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While normal wood is fine for many early game projects in Stardew Valley, players will soon find that they need Hardwood for many different things. Unlike normal wood, Hardwood usually cannot be found or harvested by chopping down trees, making it a bit of a challenge to find.

Luckily, as more updates came to Stardew Valley, more methods of obtaining Hardwood have been added. This has come with more recipes calling for this resource, making it even more important for players to collect when possible.

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While certain methods of obtaining Hardwood don't require any Axe upgrades, players are still recommended to upgrade their axe as much as they can. With one of the best methods of obtaining Hardwood every day requiring at least a Steel Axe, that is the most recommended upgrade.

Updated July 7th, 2023, by Nikole Stewart: Gathering resources is just one of the several fun activities players can do in Stardew Valley. It can be a daunting chore, but it is also incredibly fun to explore the map and find interesting areas. That's especially the case with Hardwood, as it's one item that can be very challenging to acquire. Hardwood is useful in many crafting recipes and projects, making it essential to farm at some point in the game.

While there are ways to avoid running around finding large stumps, like planting them on the farm, it can still be annoying waiting for these trees to grow. Thankfully, this is a breakdown of how players can acquire Hardwood and what they need it for. There's an additional section that helps players find more hardwood in Stardew Valley Expanded at the bottom to ensure players can efficiently find as much as they can during their time on the game.

How To Find Hardwood In Stardew Valley

SV Fiddlehead

Hardwood can be obtained by chopping down multiple sources. These sources are Mahogany Trees, Large Stumps, and Large Logs. Mahogany Trees can be chopped down with any Axe, but need to be planted by a player and grown first. Large Stumps can be chopped down with a Copper Axe or better. Finally, Large Logs can be chopped down with a Steel Axe or better.

Mahogany Seeds can be obtained by shaking or chopping down Mahogany Trees, digging up a Mahogany Seed dropped from a fully grown Mahogany Tree, or by chopping up any other Hardwood source. They can also be gotten from Golden Coconuts from Ginger Island or dropped by Slimes in the Secret Woods. Players can also trade one Stingray for a Mahogany Seed with the Island Trader.

The best place to find Large Stumps consistently is the Secret Woods located in the northwestern corner of Cindersap Forest. In it are six Large Stumps that respawn every day allowing players to get twelve pieces of Hardwood each day they visit. Players must first however chop down the Large Log blocking the path to the woods. As mentioned before, players will need at least a Steel Axe to do this.

Large Stumps and Large Logs can also be found on players' farms when they first begin Stardew Valley. These however will not respawn when players remove them, but their Hardwood can still be used.

Another great way to ensure that players can gather hardwood is by selecting the Forest Map. It not only allows players to forage, but on the west side of the map, players will notice Large Stumps. If players don't place any buildings or structures in that area, the stumps will always respawn to provide hardwood.

What Is Hardwood Used For In Stardew Valley?

HardwoodStardewValley

In the early game, players won't really need much Hardwood to begin repairing their farm. As time progresses, the strong wood becomes very useful as it's used in an array of crafting recipes and is also part of a few quests. Here's a look at all the things that Hardwood is used for in Stardew Valley.

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Crafting Recipes

Item

Requirement

Ingredients

Carved Brazier

Buy From Carpenter's Shop (2000g)

1 x Coal 10 x Hardwood

Cask

Part of Farmhouse Cellar Upgrade

1 x Hardwood 20 x Wood

Cheese Press

Level 6 Farming

1 x Copper Bar 10 x Hardwood 45 x Stone 45 x Wood

Cork Bobber

Level 7 Fishing

5 x Hardwood 10 x Slime 10 x Wood

Hardwood Fence

Level 6 Farming

1 x Hardwood

Heavy Tapper

Buy From Mr. Qi (20 Qi Gems)

1 x Radioactive Bar 30 x Hardwood

Hopper

Buy From Mr. Qi (50 Qi Gems)

1 x Iridium Bar 1 x Radioactive Bar 10 x Hardwood

Mini-Obelisk

Special Order from the Wizard

3 x Gold Bar 20 x Solar Essence 30 x Hardwood

Oil Maker

Level 8 Farming

1 x Gold Bar 20 x Hardwood 50 x Slime

Ostrich Incubator

Get from Professor Snail

20 x Cinder Shard 50 x Bone Fragment 50 x Hardwood

Rain Totem

Level 9 Foraging

1 x Truffle Oil 1 x Hardwood 5 x Pine Tar

Stump Brazier

Buy From Carpenter's Shop (800g)

1 x Coal 5 x Hardwood

Warp Totem: Beach

Level 6 Foraging

1 x Hardwood 2 x Coral 10 x Fiber

Warp Totem: Desert

Buy from Desert Trader (10 Iridium Bars)

1 x Coconut 2 x Hardwood 4 x Iridium Ore

Warp Totem: Farm

Level 8 Foraging

1 x Honey 1 x Hardwood 20 x Fiber

Warp Totem: Island

Buy in Volcano Shop (10,000g)

1 x Dragon Tooth 1 x Ginger 5 x Hardwood

Warp Totem: Mountains

Level 7 Foraging

1 x Iron Bard 1 x Hardwood 25 x Stone

Worm Bin

Level 8 Fishing

1 x Gold Bard 1 x Iron Bar 25 x Hardwood 50 x Fiber

Quests Featuring Hardwood

There are a small handful of quests that players will come across that require hardwood as a material. Here's a look at all of them.

  • Robin's Request has the player collecting 10 Hardwood in exchange for 500g and 1 x Friendship Heart.
  • Robin's Project requires the player to snag 80 Hardwood in exchange for 2,000g and a recipe for the Deluxe Red Double Bed.
  • Players will need 200 Hardwood to repair the outer hull of Willy's Boat.
  • Woodskip will want 10 Hardwood to increase the size of the Fish Pond from 1 to 3.
  • 5 Hardwood may be required to increase he size of the Fish Pond from 5 to 7.

Players should note that while Hardwood is a very valuable resource, it isn't a good gift for most Stardew Valley villagers. The only villager that has Hardwood as a liked item is Robin with every other villager having it as a dislike.

Hardwood is also used to upgrade two buildings in Stardew Valley. It will take 250 Hardwood and 50,000g to complete Farmhouse Upgrade 2. It will take 5 x Iron Bar, 100 Hardwood, and 10,000g to create a Stable.

How To Get Hardwood In Expanded

Stardew Valley Expanded Aurora Vineyard Forest West

Stardew Valley Expanded is exactly as it says. An expanded mod that gives players a bit more content to Stardew Valley, and with it comes new areas to collect useful resources like Hardwood. There are a few additional areas in the Valley once the mod is downloaded that can help out anyone trying to farm some great wood for crafting.

The first is the Secret Woods. While this location is the same as the Vanilla version, it has grown immensely. Once players enter this area, there is now about 12 Large Stumps that players can chop down throughout this area.

Stardew Valley is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

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