chisel, cutting tool with a sharpened edge at the end of a metal blade, used—often by driving with a mallet or hammer—in dressing, shaping, or working a solid material such as wood, stone, or metal. Flint ancestors of the present-day chisel existed as far back as 8000 bc; the Egyptians used copper and later bronze chisels to work both wood and soft stone. Chisels today are made of steel, in various sizes and degrees of hardness, depending on use.