When I first picked up a chisel at university in Hangzhou, I had no idea what half the tools in the workshop were for. Twenty years later, I still remember the feeling of holding a point chisel for the first time and thinking: this is where it all starts. If you’re considering stone carving as a craft or art form, understanding your tools is the foundation of everything that follows.

The Point Chisel: Your Starting Companion

The point chisel is the workhorse of rough shaping. It has a single pointed tip that concentrates force into a small area, making it ideal for removing large amounts of material quickly. When you’re blocking out a form from a raw stone, the point chisel is what you reach for first.

I recommend starting with a tungsten carbide-tipped point chisel. High-carbon steel versions are cheaper but dull faster, especially on harder stones like granite. For a beginner working with softer stones like soapstone or limestone, steel is perfectly fine. But if you plan to progress to marble, invest in carbide early.

Flat Chisels and Tooth Chisels

Once you’ve roughed out your shape, flat chisels help you refine surfaces. They come in various widths, from about 10mm up to 50mm or more. A 20mm flat chisel is a good all-rounder for someone just starting out.

Tooth chisels (also called claw chisels) sit between the point and the flat. They have multiple teeth along the cutting edge and leave a distinctive lined texture on the stone. Many sculptors use tooth chisels as their primary shaping tool because they remove material efficiently while giving you more control than a point chisel. The tooth marks can also be left as a decorative finish — you’ll see this on plenty of public sculptures around Melbourne and Sydney.

Rasps and Rifflers

After chiselling, rasps smooth and refine your work. Stone rasps are coarser than wood rasps, with aggressive teeth designed to abrade hard material. Diamond rasps are worth the investment — they cut faster and last considerably longer than standard steel rasps.

Rifflers are small, curved rasps designed for getting into tight spaces, undercuts, and detailed areas. A set of six to eight rifflers in various profiles will cover most situations you’ll encounter as a beginner.

Hammers and Mallets

Your chisel is only as good as what drives it. For hand carving, you have two main options:

Steel hammers deliver a sharp, precise blow. A 1kg hammer is standard for most work. The downside is fatigue — steel on steel transmits a lot of vibration into your hand and wrist.

Dummy mallets (also called bounceless mallets or soft-face mallets) are weighted with lead shot inside a rubber housing. They absorb shock and reduce fatigue significantly. For long carving sessions, they’re a relief.

I use both, depending on the stone and the task. For fine detail work, I prefer a lighter steel hammer. For extended roughing sessions, the dummy mallet saves my joints.

Pneumatic Tools

Once you’re comfortable with hand tools, pneumatic (air-powered) tools can transform your workflow. A pneumatic hammer essentially does what your hand and mallet do, but at hundreds of strikes per minute.

The most common setup is a small compressor powering a pneumatic chisel holder. You still use standard chisels, but the air hammer drives them. This is particularly valuable when working with harder stones or on larger pieces where hand-carving alone would take weeks.

A decent entry-level pneumatic setup — compressor plus hammer — will cost around $800 to $1,500 AUD. It’s not essential for a beginner, but if you find yourself carving regularly, it’s the single best upgrade you can make.

Angle Grinders and Diamond Discs

Modern stone carvers frequently use angle grinders fitted with diamond cutting and grinding discs. They’re fast, versatile, and relatively affordable. A 125mm grinder with a diamond cup wheel can rough-shape stone in minutes rather than hours.

However, they generate enormous amounts of dust. Always use them with water suppression or, at minimum, a proper P2 respirator and eye protection. Silicosis is a real and serious risk — never cut stone dry without respiratory protection.

Safety Essentials

Speaking of safety: before you buy your first chisel, buy your first pair of safety glasses and a dust mask. Stone fragments are sharp and unpredictable. Flying chips can cause serious eye injuries. I always wear safety glasses when carving, without exception.

For dusty operations (grinding, sanding, cutting), a P2-rated respirator is the minimum. If you’re doing a lot of dry work, consider a powered air-purifying respirator.

Hearing protection matters too, especially with pneumatic tools and grinders.

Getting Started

My advice to beginners is always the same: start with soft stone. Soapstone, alabaster, or soft limestone are forgiving materials that let you learn tool control without fighting the material. Buy a small block, a point chisel, a flat chisel, a tooth chisel, and a 1kg hammer. Spend a few weekends just experimenting with how the stone responds to different angles and pressures.

The tools will tell you a lot, but the stone tells you more. Learning to listen to both is what stone carving is really about.