To get flint and steel in Minecraft, combine 1 flint with 1 iron ingot in any two slots of a crafting grid. The recipe is shapeless, so the ingredients do not need a specific position. You can craft it in your inventory without a crafting table, then use it to light fire, Nether portals, campfires, candles, and TNT.
How to get flint and steel in Minecraft
The fastest method is crafting. You need two items: flint and an iron ingot. Flint comes from breaking gravel, while an iron ingot comes from smelting raw iron or iron ore in a furnace.
- 1 flint
- 1 iron ingot
- An inventory crafting grid or crafting table
You do not need sticks, coal, a furnace, or a crafting table at the final crafting step. The inventory grid is large enough because this is a two-ingredient recipe.
How to find the ingredients
Get flint from gravel
Find gravel near rivers, beaches, caves, oceans, and underground pockets. Break gravel blocks with your hand or any tool. Gravel sometimes drops flint instead of another gravel block.
If gravel keeps dropping as gravel, collect the blocks and place them again before breaking them. You can also use a shovel to clear gravel faster. A shovel enchanted with Fortune improves your chance of getting flint, while Silk Touch makes gravel drop as gravel and is not useful for this purpose.
Once you get one flint, you have enough for the recipe. Save extra flint for arrows or trading with villagers.
Get an iron ingot
Mine iron ore or deepslate iron ore, then smelt it in a furnace with fuel. You can also smelt raw iron in a furnace or use a blast furnace to process it faster.
Iron ore usually appears underground and is common enough to find during early mining. Mine it with at least a stone pickaxe or a stronger pickaxe so the ore drops correctly. After smelting, the furnace produces iron ingots that can be used for tools, buckets, shields, armor, and flint and steel.
| Ingredient | Quantity | How to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Flint | 1 | Break gravel |
| Iron ingot | 1 | Smelt raw iron or iron ore |
How to craft flint and steel
The recipe is shapeless, which means you can place the flint and iron ingot in any two spaces. You do not need to match a pattern or use all nine spaces in a crafting table.
- Open your inventory or a crafting table.
- Place 1 flint and 1 iron ingot in any two crafting slots.
- Take the flint and steel from the output slot.
- Move it to your hotbar so you can use it.
In the inventory, place the two ingredients in the 2x2 crafting grid. In a crafting table, use any two positions in the 3x3 grid. For example, you can put the flint in the upper-left slot and the iron ingot directly beside it, but any arrangement works.
The result is one flint and steel. The iron ingot is consumed, so you need another ingot for every additional flint and steel you craft.
Other ways to find flint and steel
Crafting is normally easier than searching, but flint and steel can also appear as chest loot. Check chests in ruined portals and Nether fortresses when exploring. Finding one this way saves your iron and flint, which can help during a fast Nether trip.
Ruined portals are especially useful because they can appear in many Overworld and Nether environments. If you find a ruined portal chest, check it before leaving. Nether fortress chests can also contain flint and steel, although reaching a fortress usually requires entering the Nether first.
Some villager trades can also provide flint or flint and steel depending on the villager profession and edition. Trading is not usually the quickest option for a first tool, but it can help if you have emeralds and cannot find gravel or iron.
How to use flint and steel safely
Hold flint and steel in your hand and use it on a suitable block. On PC, this is normally the right mouse button. On consoles and mobile devices, use the button assigned to interact or place blocks.
- Use it on obsidian to activate a Nether portal.
- Use it on the ground or another solid surface to place fire.
- Use it on campfires, candles, and candle cakes to light them.
- Use it on TNT to ignite the TNT.
- Use it on a creeper to force it to start exploding.
Be careful around wood, leaves, wool, hay bales, and other flammable blocks. Fire can spread through nearby flammable materials, especially in forests, wooden houses, and enclosed builds. Keep a water bucket nearby when lighting fire in a survival base.
To light a Nether portal, build a valid obsidian frame, stand outside it, and use flint and steel on the inside of the frame. The portal activates when fire appears in the empty space inside the obsidian.
When using it on TNT, move away immediately after igniting the block. If you are sneaking while using flint and steel on TNT, the behavior can differ because you may place fire instead of directly activating it.
How long does flint and steel last?
Flint and steel has 64 durability, so it can perform many fire-related uses before breaking. The durability decreases when you successfully use it to ignite something. You can check its durability by looking at the item bar in your inventory or hotbar.
It does not lose durability simply because you select it or swing it. If you accidentally use it on an unsuitable surface, it may not create fire and generally does not consume a use.
Repairing flint and steel
Combine two damaged flint and steel items in a crafting grid or grindstone to restore durability. The repaired item combines the remaining durability of both tools and adds a small repair bonus.
You can also repair it in an anvil with another flint and steel, although this costs experience. Unbreaking increases its lifespan, and Mending can restore durability when you collect experience orbs. These enchantments are useful if you regularly light portals, TNT, campfires, or large areas.
Java and Bedrock Edition differences
The basic recipe works the same way in Java Edition and Bedrock Edition: combine 1 flint with 1 iron ingot in any two crafting slots. Both editions allow you to craft it in the inventory grid, and both use the item for lighting fires, Nether portals, campfires, candles, and TNT.
The appearance of menus and the exact controls vary by platform, but the ingredients and crafting method do not change. If the recipe does not appear in your recipe book, you can still place the items manually in the crafting grid.
Common mistakes and faster alternatives
- Do not use Silk Touch on gravel if you need flint. Silk Touch gives you gravel instead.
- Do not mine iron ore with a wooden pickaxe. Use a stone pickaxe or better.
- Do not search for steel as a separate item. Minecraft uses an iron ingot in this recipe.
- Do not waste the tool by repeatedly lighting blocks around a wooden base.
- Keep a spare flint and iron ingot in a chest near your Nether portal.
If you need a flint and steel immediately, search a nearby ruined portal chest before mining. If you are starting from nothing, mine a small amount of gravel first, then collect iron while exploring or underground. Once you have both ingredients, the inventory recipe takes only a few seconds.
