How to enchant and disenchant in Minecraft (2023)

Enchantments are incredibly helpful in Minecraft (with the exception of the curse enchantments), and applying them can be achieved in a few different ways. Conversely, if players need to remove enchantments from their gear, there are two defined ways to do so as well.

Newer players may have trouble applying and removing enchantments. Fortunately, the process is pretty simple, no matter which method a player employs. However, before doing so, they will want to make sure they have more than a few experience levels saved up, and having some lapis lazuli in one's inventory can also go a long way.

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How to enchant/disenchant gear as of Minecraft 1.19

A grindstone can remove players' enchantments and reimburse some of their XP (Image via Mojang)

Working with enchantments is easier than ever in Minecraft compared to previous years, so beginners can pick up the enchanting/disenchanting process quickly. As long as you have the necessary resources at hand, you can apply and remove enchantments when required.

Ways to apply enchantments in Minecraft:

1. Create an enchanting table with four obsidian, two diamonds, and a book in a crafting table. Place the table down and interact with it. Insert the gear you wish to enchant along with lapis lazuli to fuel the enchantment process. Then select one of the enchantments provided in the list in the top-right of the enchanting menu.
2. Make an anvil block in a crafting table by combining four iron ingots and three iron blocks. Interact with the anvil after it's placed and combine the gear you'd like to enchant with an enchanted book or an item of the same type as your gear (combine a regular bow with an enchanted bow, for example). Two enchanted pieces of gear can also be combined together.

Ways to remove enchantments in Minecraft:

1. Make a grindstone in a crafting table by combining two sticks, a stone slab, and any two wooden plank blocks. Then place and interact with the grindstone. Put your enchanted item into the grindstone's input slots, then remove the now-disenchanted gear from the output slot. You'll also receive some experience back depending on the enchantments and their levels applied to the gear. Keep in mind that items enchanted with Curse of Vanishing or Curse of Binding cannot have these cursed enchantments removed by the grindstone.
2. Combine an enchanted item and an item of the same type that isn't enchanted in the crafting grid. This should combine the two items into a standard version of the item without any enchantments present. Like the grindstone method, curse enchantments cannot be removed through crafting table combinations.

These are the only ways to enchant and disenchant items in vanilla Minecraft. However, there are plenty of mods that expand the utility of enchantments, including applying or removing them.

Mojang may introduce additional methods to remove enchantments in the future, but these are the options currently available for most Minecraft players that aren't playing the game with mods, add-ons, or resource packs.