At the beginning stage of the sculpting process, artists used drawing tools to sketch out a preliminary drawing of the shape they wanted to make. Stone tools were used to reduce large blocks or slabs of stones into the general shape of the statues. Sculptors would strike the stone blocks with these large, stone-bladed tools to remove large pieces of the base stone until they developed the basic outline necessary for their sculpture. Bronze saws, outfitted with jeweled teeth, could be used to cut away larger pieces of stones.
A wooden mallet and copper chisel were valuable tools used to carve the stones. The Egyptian stone carver's mallet featured a rounded wooden head that allowed the carver to strike the chisel's head without having to pay meticulous detail to aiming. The back end of the copper chisel was rounded in a mushroom shape to help the carver deliver more forceful blows against the stone. The chisel's head was either clawed or exhibited a straight, sharp edge.
After the sculpture's basic outline was formed, ancient Egyptian sculptors refined the vague rock form using a variety of smaller flint instruments. Other tools could be made from hardened bronze or iron, such as various drills, pointers and chisels. These tools were used with precision to make the statues look lifelike and realistic, allowing the artists to meticulously alter the stone until they were completely satisfied with their project.
Ancient Egyptian artists weren't satisfied with an incomplete project. The ancients used rubbing stone and quartz sand to polish away tool marks and minor impurities. Sculptors would coat an area of the sculpture with sand and then meticulously rub it with the stone, to achieve the purpose of modern-day course sandpaper. In areas where metal tools were too clumsy to chip away rock, quartz sand was used to wear away rough angles.