The point chisel is the first tool you'll want to use when you begin cutting away stone for your sculpture. Point chisels come in many sizes and are used for quickly removing stone in the beginning stages of your carving. Point chisels are typically made of hardened steel. On softer stone, be careful not to go deeper than the surface stone you wish to remove or you might leave white marks in your sculpture known as stone bruises. The point chisel is the quick and dirty tool essential for removing surface stone to rough out the basic shape of your carving.
Employ the tooth chisel after roughing out with a point chisel. The tooth chisel looks almost like a claw, and you will use it to refine the peaks and valleys left behind from the pint chisel. The tooth chisel leaves a rough texture in the process, but it is an essential part of adding definition to what you do with the point.
Flat and rondel chisels provide the smoothing necessary to begin forming your finished sculpture. Flat chisels are, as the name implies, flat edged. The rondel chisels have a more rounded end, making it less likely that you will cause damage to your stone at this point in the process. You can use either of these tools to remove any stone bruising left behind by the point and tooth chisels.
Handsets are chisels with large ends, used for breaking away large chunks of stone that you won't be needing for your sculpture. Pitching tools are chisels with slightly curved ends. Use pitching tools to make more precise lines in your sculpture, well after you've finished all the rough work.
Necessary tools used in conjunction with your cutting chisels include mallets, both rubber and steel. You'll also employ a variety of metal files, which can be helpful for smoothing your stone and removing any stone bruising you aren't able to take away with rondels or flat chisels.