Making a shield in minecraft is going nowhere

when you've made it, put it in your off hand and hold right-click to block. axes knock it out for a few seconds, so against vindicators don't just stand there holding it. you can stick a banner on it in the crafting grid if you want it to look like something, and it repairs with planks in an anvil.

had exactly this and it turned out to be the iron. it's six planks and one iron ingot, not an iron block - ingot top middle, planks filling the rest in a pointed shape with the bottom middle square empty. any wood will do but don't mix two types in the same craft. nothing needs unlocking, it's there from the start, so if the recipe book shows nothing you've got the wrong ingredient rather than the wrong order.