How to Get Smooth Stone in Minecraft: A Step-by-Step Guide

Minecraft is a world of endless creativity, and one of the most timeless and useful building materials you can craft is smooth stone. Whether you're constructing sleek architecture, crafting tools, or designing symbolic ornamental pieces, smooth stone adds a polished, refined look that elevates any structure. But how do you actually get smooth stone in Minecraft? In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the most effective methods to gather and process smooth stone—from mining the right materials to refining raw cobblestone using an anvil. Let’s dive in!


Understanding the Context

What Is Smooth Stone in Minecraft?

Smooth stone is a refined version of cobblestone, produced when cobblestone is processed with an anvil. While regular cobblestone is the block dropped by crushing stone with a hammer, smooth stone offers a sleek, less jagged appearance—ideal for premium builds like stone walls, countertops, and decorative elements.


Step 1: Mine Raw Cobblestone

Key Insights

The first step is to collect raw cobblestone, the base ingredient. Cobblestone is generated by mining stone blocks with a pickaxe.

  • Best Tools: Use a stone pickaxe (efficiency improves with enchantments like Sharpness and Fortune).
  • Where to Find Stone: Stone is found in natural cave walls, mesas, dungeons, and ocean monuments, but the safest way is to mine successfully.
  • Mining Technique: Dig underground, spread your excavation across multiple levels, and mine standing or on knees to withstand falling debris.

Once mined, cobblestone drops directly from stone blocks—no smelting required, perfect for immediate processing.


Step 2: Craft or Mine Smooth Stone Using an Anvil

Final Thoughts

Since Minecraft does not allow direct crafting of smooth stone (unlike iron or gold), the only way to upgrade cobblestone is by processing it in an anvil.

How to Smooth Stone in an Anvil:

  1. Open your anvil interface (3 slotshorizontal).
  2. Place one cobblestone piece in the first slot.
  3. Insert your rough-smoothed stone in the second slot.
  4. Choose the smooth version in the output slot, then press Confirm.

The result? A sturdy, refined smooth stone block ready for immediate use.

> Pro Tip: You can craft a simple anvil using 31 cobblestone and 31 wood planks—perfect for portability or efficiency in multi-village setups.


Alternative Methods & Pro Tips

1. Leverage Volcanic and Ocean Monuments

These natural structures often contain lots of cobblestone, which you can mine quickly. The surrounding lava pools or deep sea vents offer handy exposure of stone blocks.

2. Use Boat Transport to Reef Settlements

Sailing to coral reefs or monument-rich islands allows easy access to cobblestoneahrt and enables fast resource gathering.

3. Automation with Redstone

For large-scale production, consider attaching cobblestone to redstone-powered hoisting cranes or conveyor belts—great for industrial builds or automated crafting setups.

4. Name Your Smooth Stone Blocks

To avoid clutter, rename your smooth stone for easy identification. Right-click a block, type a unique name with /set (e.g., /set SmoothStone_01), streamlining inventory management.