Hardwood is a handy resource in ACNH, especially as you learn more DIYs and have more space to place items around your island.
But how do you get hardwood? Well, it’s been on your island since day one, you just need to know where to look.
How do I get more hardwood in Animal Crossing?
To get wood resources you need to hit trees.
When you hit a tree with an axe in ACNH, the wood that comes out is completely randomized. There’s no way of predicting how much of one resource you’ll get. So what’s the trick to getting more hardwood?
Hit a lot of trees.
You’ll want to have a few flimsy or stone axes in your inventory so you can quickly switch them out as and when they break.
If you use a standard axe, you’ll end up chopping the tree down after the third hit, leaving a lonely stump behind. Only use flimsy or stone axes if you’re looking to keep your trees intact!
Be sure to hit both cedar trees, hardwood trees (even the ones with fruit and money on them!), and palm trees, as they all contain handy wood resources.
You can also find hardwood sitting in your Recycle Box in Resident Services from time to time, so be sure to check it out daily for logs.
Where can I buy hardwood trees in ACNH?
There are three routes to getting more hardwood trees on your island, and the good news is that none of them are too labor-intensive.
1. Buy and plant saplings
Saplings are baby hardwood trees. Unlike cedar saplings, which turn into evergreen cedar trees, saplings will only ever turn into hardwood trees – they won’t bear fruit or money. You can purchase one sapling from the cupboard at Nook’s Cranny for 640 bells.
From planting, it’ll take four days for your sapling to grow into a fully-fledged hardwood tree.
TIP: Money trees are also hardwood trees. Once you’ve shaken the money off the tree, it’ll become a standard hardwood tree. The same applies to fruit trees, although after three days the fruit will return for picking.
2. Pick them up from other islands
When you visit another island, you can pick up their hardwood trees using a nifty trick to get strong. By eating fruit, you’ll get superhuman strength and receive the ability to dig up trees or break rocks with your shovel.
When you dig up a tree, the full tree will go into your inventory, which you can either sell or plant in a new hole on your island. This is a great way to make the most out of Mystery Island tours!
3. Saplings in the Recycle Box
Every so often a sapling will appear in the Recycle Box in Resident Services; you can take the contents of the box for free and do with it as you wish!
The recycle box is a great way to get your hands on resources, furniture, clothing, and other random items to improve island life without having to spend bells.
How to get hardwood in Animal Crossing without an axe
There’s no getting around it – you need an axe to collect wood resources, including hardwood.
Without an axe, there’s no way to chop the tree and get the resources out of it!
How do you get an axe in Animal Crossing?
You can get axes from Nook’s Cranny in the tool cupboard (or by speaking to Timmy and Tommy if you haven’t unlocked a fully-fledged Nook’s Cranny).
You can also craft it yourself once you learn the relevant DIYs. You’ll need different resources to craft different axes at a workshop:
| Axe type | Resources |
| Flimsy axe | x5 tree branches x1 stone |
| Stone axe | x1 flimsy axe x3 wood |
| Axe (regular) | x1 flimsy axe x3 wood x1 iron nugget |
Remember, a regular axe will chop a tree down after the third hit, but the other two axe types won’t!
Get hardwood in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
To collect more hardwood in ACNH, you’ll need to hit trees with your axe. The wood that drops from the tree will be random, so the key is to hit as many trees as possible.
Have a few axes in your inventory for when the one you’re using inevitably breaks.
Remember that all types of trees, apart from bamboo, yield wood resources when hit, so whack all your trees as part of your hardwood extraction efforts!