Minecraft wiki entry for Before_1.8, associated text: Renaming items can be done in the same work step as repairing or combining, provided the experience cost is not too high. In survival mode, the anvil can only apply 39 levels worth of work in a single operation. If the job would cost 40 or more levels, it will be rejected as "Too Expensive!". (This does not apply in creative mode.) Such jobs can often be done piecewise: rename first, then repair, then combine. Note that it is possible to produce items so heavily enchanted that they cannot be worked on at all.