You’ll need Hardwood and Softwood in Animal Crossing: New Horizons to begin crafting higher tier items. Some of these items that require Hardwood and Softwood are the Shovel and Vaulting Pole, which are both needed once you cross the river to the other side of the island. Below, we’ll show you how to get both types of wood in Animal Crossing.
This guide was created during the first week of Animal Crossing: New Horizons release on the Nintendo Switch. Depending on when you’re reading this guide, some thing may be different due to future updates. However we’ll always try to come back and update these guides! For more of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons Guides & Best-of lists, make sure to check out our dedicated area here!
Getting Hardwood & Softwood
To get any type of wood in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you will need to unlock the Axe. The first type of Axe that you will receive in the game is the Flimsy Axe, which works fine but has a low durability.
To get the Flimsy Axe, you will need to give 2 Creatures to Tom Nook. This can be any combination of unique Fish or Bugs, after giving him them, he will give you the recipe for the Flimsy Axe which can be crafted from 5 Tree Branches and 1 Stone. Both of these materials naturally spawn in the game world.
Once you’ve crafted the Flimsy Axe, walk towards any trees on your island and begin chopping them. You can do this by equipping the axe and then holding the ‘A’ button whilst standing next to a tree. Trees will randomly drop between 1-4 Wood usually, with whether they will be Hardwood or Softwood also being randomly chosen.
