The Axe is a tool in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It’s main purpose is to chop down trees, which will give Hardwood and Softwood as a resource.
Unfortunately, it isn’t unlocked at the start of the game, as you receive it as a reward from Tom Nook. The first Axe you will receive is a Flimsy Axe, which won’t last long before breaking. Below we will show you how and where to get the Flimsy Axe, as well as how to craft it.
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!
Unlocking the Axe
To unlock the Axe, you’ll need to give at least 2 Creatures to Tom Nook. These can be any variation of fish and bugs, as long as they are a unique species that you haven’t given him yet. Once you give 2 Creatures for Tom which he can send to the Museum, he’ll give you some new DIY Recipes as a reward, with one of them being the Axe.
Head to the DIY table right next to Tom Nook, and you’ll see the ability to craft a Flimsy Axe. The material costs for this are 5 Tree Branches and 1 Stone. These are materials which spawn naturally in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, look around your island for them.

Now you can craft a Flimsy Axe. Equip it, and you can start chopping trees by holding down the ‘A’ button. Note that this won’t remove trees, it will only provide you with some Softwood and Hardwood.