The 2x4 is a plank of lumber and the most common melee weapon in the game, especially in Boston and Pittsburgh. It reaches farther than your fists, stuns a human with one hit and lasts four swings before it breaks.
Attaching a blade turns the plank into a one-hit-kill weapon. The Melee: Knots and Melee: Techniques training manuals each add one more lethal hit, up to three.
A Shorty blast followed by a 2x4 swing downs an enemy fast in close quarters, even an armored one. Upgrading and then breaking one of every melee weapon unlocks the Build 'Em Up, Break 'Em Down trophy.
9mm pistol
The 9mm pistol is Joel's first gun in The Last of Us Part I, picked up from his and Tess's hideout in The Quarantine Zone before they go after Robert. It fires fast, has the most ammo around and stays useful all game as a cheap backup to your heavier guns.
Brick
Bricks are throwables you pick up from the ground to distract or stun enemies. Throw one to the side to pull a patrol away, or straight at someone to stagger them for a follow-up hit.
Lead pipe
The lead pipe is the toughest breakable melee weapon in the game, lasting nine hits. Joel can first pick one up in The Outskirts while clearing infected on his own, and another lies where Ellie drops it after hitting Bill in Lincoln.
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail is a crafted firebomb made from alcohol and a rag, the same ingredients as a health kit. One hit kills almost any enemy outright, and the pool of fire it leaves kills anyone who walks through it.