THE KINSHIP OF COMMON TOOLS 127 



was the axe. Its function is to pare, to chop, driven 

 by the mallet, and to rend. Its rending action is akin 

 to that of the coarser wedge driven by the heavy two- 

 handed mallet called the bittle. A plane is merely 

 a chisel so set in a wooden block as to take a thin 

 slice of wood, whose thickness can be regulated at will. 

 A brad-awl is a small chisel used without mallet 

 with a wriggling motion ; gimlets, augers, and centre- 

 bits are revolving chisels, the two former having screw 

 action. 



Saw, rasp, and file are nearly the same thing. A 

 thin file, with teeth on its edge only, becomes a saw, 

 while a saw with teeth on the flat as* well as the edge 

 is a rasp. 



