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Mining is an incredibly tedious and slow skill to train. However, it is one of the best money makers in the game once you gain the ability to mine Rune Ore.
Rune ore sells for approximately 11k per ore, meaning a full inventory of 28 will get you over 308k!
And you’ll want the best tool for the job if you want to obtain the best experience rates quickly!
There are even some monsters which can only be killed with a decent pickaxe, like Guardians in Chambers of Xeric, or the Rune Golems in the Wilderness resource area.
So let’s rank some of the best pickaxes in Old School RuneScape that’ll make your life much easier.
10. Iron Pickaxe
While this isn’t a great pickaxe, if you want to start mining you will need to start using the iron pickaxe – as it’s available from level 1 Mining and much better than the alternative, the bronze pickaxe.
This iron pickaxe is easily obtainable, even for F2P players, and spawns for free in a few locations – such as by the Rellekka Rock Crabs.
Alternatively you can pick this up at any pickaxe shop in the game.
Members may want to keep this pickaxe in their bank too, as it’s needed for a medium level clue at the Digsite.
9. Steel Pickaxe
Steel is the next obvious upgrade from the Iron pickaxe, and requires a Mining level of just 5 to mine with it.
I would estimate that the Steel Pickaxe is roughly 4% better than the iron pickaxe, so it’s most certainly a welcome upgrade.
Like the Iron Pickaxe, you can pick this up at any pickaxe shop in round Gielinor.
Alternatively you can thieve this from H.A.M. guards in the H.A.M hideout, which will take no time at all!
The steel pickaxe is also needed for an easy clue near the limestone mine. So I would recommend holding onto this for easy access.
8. Black Pickaxe
The Black Pickaxe is quite unique, and one of the most used in the entire game.
It requires level 10 Mining to use, and is the next best after the steel pickaxe.
But mining is not the only thing players use pickaxes for. Many players use the Black Pickaxe for Blood Runecrafting and the Abyss.
This is because it’s the only pickaxe with 0.01 kg’s of weight, making it the lightest pickaxe in the game.
Carrying this combined with the graceful set allows you to run for much longer, increasing your max efficiency.
This pickaxe is only obtainable from beginner and easy clue scrolls, making it quite rare, especially amongst Ironmen. Alternatively if you have access to the Grand Exchange you should be able to snag one there.
7. Rune Pickaxe
For many years, the Rune Pickaxe was the go-to pickaxe for both members and non-members.
And it held the title for the best pickaxe in the game for a long time.
While it may have lost its former title, it is still the very best pickaxe you can use in F2P.
As a result, it’s still widely used throughout Old School.
As a non-member, you can only obtain the Rune Pickaxe from shops in The Dwarven mines, or the Mining Guild.
Members can buy this pickaxe at a variety of shops, as well as receive it as a drop from a few bosses such as Scorpia, General Graardor, and The Gauntlet.
Or an easy way to get the pickaxe is to complete the quest “Between a Rock…” which presents the pickaxe as a reward!
6. Dragon Pickaxe
From here on out, all the pickaxes listed are only available for Members.
And we have the Dragon Pickaxe, the second best in the game, starting us off into the member section.
You’ll need a mining level of 61 to use this truly awesome pickaxe. It’s 5.88% more effective than the Rune Pickaxe, which becomes quite noticeable when you’re competing with other players for the same ore.
This pickaxe also comes with a special ability – however you’ll need 60 Attack to wield the pickaxe to make use of this ability(Rock Knocker).
This temporarily increases your mining level by +3, and can be used to mine ores you do not yet have the level for.
So for example, if you wanted to mine an Adamant Ore but only had 67 mining, you would be able to use the special to boost to 70 mining to quickly attempt to mine it. Quite useful!
And lastly, this pickaxe is required for a master clue step at the soul altar.
5. Dragon Pickaxe (or)
Ornament kits are often sought after by players looking to personalize their gear.
This ornament kit gives the Dragon Pickaxe an all new look, and requires a Zalcano Shard.
You can get a Zalcano shard as a very rare drop from Zalcano at a 1/750 drop rate. If you’re looking to personalize your equipment, this is the item for you.
Zalcano is also a mining skilling boss, which means you should be able to snag some really great experience and loot if you decide to give it a try!
The stats of the upgraded pickaxe are the exact same as the Dragon Pickaxe.
4. Dragon Pickaxe (upgraded)
Similar to the previous entry on this list, this version of the Dragon Pickaxe is solely cosmetic and has no stat differences.
But it does look great.
To get this very cool-looking upgrade, you’ll need to use a Dragon Pickaxe upgrade kit on your Dragon pickaxe.
The upgrade kit can only be obtained from Last Man Standing and costs the player 14 LMS points.
3. 3rd age Pickaxe
This is probably the nicest looking (and definitely the most expensive) pickaxe on this list.
The 3rd age pickaxe is only for the adventurer who prefers the… finer things in life.
This is because if you wish to obtain this beautiful pickaxe, you better be ready to shell out 2 billion coins.
It is also one of the rarest items in the entire game.
Alternatively, you’d have to get insanely lucky on a Master Clue Casket… 1/313k lucky, to be precise.
That’s a 0.0000031% chance.
As the drop rate for this pickaxe is so low, there are only a handful of them in the game, with the majority of them owned by the richest players.
Stats-wise it’s tied with the Dragon Pickaxe.
2. Infernal Pickaxe
Training Mining and Smithing at the same time can make your grind a lot less, well… grindy!
The Infernal Pickaxe has a special effect which gives a one-in-three chance of your ore instantly combusting and turning straight into a bar, giving you the equal amount of Smithing experience you’d normally receive.
No need for coal or a furnace!
To obtain this awesome pickaxe, you’ll need to combine a Smouldering Stone with a Dragon Pickaxe – this will require a very high Smithing level of 85 to accomplish, but the effects are well worth it.
1. Crystal Pickaxe
And finally, the number one pickaxe in all of Old School RuneScape (and my personal favorite):
The Crystal Pickaxe!
This pickaxe has the highest requirements of any pickaxe requiring, 71 Mining and completion of the master level quest Song of The Elves.
Overall, this pickaxe is roughly 3% better than the Dragon Pickaxe, making it a much better alternative if you don’t mind the cost of using it.
It’ll degrade over time, and can mine a total of 10,000 ore before it entirely degrades.
Once it degrades, it’ll have the same stats as a Dragon Pickaxe. So it’s not a total loss, and will simply need to be recharged again with Crystal Shards.
