Updated November 9, 2026. Applies to Valheim 1.0, patch 1.0.21. Tree drops, axe tiers and recipes come from the community Valheim Wiki. Patch changes come from Iron Gate's own posts on Steam, up to patch 1.0.21 on October 28, 2026.
Wood in Valheim follows your progression. Most new biomes bring a tree with a better wood, and some of those trees just say "too hard" until you bring the right axe. "Battleaxe or Iron Axe for wood cutting?" was still being asked on r/valheim this week, two months after 1.0 launched.
This guide puts the whole system on one page: all 7 wood types, the tree that drops each one, the axe tier it needs, how much you get per tree, and what it's actually for. It also covers the 1.0.21 change that lets you plant Deep North trees at home.
Quick answer: Valheim 1.0 has 7 woods: Wood (every tree, plus bushes and branches), Fine Wood (Birch and Oak), Core Wood (Pine), Ancient Bark (Swamp Ancient Trees), Yggdrasil Wood (Mistlands shoots), Ashwood (Ashlands Scorched Trees) and Timberwood (Deep North Timber Trees). Only three trees have an axe gate: Birch, Oak and Ancient Trees need a Bronze Axe (tool tier 2), and Yggdrasil Shoots need a Black Metal Axe (tier 4). Everything else, including the Deep North and Ashlands trees, falls to a Stone Axe. Oak is the best Fine Wood tree at about 25 per tree. Since patch 1.0.21, Timber Trees drop Timberwood Cones you can plant in the Meadows, Black Forest, Mountain or Plains.
What are all the wood types in Valheim?
Every wood weighs 2.0, stacks to 50 and can go through a portal. The difference is the tree, the axe and the recipes.
| Wood | Tree | Biome | Axe needed (tool tier) | Avg per full tree | Main uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | Every tree, stumps, bushes, branches | All | Stone Axe (0) | 20 to 50 | Workbench, basic build set, early tools |
| Fine Wood | Birch, Oak | Meadows, Plains | Bronze Axe (2) | ~10 Birch, ~25 Oak | Portal, Karve, Longship, Black Metal weapons |
| Core Wood | Pine | Black Forest | Stone Axe (0) | ~15 | Log beams and poles, Bronze and Iron Pickaxe |
| Ancient Bark | Ancient Tree | Swamp | Bronze Axe (2) | ~5 | Battleaxe, Root armor, Longship |
| Yggdrasil Wood | Yggdrasil Shoot | Mistlands | Black Metal Axe (4) | ~10 | Black Forge, Galdr Table, Eitr Refinery |
| Ashwood | Scorched Tree | Ashlands | Stone Axe (0) | ~16 | Ashwood build set, siege machines, Ashlands gear |
| Timberwood | Timber Tree (snowy fir and pine) | Deep North | Stone Axe (0) | ~4 fir, ~12 pine | Timber and Scalewood pieces, Nord weapon casts |
The averages are the wiki's drop tables worked through: a Birch drops 20 items from its logs at 50% Fine Wood, an Oak drops 50 at 50%, a Pine drops 30 at 50% Core Wood, an Ancient Tree always drops 10 total, and a large Yggdrasil Shoot drops 20. Every stump adds 2 Wood, except Scorched Trees (2 Ashwood) and snowy pines (2 Timberwood).
Which axe do you need for each tree?
Chop damage has tiers, like pickaxe damage on ore. The wiki's Damage page puts it plainly: "Ancient Trees, Birch, and Oak require a tool tier of 2, Yggdrasil Shoots require a tool of tier 4. Other trees don't have a requirement."
| Chop tier | Axes | New trees it opens |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Stone Axe | Beech, Fir, Pine, Scorched Tree, Timber Tree |
| 1 | Flint Axe | Nothing new |
| 2 | Bronze Axe, Early Axes | Birch, Oak, Ancient Tree |
| 3 | Iron Axe, Battleaxe, Crystal Battleaxe | Nothing new |
| 4 | Black Metal Axe, Black Metal Battleaxe, Jotun Bane, Skull Splittur | Yggdrasil Shoot |
| 6 | Nord Axe, Berserkir Axes | Nothing new (more damage only) |
The Early Axes are a dual-wield pair crafted at the Workbench from a Curious Axe Head and a Mysterious Axe Head (both from Abandoned Houses) plus 4 Wood, which makes them the only tier-2 axe you can get without bronze.
Two things trip players up here. The Flint Axe does not cut Birch, even though it's the second axe: tier 1 is useless against the tier-2 trees. And the Iron Axe and the Battleaxe can't touch Yggdrasil Shoots, so the first time you hit one in the Mistlands with your old axe you'll see the "too hard" message.
The Nord Greataxe also had a tier bug at launch. Iron Gate's patch 1.0.14 notes (September 17, 2026) say: "Fixed Deep North battleaxes tool tier, can now cut all the trees." On 1.0.21 every Nord axe cuts every tree.
Can you get Fine Wood without a Bronze Axe?
Yes, slowly. Birch and Oak only take damage from tier-2 chop, but a falling tree counts. Fell a Beech so it lands on a Birch or Oak, then roll the log into it until it breaks. A Troll will also smash them for you if you kite it through a grove. You can also break Fine Wood furniture in Ruined Towers and loot Shipwrecks on Black Forest coasts with just a Stone Axe. It's enough for a first Portal (20 Fine Wood, 10 Greydwarf Eyes, 2 Surtling Cores), not for a Karve.
Which axe is best for chopping wood in Valheim?
Stats from the wiki's Axes page, quality 1 to quality 4 chop damage:
| Axe | Chop (Q1 to Q4) | Stamina per swing | Recipe (Q1) | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Axe | 20 to 29 | 5 | 5 Wood, 4 Stone | Crafting menu |
| Flint Axe | 30 to 39 | 6 | 4 Wood, 6 Flint | Workbench |
| Bronze Axe | 40 to 49 | 8 | 4 Wood, 8 Bronze, 2 Leather Scraps | Forge |
| Iron Axe | 50 to 59 | 10 | 4 Wood, 20 Iron, 2 Leather Scraps | Forge lvl 2 |
| Black Metal Axe | 60 to 69 | 14 | 6 Fine Wood, 20 Black Metal, 5 Linen Thread | Forge lvl 4 |
| Jotun Bane | 70 to 79 | 16 | 5 Yggdrasil Wood, 15 Iron, 3 Bilebag, 10 Refined Eitr | Black Forge |
| Nord Axe | 90 to 96 | 16 | Cast Nord Axe hardened at the Frost Foundry | Frost Foundry |
| Battleaxe (2H) | 40 to 47.5 | 16 | 30 Ancient Bark, 35 Iron, 4 Leather Scraps | Forge lvl 2 |
Battleaxe or Iron Axe? The Iron Axe, for felling. Against trees, a one-handed axe swings every 1.3 seconds and the Battleaxe every 1.58 seconds. That puts the Iron Axe at about 38 chop per second against the Battleaxe's 25, and it costs 10 stamina per swing instead of 16. So on one trunk the Iron Axe is about 50% faster and twice as stamina-efficient.
The Battleaxe earns its slot on log piles. Its 90-degree, 2.5 m swing has no multi-target damage penalty, so when two logs land side by side it hits both. Keep the Iron Axe on your hotbar and swap to the Battleaxe only when the clearing is full of logs.
Your Wood Cutting skill matters more than the axe early on. The wiki's Wood cutting page gives a random damage multiplier of 25 to 55% at skill 0, rising to 85 to 100% at skill 100. You gain the skill even when the tree is "too hard", so chopping at a Birch with a Flint Axe still levels it.
Where do you get each wood in Valheim?
Fine Wood: Birch and Oak
Both grow in the Meadows; Birch also covers the Plains, where the yellow-leaved trees are finite because replanted Birch always comes back green. Go for Oak: every Oak drops 50 items from its logs, about half Fine Wood, against Birch's 20. Keep the Acorns (rare) and Birch Seeds and replant with a Cultivator. A Birch sapling takes 5,000 to 7,000 seconds to grow.
You need Fine Wood all game. The Portal, Karve, Longship, Fermenter, Black Metal weapons and the Blast Furnace (20 Fine Wood) all use it.
Core Wood: Pine
Pine only, in the Black Forest, and a Stone Axe works. Each Pine drops 30 items at 50% Core Wood, so about 15. Pine is the tall straight-trunk tree; the bushy one next to it is a Fir and only drops plain Wood.
Core Wood is your first strong building wood. The wiki's support numbers give Wood a maximum support of 100 and Core Wood 140, which is why Log Beams and Log Poles let you build taller than the Meadows set. It's also in the Bronze and Iron Pickaxe (3 each) and the Cultivator. The building guide covers how support works.
Pine Cones are plantable in the Meadows, but they drop rarely, so the wiki calls Pine farming "unsustainable". Bank Core Wood while you're in the Black Forest anyway.
Ancient Bark: Swamp Ancient Trees
The leafless, gnarled trees in the Swamp. They need a Bronze Axe or Early Axes, and each one gives only 10 items total, about 5 Ancient Bark. Don't waste swings on the huge fallen trunks: those are scenery and can't be harvested. If a tree shows no name when you point at it, it isn't an Ancient Tree. Sunken Crypt chests also hold some bark.
The big costs are the Battleaxe (30), the Longship and the Root armor set. Raise a hoe path to the trees so you aren't fighting Leeches in the water; our Swamp guide covers the rest of the biome.
Yggdrasil Wood: Mistlands shoots
The thin, spidery trees in the Mistlands. They need a Black Metal Axe or better, and a large shoot drops 20 items at 50%, so about 10. The small shoots drop 2 to 3 items at a 17% Yggdrasil Wood chance.
Two shortcuts from the wiki: Seeker Soldiers can knock down even large shoots, and once you own a Black Forge, Mistlands weapons like Skoll and Hati break the small shoots without chop damage. Yggdrasil Wood builds the Black Forge, Galdr Table and Eitr Refinery, the Black Metal Pickaxe and the Mistlands staves. More in the Mistlands guide.
Ashwood: Ashlands Scorched Trees
Any axe works, but you only reach the Ashlands after The Queen. Each Scorched Tree drops 20 log items at 66.7% Ashwood, plus 2 from the stump, so about 16. Watch the falling logs: getting hit by one sets you Burning. Scorched Trees can't be planted and never regrow, but they're everywhere in the biome. Ashwood feeds the Ashwood build set, the Battering Ram and Catapult, and Ashlands weapons.
Timberwood: Deep North Timber Trees
"Timber Tree" covers two snowy trees in the Deep North, and any axe cuts them. The wiki's current drop tables:
- Snowy fir: each half log drops 10 items at 20% Timberwood, about 4 per tree, plus Timberwood Cones. Its stump drops plain Wood.
- Snowy pine: each half log drops 15 items at 33% Timberwood, about 10 per tree, and the stump adds 2 more.
- Small snowy fir: 1 to 3 Timberwood, and a pickaxe works too.
- Branches on the ground give 1 each and respawn after 240 minutes.
Timberwood builds the Timber and Scalewood pieces and the Timberwood Drawbridge (24), and goes into most Nord weapon casts (Cast Nord Knucklechains is the exception) and their upgrades, the Moose Saddle, the Smith's Aprons (8) and the Smoker (6). The Deep North resources guide has the rest of the biome's materials.
What did patch 1.0.21 change about Timberwood?
This is the one wood change since 1.0 launched. The 1.0.21 notes (October 28, 2026) say:
"Trees in Deep North now drop Timberwood cones, plant them in more hospitable biomes for a humongous tree (that also drops more Timberwood)"
A second line adds: "Tweaked Timberwood drop rates, now drop fewer pinecones and more Timberwood."
In practice:
- Collect Timberwood Cones from Timber Trees.
- Plant them with a Cultivator in the Meadows, Black Forest, Mountain or Plains. They won't grow in the Deep North.
- Wait 3,000 to 5,000 seconds. Each sapling needs a 2 m clear radius and grows into an unsnowed fir at 1 to 2.5 times normal size.
That gives you a Timberwood farm next to your main base, so you don't need cold-weather gear or Deep North trips just for building wood. Iron Gate hasn't published the exact yield of a planted tree, so test one before you plant a whole field. The hero image at the top of this page is a planted Timber Tree in the Black Forest.
Which woods can you burn for Coal?
The Charcoal Kiln takes Wood, Fine Wood and Core Wood. It holds 25 and makes 1 Coal every 15 seconds. It always pulls plain Wood from your inventory first, then Fine Wood, then Core Wood, so carry your Fine Wood elsewhere before you dump a stack in.
Ancient Bark, Yggdrasil Wood and Ashwood can't go in a kiln (wiki notes on each). Our smelter and blast furnace guide has the full coal maths.
How do you farm wood efficiently?
- Plant in rows 4 m apart. The wiki recommends 4 m spacing so saplings don't crowd each other out. Cut forests never regrow on their own.
- Fell downhill. Trees fall the way you face on the last swing, and logs that roll into other trees damage them.
- Fell Oaks, not Birches, for Fine Wood. It's 2.5 times the drops for one Bronze Axe of effort.
- Use the Iron Axe for chopping, and keep the Battleaxe for a clearing full of logs.
- Carry a cart. Wood is 2.0 per piece, so a full stack of 50 weighs 100. A Lox or Moose also works.
- Hit trees while you fight. If one swing hits a tree and an enemy, you get 1.5 XP in both Axes and Wood Cutting instead of 1.
FAQ
How do you get Core Wood in Valheim? Chop Pine trees in the Black Forest. Any axe works, including the Stone Axe. Each Pine drops about 15 Core Wood. Fir trees look similar but only drop plain Wood.
How do you get Fine Wood in Valheim? Chop Birch or Oak trees in the Meadows or Plains with a Bronze Axe or better. An Oak gives about 25 Fine Wood, a Birch about 10. Before you have bronze, knock them down with falling Beech trees or loot Shipwrecks.
Why does my axe say the tree is too hard? Your axe's chop tier is too low. Birch, Oak and Ancient Trees need tier 2 (Bronze Axe), and Yggdrasil Shoots need tier 4 (Black Metal Axe). A Flint Axe is only tier 1 and an Iron Axe only tier 3.
What is the best axe for wood in Valheim? For pure chopping, the highest one-handed axe you have. The Nord Axe has the most chop at 90 to 96. Before the Deep North, the Iron Axe beats the Battleaxe on single trees because it swings faster and costs less stamina.
Can you plant Timberwood trees? Yes, since patch 1.0.21. Plant Timberwood Cones with a Cultivator in the Meadows, Black Forest, Mountain or Plains. They grow in 3,000 to 5,000 seconds and won't grow in the Deep North itself.
Can you put Ancient Bark in a Charcoal Kiln? No. Only Wood, Fine Wood and Core Wood make Coal. Ancient Bark, Yggdrasil Wood and Ashwood are rejected.
More Valheim guides
Still gearing up? These guides pick up where the trees end.
