Hardwood is used for tons of items and structures in Stardew Valley. From Farmhouse Upgrades to Warp Totems to Oil Makers. It feels like you can never get enough of the resource. It doesn’t help that there are only a couple of ways to get your hands on it.
Hardwood will drop from Large Stumps, which require a Copper Axe or better to be chopped. Each Large Stump will yield 2 hardwood.
Large Logs yield 8 hardwood each, but they require a Steel Axe or better.
Probably the best source for hardwood though, is Mahogany Trees. Chopping down a Mahogany Tree will yield 8-13 pieces of hardwood.
The trouble with this method is actually finding and/or growing the Mahogany Trees. They only grow naturally in Ginger Island. However, Large Stumps have a 10% chance of yielding Mahogany Seeds. Slimes from the Secret Woods to the Northwest of the Wizard’s Tower also have a chance of dropping a Mahogany Seed. Use this to grow your own Mahogany Trees.
There are other niche ways of obtaining hardwood, like with the Lumberjack Profession, but these are the main ways of getting it.
How To Upgrade Your Axe
Before you can even start collecting hardwood, you at least need to upgrade your axe once to change it into a Copper Axe. The upgrade cost for this is 2,500g and 5 Copper Bars. Here’s how you collect the copper Bars.
First, gather Copper Ores from rocks and Copper Nodes.
Then, you must build a furnace using 20 Copper Ores and 25 pieces of stone. The furnace will allow you to convert 5 ores and a piece of coal into a bar. Clint gives you the blueprint for furnaces the day after you collect your first Copper Ore.
Now collect 25 more Copper Ores and 5 pieces of coal to create the required number of Copper Bars.
After that, gather 2,500g, head to the Blacksmith to the East of the town, and select your upgrade. It will be ready after a couple of in-game days after purchase.
The process of upgrading to a Steel Axe is similar, except now you need Iron Ores, Iron Bars, and 5,000g.