Hardwood is a valuable resource in Stardew Valley used for crafting handy items such as cheese presses, oil makers, and warp totems. In order to progress, you’ll need lots of hardwood—so let’s explore the various ways you can obtain it.
Table Of Contents
Splitting Large Stumps
Large Stumps look just like…large stumps. Unlike regular tree stumps, they can’t be chopped with a normal axe—you’ll need a Copper Axe or better to remove them. Chopping down a Large Stump will yield 2 pieces of hardwood.
Large Stumps can be found in 3 locations:
- Your farm
- The Secret Woods
- The Mines (after the Shrine of Challenge has been activated)
The first place you’ll encounter large stumps is on your farm, when you’re just starting out and in the process of clearing away the debris and weed from the area.
It’s worth noting that clearing away the Large Stumps from your farm will permanently remove them—unless you’re in either of these two farm maps:
- The Forest Farm has eight large stumps at its west zone that respawn daily.
- The Four Corners Farm has a large stump at its upper-left area that respawns daily.
The second accessible place to chop hardwood is the Secret Woods. Hidden away in the northwest corner of the Cindersap Forest, the entrance to the woods is blocked by a Large Log (which also drops hardwood). You’ll need a Steel Axe or better to clear the log away.
In the Secret Woods, you’ll find a total of six large stumps that respawn daily, giving you a consistent supply of 12 pieces of hardwood per day should you visit it once a day. Beware the slimes roaming the Woods, though!
The 1.5 update brings Large Stumps to an unexpected new area: the Mines. Do note that you won’t find the Large Stumps in the Mines unless you do a special quest for Mr. Qi called Danger in the Deep.
You may access this quest from Qi’s Walnut Room in Ginger Island. Completing this quest will create the Shrine of Challenge at the 120th level of the mines, which acts as a toggle switch for enemy strength and new resources.
Activating the Shrine of Challenge can spawn Large Stumps on floors 41-69. Beware the strengthened enemies!
Splitting Large Logs
Large Logs are the…well, large logs you find on your farm at the beginning of the game. Unlike Large Stumps, you can’t split them with a copper axe. As mentioned above, Steel Axes or better will do the trick.
Chopping down Large Logs will yield 8 pieces of hardwood per log; however, these logs will never reappear once chopped regardless of what farm map you’re in.
Another place you can find a Large Log would be the entrance to the Secret Woods in the northwest corner of the Cindersap Forest. Chop that down with a Steel Axe or better. Like the other large logs in your farm, it will never reappear once you’ve destroyed it.
Finally, as with large stumps, the new Shrine of Challenge in the Mines now spawns large logs on floors 41-69 when activated.
Breaking Mine Chests
The mines possess a veritable treasure trove of resources, and some are hidden in boxes and barrels located on random floors. Breaking these has a chance of yielding hardwood as loot, so keep your eye out for them when you visit the mines next.
Woodskip Fish Ponds
Fish ponds are farm buildings purchasable from Robin that allow you to rear fish you’ve caught. In return, they’ll gift you with treasures and resources depending on the type of fish. In the case of woodskips (a fish exclusive to the Secret Woods) you’ll get a 6-7% daily chance of gaining 5 pieces of hardwood once you get 6 fish in your fish pond.
Feast of the Winter Star
The Feast of the Winter Star is a time of gift-giving. Every year, a villager is randomly selected to give you a gift, which may be food, resources, or even artifacts. When Robin is your secret gift-giver, she has a chance of giving you 25 hardwood pieces as a gift.
Forester and Lumberjack Professions
Much like all the other skills, the Foraging skill tree provides a list of handy professions the player can select. Among these are two professions which directly influence hardwood gathering.
- The Forester profession gives you a 50% chance of an extra piece of hardwood from Large Stumps, and 2 extra pieces with Large Logs.
- The Lumberjack profession makes it so that all trees, regardless of type, have a chance of dropping hardwood.
Mahogany Trees
Mahogany trees were recently introduced in the new 1.5 update. They can be grown from Mahogany Seeds and yield 10 pieces of hardwood when cut down. Unlike large stumps and large logs, you only need a common axe to chop a mahogany tree.
There are various ways of obtaining mahogany seeds:
- Shaking or chopping down a mahogany tree
- Chopping a Large Stump or Large Log
- Pickaxing or axing a mahogany seed from your farm
- Dropped from Slimes killed in the Secret Woods
- Retrieved from a Golden Coconut
- Bought from Ginger Island’s Island Trader for 1 stingray
Planting these seeds would give you an abundance of mahogany trees, which in turn would result in plenty of hardwood—even more if you have the Forester skill.
There are plenty of items that require hardwood, as well as several special quests and orders. With your newfound knowledge for procuring hardwood, you’ll have all you need and more.
