center.)
Use the furnace to open a smelting interface.
Place the iron ore in the top slot.
Place coal, wood, or other flammable items in the lower fuel slot. (This will be destroyed.)
Wait for the smelting to finish.
Get the iron ingot from the results slot on the right.
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Crafting Flint and Steel
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1 Craft Flint and Steel on the computer. If you are playing Minecraft on the computer or on a console with advanced crafting enabled, just place an iron ingot and piece of flint anywhere in the crafting grid.[2]XResearch source Drag flint and steel from the results box to your inventory.
If you are playing Minecraft 1.7.1 or earlier, you need to place the flint exactly one square below and one square to the right of the iron ingot.[3]XResearch source
2 Craft Flint and Steel on console or pocket edition. On devices with simple crafting systems, just select the Flint and Steel recipe from the crafting screen.
On Minecraft Pocket edition, flint and steel is only available in version 0.4.0 and later.[4]XResearch source You can only light fires in 0.7.0 and later.[5]XResearch source
All console versions have flint and steel.
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Using Flint and Steel
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1 Protect yourself from fire. Before you start lighting things on fire, learn how to stop it from burning down your base:[6]XResearch source
Fire can spread to any empty block above a flammable surface. The furthest it can jump is one square down, one square to the side, or four squares up.
Solid barriers will not stop the fire from spreading.
Water will extinguish fire.
2 Light a fire. Place the flint and steel in one of your quick slots and select it. You can now use the item the same way you would an equipped pickaxe or other tool. Using the item on a flammable object (such as wood or grass) will start a fire. Using it on a non-flammable object (such as stone) may start a short-lived fire. Here are a few ways to use a fire:
Temporary lighting when you're low on torches
Clearing a forest for a large building project
Lighting enemies on fire — they're flammable too! Creepers will explode, and most other mobs will slowly take damage.
3 Explode TNT. You might find TNT guarding a desert temple, or you can make it yourself by filling the crafting area with alternating gunpowder and sand. Lighting it with flint and steel gives you about four seconds to run before it explodes.[7]XResearch source To give yourself more time, light a flammable block near the TNT and let it spread to ignite the TNT indirectly.
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Community Q&A
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Question How long can a sword last? Community Answer 1,562 for diamond and 60 for wood, but it lasts longer if it has unbreaking. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 19 Helpful 24
Question How do I repair a sword in Minecraft? Gaming_Online Community Answer To repair a sword, craft an anvil or find one in a village, and place the broken sword in the first slot. In the second slot, place another sword that has more strength than the first. After that, a sword will be shown in the third box, take that. Combining the 2 weapons will make a stronger weapon. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 18 Helpful 26
Question How do I find steel in the Minecraft demo version? Lutark Lampri Community Answer The steel in flint and steel refers to iron. You can find iron with the steps in this article. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 11 Helpful 17
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Video
Tips
Some multiplayer servers ban flint and steel to prevent players lighting things on fire (griefing).[8]XResearch source If the recipe isn't working, try again in a single player world. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Flint and steel have a good synergy with netherrack. Right clicking on netherrack will make everlasting fire. Be careful not to walk into it though! You can also make a fireplace using flint and steel with netherrack and other non-burnable blocks, to avoid the spread of fire. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
Flint and Steel can also be found in naturally generated Nether Fortress and Ruined Portal chests. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
Tips from our Readers
The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.
If you are heading out to explore, don't hold flint and steel while you walk. You may accidentally (and randomly) light something on fire!
Another way of lighting TNT is to use redstone. Powered dust or redstone blocks work for the recipe, you just can't use unpowered dust.
Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published Name Please provide your name and last initial Submit Thanks for submitting a tip for review! Advertisement
Warnings
Walking into fire will set yourself on fire. This will deal you damage as long as you stay in the burning block, then for eight seconds (four hearts of health) after you leave it.[9]XResearch source Water will extinguish the flame. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
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Co-authored by: Zac Churchill Minecraft Specialist This article was co-authored by Zac Churchill. Zac Churchill is a Minecraft Specialist based in Davidson, North Carolina. Zac has played Minecraft for over 10 years and has extensive knowledge of how to play Minecraft and how the game has changed over the different versions. Specifically, Zac has expert experience in survival worlds, large builds on creative mode, and server design/upkeep. He graduated in 2023 with a BA in Sociology and English from Tufts University. This article has been viewed 356,029 times. 52 votes - 59% Co-authors: 18Updated: April 20, 2025 Views: 356,029 Categories: Minecraft CraftingArticle SummaryX
1. Break gravel to get flint. 2. Mine for iron. 3. Smelt the iron in a furnace. 4. Place an iron ingot and flint piece on the craft grid. 5. Drag flint and steel to your inventory. Did this summary help you?YesNo
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Download Article Learn how to craft this essential Minecraft tool Co-authored by Zac Churchill 
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Co-authored by: Zac Churchill Minecraft Specialist This article was co-authored by Zac Churchill. Zac Churchill is a Minecraft Specialist based in Davidson, North Carolina. Zac has played Minecraft for over 10 years and has extensive knowledge of how to play Minecraft and how the game has changed over the different versions. Specifically, Zac has expert experience in survival worlds, large builds on creative mode, and server design/upkeep. He graduated in 2023 with a BA in Sociology and English from Tufts University. This article has been viewed 356,029 times. 52 votes - 59% Co-authors: 18 Updated: April 20, 2025 Views: 356,029 Categories: Minecraft Crafting Article SummaryX
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1 Look for gravel. Gravel is a light grey block that falls when nothing is under it. You can find it in large quantities underwater, on beaches, on village pathways, and occasionally in caves. If you're not near any of these features, just dig underground until you come across it. However, be cautious when digging straight down. 
2 Break gravel until you get flint. About 1 in 10 gravel blocks drop a piece of flint instead of gravel when destroyed.[1] Using a shovel will let you dig through gravel much faster, and if enchanted with Fortune, it will increase the chances of getting flint. 
3 Mine for iron. Iron is fairly common underground and in caves, so you shouldn't have to dig deep to find it. It looks like stone with flecks of beige. You must use a stone pickaxe or better to mine it. 
4 Smelt the iron in a furnace. You can't use iron ore until you separate the iron from the stone. Here's how to do it: 
1 Craft Flint and Steel on the computer. If you are playing Minecraft on the computer or on a console with advanced crafting enabled, just place an iron ingot and piece of flint anywhere in the crafting grid.[2] Drag flint and steel from the results box to your inventory. 
2 Craft Flint and Steel on console or pocket edition. On devices with simple crafting systems, just select the Flint and Steel recipe from the crafting screen. 
1 Protect yourself from fire. Before you start lighting things on fire, learn how to stop it from burning down your base:[6] 
2 Light a fire. Place the flint and steel in one of your quick slots and select it. You can now use the item the same way you would an equipped pickaxe or other tool. Using the item on a flammable object (such as wood or grass) will start a fire. Using it on a non-flammable object (such as stone) may start a short-lived fire. Here are a few ways to use a fire: 
3 Explode TNT. You might find TNT guarding a desert temple, or you can make it yourself by filling the crafting area with alternating gunpowder and sand. Lighting it with flint and steel gives you about four seconds to run before it explodes.[7] To give yourself more time, light a flammable block near the TNT and let it spread to ignite the TNT indirectly. Advertisement 
Community Answer 1,562 for diamond and 60 for wood, but it lasts longer if it has unbreaking. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 19 Helpful 24 
Gaming_Online Community Answer To repair a sword, craft an anvil or find one in a village, and place the broken sword in the first slot. In the second slot, place another sword that has more strength than the first. After that, a sword will be shown in the third box, take that. Combining the 2 weapons will make a stronger weapon. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 18 Helpful 26 
Lutark Lampri Community Answer The steel in flint and steel refers to iron. You can find iron with the steps in this article. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 11 Helpful 17 
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