Animal Crossing: New Leaf/Tools

Tools are essential for helping to maintain your town. As you progress you will be able to acquire upgrades for some of the basic tools. These upgraded tools will not break and have other advantages related to the activity they are used for.

Shovel
A Shovel is a wonderful tool with multiple purposes. Its main function is to dig holes, whether to unravel buried objects, bury items or plant saplings. Shovels are also used to strike rocks, which can force out certain bugs, activate the money rock or break the daily fake rock. Press lets you use the shovel depending on the task, which is either striking an object, digging a hole or filling up a hole. The basic shovel can be bought from the Nooklings' Store for 500 Bells if they have it in stock.

Silver Shovel
The silver shovel can be bought for 500 Bells from the museum gift shop once you've constructed the museum renovation Public Works Project and donated a total of 15 Fossils to the museum. The silver shovel acts like a normal shovel, except that striking the money rock can occasionally produce mineral ores instead of Bells, netting you a higher profit if you sell them all off.

Gold Shovel
Leif will give you the gold shovel once you've bought a total of 50 bags of fertilizer from the Garden Center. The gold shovel has the ability to grow money trees. To do so, you can plant a bag of money in the ground with the gold shovel, which will hopefully grow into a tree that produces the same amount of bells for each of its three fruit, tripling the money you lost after planting it.

Fishing Rod
The fishing rod is the tool you use to catch fish, whether it's in the river or at sea. Press to cast your lure and press  again to pull it back. They can be bought from Nooklings' Store for 500 Bells. Isabelle will also offer to sell you one for the standard price early in the game if you tell her you lack a fishing rod after she makes you catch some fish. Chip will also give you a fishing rod for free during fishing tourneys if you don't have one.

Silver Fishing Rod
The silver fishing rod can be bought from the museum gift shop for 500 Bells once you've donated at least 30 Fish to the museum. It makes fish more likely to bite down at your lure and bite down longer once they do, making it easier to catch fish.

Gold Fishing Rod
The gold fishing rod can be obtained from Chip by talking to him during a fishing tourney once you've caught every fish in the game. It has similar effects to the silver fishing rod but is obviously better, making it even easier to catch fish.

Net
The net is used for catching bugs, but it also has the new feature of being able to pop balloons as they float from the cliff to the beach. Press to swing the net, or hold  to ready your net, letting you release the button to swing the net once you approach your target. You can get it from Nooklings' Store for 500 Bells. Isabelle will also offer to sell you one at the standard price if you tell her you lack a net after she challenges you to catch some bugs. Nat will also give you a Net for free if you talk to him during a Bug-Off without a net.

Silver Net
The silver net can be bought at the museum gift shop for 500 Bells after you've donated 30 bugs to the museum. The silver net has a wider area, so it is easier to catch bugs with it.

Gold Net
The gold net can be obtained from Nat by talking to him during a Bug-Off once you've caught every bug in the game. It has an even wider area than the silver net, making bug-catching a piece of cake.

Watering Can
The watering can is simply used to water flowers. The flowers planted around town need water to survive. Not watering a flower too long could cause it to wilt. However, it is possible to water a wilted flower to revive it the next day. Watered flowers will briefly be dripping with water, and will sparkle periodically for the rest of the day. Simply press to use it. A watering can will be given to you for free when you start the game, while you can buy it from the Garden Center for 500 Bells.

Silver Watering Can
The silver watering can is obtained by talking to Leif at the Garden Center after buying a total of 50 flower seeds. The silver watering can covers five squares of land instead of the one in front of you. To be more precise, it covers the tile you're standing on, three tiles in a horizontal line in front of you as well as a fifth tile in front of the middle of the three tiles in the line. Think of it as a + sign with you standing at one of the edges.

Gold Watering Can
The gold watering can must be obtained by first maintaining a Perfect Town Rating for 15 days, then talking to Isabelle at the front desk. The Gold Watering Can covers a 3x3 square area with one sprinkle, which is the row you're standing in as well as the two rows in front of you.

Axe
The axe is used for chopping down trees. Press to swing the axe once. Each tree needs 3 swings to be felled, leaving behind a tree stump that can be dug out with a Shovel. The axe is the only tool that will break after repeated usage. You can only buy it from the Garden Center for 400 Bells.

Silver Axe
The silver axe can be bought for Club Tortimer members at the island for 8 Medals. The silver axe is far more likely to create tree stumps with patterns other than the standard concentric circles. However, it will still break if used enough, although it does appear to be more durable.

Gold Axe
The gold axe is given to you by Leif after buying 50 tree saplings. The gold axe is the only axe that won't break, making the 50 sapling investment well worth it.

Slingshot
The slingshot is used for popping balloons that occasionally fly across your town. The net can also accomplish this, but you can only pop balloons with it when the balloon floats toward or away from the beach and is low enough to hit. Slingshots can be bought at T&T stores, but only after you upgrade to T&T Mart and above.

Silver Slingshot
The silver slingshot will rarely float across your town suspended by two balloons after you've popped more than 16 balloon presents, by net or by slingshot. The silver slingshot shoots two shots at once.

Gold Slingshot
The gold slingshot will rarely float across your town suspended by three balloons after you've popped more than 16 balloons, by net or by slingshot. The gold slingshot shoots three shots at once.

Wet Suit
The wet suit enables you to go swimming, which lets you catch Deep Sea Creatures that you can't find by fishing. It can only be bought on the Island. All wet suits cost 40 Medals. The wet suit is a bit more complicated to use. Press near the shore to enter the water, then press  while swimming to move forward. Press to dive, then press  to move around underwater. There are a variety of wet suits that you can buy, but they have no practical difference. The types of wet suits are: Club Tortimer members also have the chance to buy the following exclusive wet suits:
 * Black Wet Suit
 * Green Wet Suit
 * Orange Wet Suit
 * Pink Wet Suit
 * Blue Wet Suit
 * Red Wet Suit
 * Striped Wet Suit
 * White Wet Suit

Timer
The timer creates a count down, so it is useful for fishing, bug-catching or diving competitions with friends, especially since it tracks the amount of fish, bugs or deep sea creatures caught. It doesn't serve any practical purpose, but fun for multiplayer parties.

Megaphone
The megaphone lets you call out the names of your villagers to pinpoint their location. To use it, hold and speak into the microphone. Pronounce the villager's name clearly so that you can get a response. Don't use the megaphone loudly close to other villagers or you might anger them.