As far as I can tell, obsidian and hellstone can only be mined by the Molten Pickaxe or the Deathbringer/Nightmare Pickaxe.
I'm at a stage where I've explored a lot of the map, but have not ventured too deep into Crimson (and I want to stall that until I am stronger). I'd like to try my hand at mining hellstone/obsidian, but for that I need the correct pickaxe
The molten pickaxe needs hellstone to make it so that's out of the question.
The Deathbringer needs Crimtane bars. I can get these by fighting the Eye of Cthulhu, but I'm not finding many Suspicious Eyes to summon it with (and its not dropping much ore when I do manage to kill it).
Is there an easier way of getting to hellstone? Preferably without having to go through the Crimtane ore?
Best Answer
No, it is not possible to obtain hellstone without having demonite/crimtane ore. The demonite/crimtane tier pickaxe is the only way to obtain hellstone. Additionally, the enemies in hell are a lot more dangerous than those found in the corruption/crimson.
Since you said you've beaten the Eye of Cthulhu, you should have access to the Dryad. Buy some purification powder from her, and tunnel down near the edge of the crimson/corruption biome. This allows you to the safety of your own tunnel to smash some orbs/hearts. The first orb/heart you break contains a gun (Musket/Undertaker), which is more than capable to deal with any corruption/crimson enemies. Be careful to only smash two orbs/hearts; if you smash a third, it automatically summons the boss.
In prior playthroughs without access to the Dryad, I've gotten grenades/bombs from pots to trigger the arrival of the demolitionist, purchased bombs, then combined them with gel (sticky bombs) to make it easier to tunnel sideways into the corruption/crimson. This allowed me to obtain a gun in the relative safety of my own tunnel that I can easily wall off.