the.com/chisel
a blade that subtracts genius from rock, proving art is mostly knowing what to remove
means A hand tool with a sharp beveled edge, struck or pushed to cut and shape wood, stone, or metal — or, as a verb, to carve with one (and figuratively, to cheat someone of what's theirs).
from From Old French 'cisel,' descending through Late Latin from Latin 'caedere,' to cut or strike down — the same ancestor that gives us 'scissors,' 'incision,' and 'precise.' So the chisel is family to every clean cut in English. The slang sense of 'chisel' meaning to swindle is a much later, informal twist — the idea of shaving a little off for yourself.
- michelangelo's tool
- freed David from a block others called ruined
- copper age
- used by Egyptians 5,000 years ago
- two types
- wood and stone versions never play nice together
- verb too
- to chisel means to swindle since 1808
- strike zone
- hit the handle, never the cutting edge
burin — pointed steel chisel used by engravers since the 15th century for cutting lines into metal plates
ouchi nomi — japanese bench chisel with concave back, used in traditional woodworking for centuries
tooth chisel — specialized masonry chisel with multiple cutting edges, used for shaping stone since medieval times