A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, struck with a mallet, or mechanical power.The handle and blade of some types of chisel are made of metal or of wood with a sharp edge in it.
Chiselling use involves forcing the blade into some material to cut it. The driving force may be applied by pushing by hand, or by using a mallet or hammer. In industrial use, a hydraulic ram or falling weight ('trip hammer') drives a chisel into the material.
A gouge, one type of chisel, serves—particularly in woodworking, woodturning and sculpture—to carve small pieces from the material. Gouges most frequently produce concave surfaces.