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This article is about the woodcutting skill. For information on training woodcutting, see Woodcutting training (F2P) (P2P).
Woodcutting
Woodcutting
Also known as WC
Release date 4 January 2001 (Update)
Members only No
Minimum level
for Hiscores
15
as of 12 Dec 2017
Players with
99
180,555
as of 4 Feb 2023
Players with 120 3,674
as of 4 Feb 2023
Players with
200M XP
1,103
as of 4 Feb 2023
[view][talk]
Woodcutting
Audio options icon
Woodcutting level up (Levels 50-99)

Woodcutting (often abbreviated as WC or WCing) is a gathering skill that involves chopping down different types of trees and vegetation. For each type of tree, a minimum Woodcutting level and a hatchet are required to cut it. With each level up, a player will be able to cut trees faster than previously. Additionally, for every improvement in hatchet used, from bronze to crystal, one's Woodcutting speed increases.

The current minimum requirement to be ranked (at approximately rank 1,283,089) on the hiscores for Woodcutting is level 15. As of 04 February 2023, there are 180,555 current members that have achieved level 99 in Woodcutting. There are 3,674 current members that have achieved level 120 in Woodcutting.

There are a wide range of trees, ranging from normal trees to magic trees as well as a few rarer trees and other types of vegetation.

General overview[]

As a player chops down a tree of a certain type, the corresponding logs will appear in their inventory. The player can then light the logs with a tinderbox (or with a bow if the player is a member who has completed Barbarian Training) to raise their Firemaking skill, cut them with a knife and make them into bows using the Fletching skill, or sell them to other players for money. This makes Firemaking and Fletching highly dependent on Woodcutting.

In order to chop a tree, a player will need to have a hatchet of a level they can use. Hatchets can be wielded in the weapon slot in order to gather more wood in the inventory, provided players have a high enough Attack level to use the type of metal the hatchet is, as it is still considered a weapon. Alternatively, a hatchet may be placed in the tool belt to achieve the same effect without requiring the needed attack level, as well as to ensure constant access to it. Normal and Achey trees only provide one log per tree; however, higher level trees are able to generate as much as a full inventory of logs per tree.

Hatchets can be bought from Bob's store (located in Lumbridge), from the Grand Exchange, or smithed by players using the Smithing skill (except for black, sacred clay, dragon, and crystal hatchets, as well as the Inferno Adze, which cannot be smithed). However, Bob only sells bronze, iron, and steel hatchets. Bronze hatchets are given for free as a demo. Players will have to buy better hatchets from other players, buy them from the Grand Exchange, or smith the hatchets themselves. The Inferno Adze is a reward from the All Fired Up minigame. Sacred clay hatchets may only be obtained from the Stealing Creation minigame. Currently, the crystal hatchet is the best hatchet in the game.

To chop down a given variety of tree, players will need a certain Woodcutting level and a hatchet which they are able to use. For example, a player will need a Woodcutting level of 75 to cut a magic tree. A certain Woodcutting level is also required to use each hatchet. For example, a player will need a Woodcutting level of 41 to use a rune hatchet. A certain Attack level is required to wield a hatchet. For example, a player will need an Attack level of 50 to wield a rune hatchet. The Inferno Adze requires level 92 Firemaking and level 61 Woodcutting to use, but only requires level 1 Attack to wield.

Trees are easy to find, as they are located all throughout RuneScape (the exceptions to this are Morytania and the Wilderness, where many of the trees cannot be chopped down, only examined). An uncommon, high level tree, such as a yew tree, will have its position indicated on the mini-map with a special tree icon. To cut a tree, players have to find one and then left-click on it. When the player is done cutting, they can then set the logs on fire with a tinderbox to obtain Firemaking experience, fletch them, or sell them to other players. Players also have the choice of dropping the logs, but it is not advised, as it takes a long time to drop an inventory. The player will not make a profit with this method of training.

Free players can only cut regular, oak, willow, maple, and yew trees. Previously, the Maple Trees were members-only, but the log itself was non-members. The Dungeoneering update of 19 July 2010 designated a resource dungeon where free players with a Dungeoneering level of 30+ could cut them.

Types of trees[]

Different types of trees in the game are listed below.

An "(m)" signifies a members-only type of tree.

Woodcutting experience[]

Tree Image Level Experience Members Notes
Normal Logs 1 25 F2P icon Normal trees include dead trees, dying trees, jungle trees and evergreen trees. These trees are fairly common in RuneScape. They can be found nearby many cities, allowing quick access to a bank.
Achey Achey logs 1 25 P2P icon These trees are used for the members-only quest Big Chompy Bird Hunting, to make Ogre bows and arrows, as well as other ogre-related quests.
Oak Oak logs 15 37.5 F2P icon These trees are fairly common in RuneScape. They can be found nearby many cities, allowing quick access to a bank. Most likely the best F2P area is near the east entrance of the Grand Exchange.
Willow Willow logs 30 67.5 F2P icon These trees are found near water. Some places they are found at include Port Sarim, Draynor Village, Lumbridge, south east of Rimmington, Catherby and Seers' Village. A very common place for members to woodcut these is the Barbarian Outpost.
Teak[1]
Teak logs
35 85 P2P icon These trees can be found in the Hardwood Grove by Tai Bwo Wannai, a village on member servers; a single tree in the woods south of Castle Wars; and on Ape Atoll, an island inhabited by monkeys, where three trees are found next to the dungeon entrance. Requirements are completion of Monkey Madness and having a monkey greegree. Players must pay 100 trading sticks, the currency in Tai Bwo Wannai, each time they enter the Hardwood Grove. They are also found in the Kharazi Jungle, Mos Le'Harmless and near the Ruins of Uzer. Players cutting Teaks will occasionally get a Special teak log, which they can take to the Sawmill for sale or free log conversion.
Maple Maple logs 45 100 [2] F2P icon Maple Trees are usually found in member's servers. However, free players are able to find these type of trees in the resource dungeon on Daemonheim Peninsula. To access this dungeon, players need at least 30 Dungeoneering.
Hollow Bark 45 82.5 or
357.7
P2P icon These are found east of Canifis, a village on members-only servers. A successful cut on a hollow tree will net 82.5 Woodcutting experience. Players who receive a piece of bark with their cut instead receive 357.7 Woodcutting experience.
Acadia[1] Acadia logs 47 92 P2P icon These can only be found in the Imperial district of Menaphos.
Mahogany[1]
Special mahogany log
50 125 P2P icon These can be found in the Hardwood Grove by Tai Bwo Wannai, a village on member servers. Players must pay 100 trading sticks, the currency in Tai Bwo Wannai, each time they enter the fenced-in area where the trees are. They are also found on Ape Atoll, in the Kharazi Jungle and Mos Le'Harmless. Players cutting Mahogany trees will occasionally get a Special mahogany log, which they can take to the Sawmill for sale or free log conversion.
Arctic pine Arctic pine logs 54 140.2 P2P icon These trees are found on the island of Neitiznot. Arctic pine logs are used to make Fremennik roundshields. To be able to use this tree you must at least partially complete The Fremennik Isles.
Eucalyptus[1] Eucalyptus logs 58 165 P2P icon These trees are found only to the West of Oo'glog and are near Level 69-99 Ogresses. Outside of the quest, they are used only in Firemaking.
Yew[1] Yew logs 60 175 F2P icon These trees give the most experience per log for free players. Free players can find these trees in Edgeville, south of Falador, north of Varrock Palace, in the Lumbridge graveyard and various other locations. Members-only spots are in the Seers' Village churchyard, south of Legends Guild, west of Catherby, and other places.
Choking Ivy Ivy 68 332.5 P2P icon These grow on many walls of buildings around RuneScape, including the north wall of Varrock Palace and Falador walls, the east wall of the East Ardougne church, the south wall of Castle Wars, the north wall of Yanille and the lower wall of Taverley. They give no logs but can drop bird's nests.
Magic[1] Magic logs 75 250 P2P icon

Cutting these trees takes time as they give logs at a comparatively slow rate. These trees are found at the Mage Training Arena, Sorcerer's Tower, south-west of Lletya and just a tiny bit east of the Ranging Guild. There are also a few just north of the Agility course in the Gnome Stronghold and at the eastern edge. In addition, there are 6 magic trees in the Varrock Sewers resource dungeon. Due to the level 65 Dungeoneering requirement, this dungeon is often empty.

Cursed magic Cursed magic logs 82 275 P2P icon

These trees can only be cut after completing Spirit of Summer. There is only one cursed magic tree, found in the Spirit Realm's counterpart for the Western Ruins. When you cut down this tree in the spirit world, the one in the real world will spawn, and vice versa. When you get logs from a cursed magic tree and then go back to the real world, they will transform into regular magic logs.

Straight root and Curly root

Straight root Curly root

83 161 P2P icon

Straight roots and curly roots are located exclusively in the Jadinko Lair and are harvested four at a time in two stages, giving 80.5 experience each. The curly roots are used exclusively for Firemaking, while the straight roots may be hardened over a fire for no experience and fletched into sagaie shafts.

Bloodwood logs Bloodwood logs 85 320 P2P icon See Bloodwood tree for locations of Bloodwood trees. Bloodwood logs must be fletched into Bakriminel bolts near the tree or else the logs will turn to dust.
Elder[1] Elder logs 90 325 P2P icon Elder trees are members only trees that are found throughout the members and non-members world. Since they require level 90 woodcutting to cut, only a few players will be at any given location, if any. Unlike other trees, elder trees can be chopped for 5 minutes starting from the first action, before losing their branches. After a cool-down period of 10 minutes the branches will regrow, and they can be chopped again.
Bamboo [1] Bamboo 90 202.5 P2P icon Found in The Arc on Waiko and randomly on Uncharted Isles
Crystal[1] Crystal geode 94 434.5 P2P icon See Crystal tree for locations of Crystal trees.
Golden Bamboo [1] Golden bamboo 96 655.5 P2P icon Found randomly on Uncharted Isles
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j These trees are marked on the Minimap with the Rare tree map icon icon, with the exception of the lone magic tree in the wilderness.
  2. ^ 110 when wearing a Seers' headband 2 or better

Types of hatchets[]

Hatchet Level Attack level Picture GE price Notes
Bronze 1 1 Bronze hatchet 1,459
  • Obtained for free from Bob's Axes in Lumbridge.
  • Can be smithed.
  • Can be found outside Farmer Fred's house, north of Lumbridge; or in the chicken house, on the east side of the River Lum (north west of the cows, just take it out of the tree stump).
  • This hatchet is given freely when your account is created, residing in your tool belt.
Iron 1 10 Iron hatchet 2,576
  • Can be bought from Bob's Axes in Lumbridge.
  • Can be smithed.
  • Iron hatchets are better than bronze hatchets. If you are level 1-5 Woodcutting, these are recommended if you can afford one.
Steel 6 20 Steel hatchet 3,019
  • Steel hatchets can be bought from Bob's Axes in Lumbridge.
  • Can be smithed.
  • Can be looted from Young impling jars.
  • Steel hatchets are better than bronze or iron hatchets.
Dwarven army axe 1 1 Dwarven army axe Not sold
  • A members-only multifunctional tool, equivalent to a steel hatchet.
Black 6 25 Black hatchet 3,295
  • Cannot be smithed.
  • Can be bought from players.
  • Black hatchets are better than steel hatchets and below.
Mithril 21 30 Mithril hatchet 5,242
  • Can be bought from players or smithed.
  • Is lighter than the rest of the hatchets.
  • Are better than Black hatchets and below.
Adamant 31 40 Adamant hatchet 10,119
  • Can be bought from players.
  • Can be smithed.
  • Are better than Mithril hatchets and below.
Rune 41 50 Rune hatchet 9,120
  • Rune hatchets can be bought from players.
  • Can be smithed.
  • Are better than adamant hatchets and below.
  • They are currently the best hatchets in free-to-play.
Sacred/Volatile Clay (members only) 40 1 Hatchet (class 5) Not sold Sacred or Volatile clay hatchets are obtained from the Stealing Creation minigame, as either a volatile tool or a morphic tool. They are equivalent to rune hatchets in speed. Both can be used to give bonus experience, the Sacred clay hatchet gives 24,450 while the Volatile clay hatchet 29,340 but must be randomly converted to a hatchet (however, it does not revert to a tool on claiming bonus experience or recharging).
Dragon (members only) 61 60 Dragon hatchet 3,221,368 Dragon hatchets can be bought from other players or obtained by killing Dagannoth Kings, and cannot be smithed. These hatchets are members-only. Dragon hatchets are 5-10% better than rune hatchets. This hatchet is recommended for players trying to achieve 99 Woodcutting from yew trees, magic trees, choking ivy or Crystal trees.
Inferno Adze (members only) 61 1 Inferno adze Not sold The Inferno Adze is a reward from the All Fired Up minigame. It requires level 92 Firemaking, as well as a few other skill requirements (for some beacons) to get and use, however it can be achieved with as low as level 86 Firemaking with a spicy stew and a bit of luck. However, if the Firemaking requirement is boosted to get it, the player is able to use it but not wield it. It can be used as a hatchet (equivalent cutting speed to the dragon hatchet) or as a pickaxe (equivalent mining speed to the rune pickaxe), with an added effect of a roughly 30% chance of burning logs as they are cut, giving both Firemaking and Woodcutting experience.
Crystal hatchet (members only) 71 70 Crystal hatchet Not sold The Crystal hatchet is acquired by trading in a Dragon hatchet along with 4,000 harmonic dust to Lady Ithell in the Ithell area of Prifddinas after completing the quest Plague's End. It is 15% faster than the Dragon hatchet.

Machetes[]

To cut a jungle, players cannot use a hatchet. Instead, they need a machete, which must be wielded. There is no Attack or Woodcutting level required to wield any kind of machete.

Ordinary machetes can be bought from the general stores in Tai Bwo Wannai or Shilo Village. Opal, jade, and red topaz machetes are somewhat rarer, and can only be bought from Gabooty with trading sticks. All machetes are tradeable as well, and can be bought or sold on the Grand Exchange.

Types of machetes[]

Machete Image Price in store Notes
Machete Machete 52 coins This is the slowest of the four types of machetes. It can be bought from Tai Bwo Wannai's general store, the Shilo Village general store, from Radimus Erkle's cupboard, or Rasolo, the peddler south-west of Glarial's grave.
Opal machete Opal machete 500 Trading Sticks This machete's speed is higher than that of the regular machete. It can be bought from Gabooty's Jungle Store, or Safta Doc can craft one.
Jade machete Jade machete 1000 Trading Sticks This machete's speed is higher than that of the opal machete. It can be bought from Gabooty or crafted by Safta Doc.
Red topaz machete Red topaz machete 2000 Trading Sticks This is the fastest machete. It can also be bought from Gabooty or crafted by Safta Doc.

Jungle[]

There are three different kinds of jungles: light jungles, medium jungles, and dense jungles. When players hack a jungle, they receive thatch spars and initiate the Tai Bwo Wannai Cleanup minigame. Jungles are members-only.

Types of Jungle[]

Jungle Level Experience
Light 10 32
Medium 20 55
Dense 35 80

Canoes[]

Main article: Canoe

Canoes are used to travel on the River Lum, which goes from Lumbridge all the way to level 35 Wilderness. However, a certain Woodcutting level is needed to carve the canoe tree into certain types of canoe. On 15 February 2011, canoes became free to play.

How to make canoes[]

To make a canoe, players have to find a canoe tree and have with them a hatchet that they have the required Woodcutting level to use. (With the 15 February 2011 canoe update, it is no longer necessary to have a hatchet to make a canoe; the canoe tutor will lend you a hatchet for free. When you are done constructing the canoe, you automatically return the hatchet you borrowed to the canoe tutor). Canoe trees can be found at canoe stations. These stations are located along the River Lum, in the following places:

  • Lumbridge: On the west side of the river near the furnace.
  • Champions' Guild: On the east side of the river west of the wheat field.
  • Gunnarsgrunn (AKA Barbarian Village): South of the eastern bridge on the east side of the river.
  • Edgeville: On the east side of the river near the guard post.
  • Level 35 Wilderness: At the lake south of the moss giants. Players cannot make a new canoe at this station.

When the player has found a canoe tree at one of these stations, they can cut the tree down. The player then has to click on the fallen tree and select what type of canoe they want to make. When the player has made the canoe they want, they then can click on the canoe to push it in the river. When in the river, the player can then click on the canoe and select where they want to go.

Canoes can only go to a certain number of stations away. Higher level canoes can go farther than the lower level canoes.

Types of canoes[]

Canoe Required Level Experience Notes
Log 12 30 Can travel to one station away from where the player made it. Cannot enter the Wilderness.
Dugout 27 60 Can travel up to two stations away from where the player made it. Cannot enter the Wilderness.
Stable dugout 42 90 Can travel up to three stations away from where the player made it. Cannot enter the Wilderness.
Waka 57 150 Can travel to any station, including the Wilderness. (Players cannot make a new canoe from this station.)

Sawmill[]

The Sawmill is a members-only area in which players with a Woodcutting level of 80 or higher can produce planks from logs, but when they are done, they cannot leave with the logs. The logs are obtained from log piles nearby, then converted into planks using the nearby machine. Then the planks must be cut by using the planks on a cutting table; a saw is required to do this. Using a crystal saw gives double the experience, in comparison to using a regular saw. Using a crystal saw will only double the experience gained from making each plank, NOT the experience reward given for completion of each task. It is not suggested to use sawmill training unless you have the crystal saw. While using the crystal saw in the sawmill, it will not lose charges. Sawmill training can be a more efficient way of gaining experience, up to 100,000 an hour, however it will only be better than ivy when using the crystal saw. Still, many players prefer ivy, as it is less click-intensive.

Special logs[]

Special teak logs and Special mahogany logs can be sold to the Sawmill Operator, north-east of Varrock or exchanged for a completely free conversion of the logs in your inventory into planks. The free conversion requires 2 of the same type of special log, which can be noted.

2 special teak logs can be used to convert up to 27 teak logs into teak planks, if the special logs are noted.

2 special mahogany logs can be used to convert up to 27 teak logs and/or mahogany logs into teak/mahogany planks, if the special logs are noted.

If you have only 1 special log or 1 of each type of special log, the sawmill owner will only offer to buy your special logs.

Other[]

The woodcutting stumps on Neitiznot can be used to make special items out of the arctic pine logs native to the island. Players must have gotten to this part in The Fremennik Isles quest to use them.

Object Required Level Experience Notes
Fremennik round shield 54 30 (crafting) Made with Arctic pine logs, rope, and nails on a stump on Neitiznot.
Split arctic pine logs 54 43 Made with Arctic pine logs on a stump on Neitiznot; no particular use after The Fremennik Isles quest.

Nests and geodes[]

Bird's nest (seeds 1) detail

If the player is a member, a bird's nest may fall out of any tree they are cutting. Wearing a strung rabbit foot gives a better chance of getting a bird's nest drop while Woodcutting; however, this requires at least level 24 Hunter. One can either pick up the nest and search it or just leave it on the ground, though it is highly recommended that the player search it. When the player searches it, they will be given a random item, either a plain gold ring, or a sapphire, emerald, ruby, or diamond ring if it has a ring in the nest; a red, green, or blue bird's egg (can be hatched in an incubator with level 70 Summoning) if there is a red, green or blue egg in the nest respectively; a raven egg (can be hatched in an incubator with level 50 Summoning) if there is a grey egg in the nest; and a random seed if there are some seeds in the nest. These seeds can be worth quite a lot of money on the Grand Exchange, such as Papaya tree seeds (2,896) and Magic Tree seeds (52,464). The empty nest can be ground with a pestle and mortar to get a crushed nest, an ingredient in the Saradomin brew. This means that players training for a Woodcutting Skillcape may accumulate some profit, even if they are using ivy to train. A crushed nest will sell for about 6,833.

Main article: Crystal geode
Crystal geode detail

Much like the Bird's nest, the crystal geode may fall out of a crystal tree whilst cutting (requires 94 or higher Woodcutting level). Upon opening it, the Crystal geode may contain several rewards like Crystal triskelions, Crystal weapon seeds and valuable Gems. A strung rabbit foot increases the chance of receiving a crystal geode, as does using a Tree-shaking scrimshaw.

Solomon's General Store[]

Players can purchase the Lumberjack Woodcutting animation from Solomon's General Store for 220 RuneCoins.

Discontinued woodcutting random events[]

These events were removed as part of the 25 February 2009 Random Event Update.
Tree spirit (random event)

The discontinued tree spirit random event.

  • Axe head: While cutting trees, a player's axe might split, causing the axe head to fly off. The head would land somewhere nearby, usually 3 to 10 squares away. When this happened, the player had to find the axe head quickly before someone else saw it and took it. (Dragon axe heads were often targets for other players due to their large value.) When the player had found the axe head, he or she could then use it with their handle to put the axe back together. Due to player complaints, Jagex determined that loss of the axehead was unfair to players, and the event was discontinued when the Surprise Exam! random event was added.
  • Dr. Ford: While cutting trees, a piece of wood could fall on a player causing them to get dizzy. With their vision blurred, they had to guess how many fingers Dr. Ford was holding up, to get a fruit. Otherwise, they would be taken away. This event was removed fairly soon due to various glitches it caused. This event also used to exist in Mining.
  • Ents: A tree could turn into an Ent at any time. Players could tell if the tree they are cutting is an Ent because the tree would start shaking, gain an angry face somewhere on its trunk, a yellow dot would appear on the mini-map where the tree is, the name of the tree would be in yellow instead of a teal colour, and the tree would be bigger than normal. As soon the tree started showing the symptoms of an Ent, players would have to walk away and wait for the tree to transform back into its original state. If the player kept cutting the tree, the Ent would break the axe. To fix it, players would have to take the axe back to Bob of Bob's Axes, located in Lumbridge, to get it fixed for a price. However, the Inferno Adze and Sacred Clay axe, obtained from the Stealing Creation minigame, could not break. (Ents have been superseded by Evil Trees as a Distraction and Diversion [members-only]).
  • Tree spirits: While cutting trees, a Tree Spirit would appear and begin attacking a player. The combat level of the spirit depended on the combat level of the player it was attacking, but it would always be higher than that of the player. The Tree Spirit's combat level varied from level 14 to 159. The player could either kill it or run away from it. If a player killed a Tree Spirit, it could drop some axes, herbs and seeds for members, bananas, runes, various miscellaneous items, or nothing at all (usually, the level 80+ ones gave rune axes). (Tree Spirits are still available in RuneScape, but only to members attempting to cut trees in the Enchanted Valley).

Making money[]

The logs gathered through Woodcutting can be sold for profit, with higher-level logs usually selling for more. The most popular logs for money are yew logs, which sell for around 167, magic logs, for around 380 coins each, and elder logs, for around 8,835 coins each (cutting Magic and Elder logs is not recommended for those trying to get experience to reach level 99). The average income a player can get per hour with 99 Woodcutting varies from tree to tree, but with Elder logs it is possible to get approximately 500k.

Players can also get nests from trees, which contain tree seeds, rings or bird's eggs. The nest itself can be ground and sold (or used) as well.

The most common place to buy or sell logs is the Grand Exchange. A list of prices for logs can be found at the Grand Exchange Market Watch.

For advice on making money by Woodcutting, see the Woodcutting section of the Money-making guide.

Temporary boosts[]

Main article: Temporary skill boost

Helpful items[]

Skilling pet[]

Woody chathead
Main article: Woody

Like all skills, there is a skilling pet obtainable from training this skill. The pet for the Woodcutting skill is called Woody.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • In the early history of RuneScape, only regular trees could be cut. The experience given was based on the player's Woodcutting level: . After the Fletching skill was added, it was briefly reduced to 12.5 experience, then doubled to 25 experience per regular log. While Jagex compensated for this by adding one-click woodcutting, many players (especially free users) were upset that training Woodcutting would take much longer.
  • Woodcutting animations were updated on 11 November 2008, so the chopping appears much faster and smoother.
  • Hatchets were referred to in-game as "axes" until an update on 1 April 2009. The change was made to reduce confusion with battleaxes and pickaxes.

See also[]

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