The chisel was the sharp-edged metallic bar that directly chipped away at the stone. Greek artists had the luxury of iron chisels that dated all the way back to the early Archaic era (700-480 B.C.). The chisels were much harder than the copper and bronze ones that the Egyptians used before them. Stronger metal chisels made for more precise cutting of the stone and allowed for sculpting harder rocks like marble.
Much like sculptors today, ancient Greek artists used an iron hammer in conjunction with a chisel to force the edge of the chisel into the limestone, marble or wood. Varying the force and angle of the hammer's blow to the back of the chisel allowed for greater control over the chisel. This gave the precision required to create more intricate details, which are characteristic of ancient Greek sculptures.
Once the sculptured form was near completion, an emery stone was used to smooth out the rough surfaces left behind by the chiseling process. The emery stone itself was a rough stone used to soften the marble or limestone, which gave it more flesh-like characteristics, before finally polishing it in a process called "ganosis."
Bronze sculptures were rare and only commissioned by the very richest Greeks because they were so labor intensive and expensive to make. Molten bronze was poured into a wax negative mold, which was created by forming it around a positive plaster mold. The bronze filled the gap between the wax and the plaster. It then solidified as a hollow sculpture.