A Stonemason's hammer, also known as a brick hammer, has one flat traditional face and a short or long

chisel 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, s ...

-shaped blade. It can thus be used to chip off edges or small pieces of stone, cut brick or a

concrete masonry unit A concrete masonry unit (CMU) is a standard-size rectangular block used in building construction. CMUs are some of the most versatile building products available because of the wide variety of appearances that can be achieved using them. Th ...

, without using a separate

. The chisel blade can also be used to rapidly cut bricks or

cinder block A concrete masonry unit (CMU) is a standard-size rectangular block used in building construction. CMUs are some of the most versatile building products available because of the wide variety of appearances that can be achieved using them. Th ...

s. This type of hammer is also used by

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, alt ...

s when collecting rock and

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ...

samples and is one of several types of geologist's hammer.

References

Hammers Stonemasonry tools {{Tool-stub