Mekanism: Tools

Overview

Mekanism: Tools is an addon module for the Mekanism mod that focuses entirely on equipment. It adds 65 new items across two major categories: Paxels (a combined pickaxe, axe, and shovel) for all five vanilla tool materials, and complete tool and armor sets for six Mekanism-specific materials. You can browse every item and recipe this mod adds using the tabs at the top of this page.

The six new material tiers span a wide range of power levels. Lapis Lazuli and Glowstone gear is accessible early and offers strong enchantability, while Osmium and Bronze provide solid mid-game options. Steel and Refined Obsidian sit at the top, with Obsidian tools reaching 2,500 durability and 20.0 mining speed, surpassing even Diamond. Every stat in the mod is fully configurable through the Mekanism config file, so server operators can tune the balance to their liking.

Prerequisites

Mekanism: Tools requires the base Mekanism mod. The materials used to craft the new tool and armor sets (Osmium Ingots, Bronze Ingots, Steel Ingots, Refined Glowstone Ingots, and Refined Obsidian Ingots) all come from Mekanism's ore processing and metallurgic systems. You will need at minimum an Enrichment Chamber and a Metallurgic Infuser to produce most of these materials. If you haven't set up basic Mekanism ore processing yet, do that first before diving into this module.

Paxels: The 3-in-1 Multi-Tool

The Paxel is the signature item of Mekanism: Tools. It combines the functionality of a Pickaxe, Axe, and Shovel into a single tool, letting you mine Stone, chop Wood, and dig Dirt without switching items. Every Paxel has a harvest level equal to its material tier for all three tool classes simultaneously.

The recipe is the same across all tiers: place the corresponding Axe, Pickaxe, and Shovel in the top row, with two Sticks (or Iron Ingots for Steel) below. Vanilla Paxels (Wood, Stone, Iron, Gold, and Diamond) use their respective vanilla tool stats. Mekanism material Paxels get boosted stats compared to the regular tools of the same material, with higher durability, faster mining speed, and more damage.

Mekanism Material Tool Sets

Beyond Paxels, the mod adds complete tool sets (Pickaxe, Axe, Shovel, Hoe, Sword, and Paxel) for six materials unique to Mekanism. Each set follows standard vanilla crafting patterns, using the appropriate ingot or gem in place of the usual material. The six materials are ordered here from weakest to strongest.

Lapis Lazuli

The entry-level Mekanism material. Lapis Lazuli tools have only 200 durability and 5.0 mining speed, making them weaker than Iron. Their real advantage is accessibility: Lapis Lazuli is common and available early. With 2 base attack damage and harvest level 2, these tools are strictly a stepping stone. However, their 8 enchantability is decent for early enchanting.

Glowstone

Crafted from Refined Glowstone Ingots, Glowstone tools offer 300 durability and an impressive 14.0 mining speed at harvest level 2. The standout stat is 18 enchantability, the highest of any Mekanism material for tools and tied for highest on armor. This makes Glowstone gear excellent for enchanting. Glowstone Armor also features a unique glowing visual effect with a custom armor model.

Osmium

The workhorse mid-game material. Osmium tools provide 500 durability, 10.0 mining speed, and 4 base attack damage at harvest level 2. These are a solid upgrade from Iron (250 durability, 6.0 speed) and will serve well until you can produce alloys. Osmium Ore generates naturally and is easy to process with basic Mekanism machinery.

Bronze

Bronze tools are a significant step up with 800 durability, 14.0 mining speed, and 6 base attack damage. Bronze Ingots are produced in the Metallurgic Infuser by combining Copper and Tin, so they require a bit more infrastructure. With harvest level 2, Bronze cannot mine Obsidian, but the high durability makes these tools last a very long time.

Steel

Steel tools reach harvest level 3 (able to mine Obsidian), with 850 durability and 14.0 mining speed. At 4 base attack damage and 10 enchantability, Steel is comparable to Bronze in speed but adds the critical ability to harvest Obsidian-tier blocks. Steel Ingots are produced by infusing Iron with Carbon (Coal/Charcoal) in the Metallurgic Infuser. Notably, Steel tool and armor recipes use Iron Ingots for the handle/trim instead of Sticks.

Refined Obsidian

The ultimate tier. Refined Obsidian tools have 2,500 durability, 20.0 mining speed, 10 base attack damage, and 40 enchantability, all at harvest level 3. These stats dwarf Diamond (1,561 durability, 8.0 speed, 3 damage). The Obsidian Paxel pushes even further with 3,000 durability and 25.0 mining speed. Producing Refined Obsidian Ingots requires advanced Mekanism processing, making this a true endgame reward.

Armor Sets

Each of the six Mekanism materials also has a full four-piece armor set (Helmet, Chestplate, Leggings, and Boots). Armor durability uses a base multiplier system: the durability value is multiplied by 11 for Helmets, 16 for Chestplates, 15 for Leggings, and 13 for Boots. This means an Obsidian Chestplate, with a durability multiplier of 50, has 800 total durability.

Toughness is a particularly important stat. It reduces the percentage of damage that bypasses armor at high incoming damage values. Only Osmium (1.0), Steel (1.0), and Refined Obsidian (4.0) have toughness values. For comparison, vanilla Diamond Armor has 2.0 toughness, so Refined Obsidian Armor at 4.0 provides the best damage reduction in the game.

Glowstone Armor Glow Effect

Glowstone Armor has a unique visual feature: it uses a custom glowing armor model that makes the wearer visually distinct. This is purely cosmetic and does not provide any light emission or gameplay benefit, but it looks impressive and makes you easy to spot in dark caves or at night.

Obtaining Materials

All six crafting materials come from the base Mekanism mod. Here is how to obtain each one, roughly ordered by progression difficulty.

Lapis Lazuli

Mined directly from Lapis Lazuli Ore found between Y levels 0-30. No Mekanism processing required. This makes Lapis tools the most accessible Mekanism material, though they are also the weakest.

Osmium Ingots

Osmium Ore generates throughout the Overworld. Smelt it in a Furnace for a 1:1 return, or process it through an Enrichment Chamber for doubled output. Osmium is the bread-and-butter material of Mekanism and you will accumulate plenty as you play.

Bronze Ingots

Created in the Metallurgic Infuser by infusing Copper Ingots with Tin. You need to process both Copper and Tin ores first, then combine them. Bronze is the first alloy material most players produce.

Refined Glowstone Ingots

Produced by processing Glowstone Dust through Mekanism's chemical processing chains. This requires more advanced machinery than basic smelting, but the high enchantability and unique glow effect on the armor make it worthwhile.

Steel Ingots

Created in the Metallurgic Infuser by infusing Iron Ingots with Carbon (from Coal or Charcoal). Steel is a direct upgrade path from Iron and is one of the most commonly produced Mekanism materials.

Refined Obsidian Ingots

The most complex material to produce. Refined Obsidian requires processing Obsidian Dust through multiple chemical processing stages in Mekanism. This typically involves an Osmium Compressor and other advanced machines. The difficulty of production is justified by the material's exceptional stats.

Configuration

Every stat in Mekanism: Tools is configurable through the Mekanism config file. The configuration GUI is accessible in-game through the Mod Options menu and is divided into three sections: General, Armor Balance, and Tool Balance.

The General section contains the MobArmorSpawnRate setting (default 0.03, or 3%), which controls how often hostile mobs spawn wearing Mekanism armor. Set this to 0.0 to disable mob armor spawns entirely, or increase it for a more challenging experience.

The Tool Balance section lets you adjust harvest level, durability, mining speed, attack damage, enchantability, and axe-specific attack stats for each material's regular tools and Paxels separately. The Armor Balance section controls durability multiplier, protection values per slot, enchantability, and toughness. All balance changes require a game restart to take effect.