Other Stones
Minecraft’s underground is packed with beautiful stone variants like andesite, granite, and diorite, but for years they’ve been little more than decorative blocks. If you’ve ever wished those stacks of polished stone could actually be useful in survival crafting, the Other Stones add-on is exactly what you need. This lightweight minimod expands your crafting options by treating these three stone types as direct substitutes for cobblestone in all the basic recipes you rely on every day.
What Does Other Stones Do?
At its core, Other Stones for Minecraft is a recipe expansion pack. It doesn’t add new blocks, mobs, or dimensions. Instead, it unlocks the potential of blocks you already mine in abundance. Once installed, you can craft stone swords, axes, pickaxes, shovels, and hoes using andesite, granite, or diorite instead of cobblestone. The same goes for furnaces — no more hunting for cobblestone when you’re surrounded by granite in a cave. The add-on also includes simple conversion recipes to turn andesite, granite, and diorite back into regular cobblestone, giving you total flexibility over your inventory.
Why You Need This Minimod
Vanilla Minecraft forces you to use cobblestone for essential early-game tools and furnaces, which can be frustrating when your inventory is overflowing with andesite and diorite. Other Stones solves that problem elegantly. It respects the vanilla feel — all recipes mirror the original cobblestone patterns exactly, so there’s no learning curve. Whether you’re building a massive castle with polished andesite or just clearing out a granite-heavy cave, this add-on turns waste blocks into valuable resources. It’s perfect for players who love efficiency and hate throwing away perfectly good stone.
Supported Minecraft Versions and Loaders
This minimod is designed for Minecraft Java Edition and runs on the Forge mod loader. It has been tested and works smoothly on versions 1.16.5 and 1.18.2, with community reports of compatibility on some 1.19 builds as well. Because it only tweaks crafting recipes, it’s incredibly lightweight and unlikely to conflict with other mods. If you’re using Fabric, a similar functionality can be achieved through data packs, but for Forge users, this is the simplest plug-and-play solution.
How to Install Other Stones
Getting started with Other Stones is straightforward. First, make sure you have Forge installed for your chosen Minecraft version. Then, download Other Stones from a trusted mod repository — the file is a standard .jar. Place it into your Minecraft mods folder, and you’re ready to go. No additional dependencies or configuration are required. If you’re using a custom launcher like foxygame.net, you can find Other Stones in the built-in add-on catalog and install it with a single click, with the launcher automatically matching the correct version to your game instance. This takes the guesswork out of manual file management and ensures you’re always running a compatible build.
Step-by-Step Manual Installation
- Locate your Minecraft mods folder (usually
.minecraft/mods). - Download the Other Stones .jar file for your Forge version.
- Drag and drop the file into the mods folder.
- Launch Minecraft with the Forge profile.
- Check the in-game mods menu to confirm it’s loaded.
All Recipes Unlocked
Here’s a quick overview of every recipe that Other Stones adds to your crafting table. Each one uses the same shape as the vanilla cobblestone version, just with a different stone type.
- Stone Sword — andesite, granite, or diorite
- Stone Axe — andesite, granite, or diorite
- Stone Pickaxe — andesite, granite, or diorite
- Stone Shovel — andesite, granite, or diorite
- Stone Hoe — andesite, granite, or diorite
- Furnace — andesite, granite, or diorite
- Andesite to Cobblestone
- Diorite to Cobblestone
- Granite to Cobblestone
Gameplay Impact and Balance
Some purists might wonder if this makes the game too easy, but Other Stones is carefully balanced. Stone tools are still the second tier — they’re not as fast or durable as iron, so you’ll still need to progress. The real benefit is convenience. You can now craft a furnace on the spot when you’re deep in a diorite-filled ravine, or quickly make a backup pickaxe from granite without backtracking to your cobblestone chest. The conversion recipes also mean you can turn excess andesite into cobblestone for building projects, which is a nice quality-of-life touch.
Why This Add-On Remains Relevant
Even though the original mod page might be marked as abandoned, the concept behind Other Stones is timeless. Many players still enjoy older Minecraft versions or prefer minimal modpacks that don’t overhaul the entire game. This add-on fills a small but persistent gap in vanilla logic — why can’t you make a stone tool out of stone? It’s the kind of tweak that once you use it, you’ll wonder why it wasn’t in the base game. For those who want to download Other Stones today, it remains available on various community archives and can be easily integrated into any Forge setup.
Final Thoughts
Other Stones for Minecraft is a tiny mod with a big impact on your daily crafting routine. It respects the vanilla experience, adds no bloat, and makes your mining trips more rewarding. Whether you’re a builder tired of sorting through useless stone variants or a survivalist who values every inventory slot, this add-on deserves a spot in your mods folder. Give it a try, and you’ll never look at andesite the same way again.