Why is my bow too expensive to repair?

Your bow is too expensive to repair because the anvil has a limit of 39 levels; beyond that, repairs are refused. The more times an item has been repaired or enchanted within an anvil, the more it will cost to repair or enchant later, eventually leading to the “Too Expensive” warning.

Related FAQs

Understanding Anvil Limits and Repair Costs

1. What is the anvil repair limit?: The anvil has a limit of 39 levels; beyond that, repairs are refused. This limit is not present in Creative mode.
2. How do you fix a bow that is too expensive?: Unfortunately, the only way to remove the ‘Too Expensive’ message from the anvil for that particular item is by removing all the enchantments and resetting the item.
3. Can you repair a bow infinitely?: This means that you can only repair your Infinity bow 5 times before needing a brand new infinity bow.

Enchantments and Their Effects

4. Is Infinity better than mending a bow?: With infinity you only have to spend 1 arrow but may need to spend many levels if you want to repair a bow. With mending you have to spend stacks of arrows, but much less xp to repair a bow.
5. Can you put mending and infinity on a bow?: First of all, getting a bow that has both mending and infinity is impossible. You can only get one of these enchantments on your bow because Mojang thought it was too OP.

Anvil Usage and Maintenance

6. How long should an anvil last?: An anvil can be damaged three times before it’s destroyed – and you can see that damage on the anvil itself. On average, you’ll be able to use an anvil about 25 times before it’s destroyed, but it can be much more or much less depending on how lucky you are.
7. What happens if you keep a bow strung?: You will not hurt a modern fiberglass/carbon bow by leaving it strung for any length of time. It will not happen. However, leaving it in a hot car or leaning against a wall can lead to warping or delamination.

Enchantment Incompatibilities

8. Why can’t I have infinity and mending on the same bow?: They were first available in 15w42a when Mending was introduced and removed in 16w50a, making 1.11 the last version they were obtainable. They made the two enchantments conflict because the developers thought the ability to shoot infinite arrows and repair the bow was overpowered.
9. Does Infinity cancel out mending?: Mending and Infinity are mutually exclusive. However, if combined with commands, both enchantments function as normal.

Repairing and Enchanting Items

10. How do you repair a bow in Minecraft?: You can use an Anvil, Crafting Table, or Grindstone to repair a bow. Place two bows in the anvil, and then place the newly repaired bow in your inventory. You must use an Anvil if you don’t want to lose any bow enchantments.
11. Can you fix a snapped bow?: A headspline is a common way to repair a bow that has been irreversibly broken at the tip. Once the bow is glued back together, a piece of pernambuco is inserted crossgrain to help support the glue joint from coming apart.

Additional Information

12. What does aqua affinity do?: The Aqua Affinity enchantment speeds up how fast you can mine blocks underwater. It basically means that your mining speed will be equivalent to if you were mining on land.
13. Is it cheaper to enchant diamond or netherite?: Enchant your diamond tools first, then upgrade them to netherite, they will keep their enchantment. By the way, enchanting netherite costs more experience points.
14. What happens when a bow snaps?: Not only can bow dry fires cause damage to the bow and the string, but they can also lead to injury to the shooter. If the bow breaks or the string snaps during a dry fire, pieces of the bow can fly off and cause injury to the shooter or anyone nearby.
15. What is the curse of vanishing?: Curse of Vanishing is an enchantment that lets you curse an item. This can be armor, weapons, or any item that can be enchanted. When the player dies, rather than drop on the floor like any other item in the inventory, the item will vanish, never to be seen again.