Types of stone chisels include the following:
Toothed chisel (2-tooth, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc.)
Flat chisel
Bolster chisel or drove chisel
Point, or point chisel
Angle chisel, skew chisel, or miter chisel
Rondel chisel, round chisel, or bullnose chisel
Inverted rondel chisel
Gouge
Cape chisel or splitter
Lettering chisel
Generally they are sized small, medium, or large.
Stone chisels made to be struck with a steel hammer are called hammer head. Mallet head chisels have larger, mushroom-shaped heads that won't damage a wooden mallet.
Here are several photos from eBay of stone chisels, and at top an image of traditional French designs.
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| Traditional French stone chisels |
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| Stone chisels in canvas roll |
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| Toothed stone chisels (mallet heads) |
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| Toothed, flat, rondel, and point chisels (hammer heads) |
Is there any way to date stone chisels? I recently bought an antique wood tool box at a thrift store. It was full of tools. While one was a newer WWII era wrench, the rest, with the exception of maybe one more, appear to be much older. I would estimate the box at late 1800s to maybe early 1900s. But I am not sure if the tools are just as old or not. I don't know much about old tools. My dad thought they were mostly stonemason tools. I am not sure how to date them. Not trying to value them or sell them, but rather curious to narrow down the date of the box. One chisel has the initials "IK" on it. Perhaps I could find out who they belonged to, although it seems a long shot.
ReplyDeleteVery functional website for educating myself about stonemason tools. I am finding chisels in my great uncle's tool box. He was a finish carpenter, but seemed to deal with other tasks as part of his work. Thank you for presenting it so well.
ReplyDeleteI found a large tool that appears to be a chisel on our farm but can find any information to identify what it is. The tool is 20 inches long, has an octagon shaft and the cutting edge is in the shape of an broadhead or flat spade. The striking end is flared out from being struck. Any information will be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThat is a type of star drill, a drill bit for masonry that is hit with a hammer.
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