[TalBlack]

I’d guess if copper was all they had then that is what they used. Copper will do the job but it will take an immensely longer time than steel. Even with hardened steel they have to be sharpened constantly. The Red granite that is the likely stone to be crisp after millenia is hard as hell. I have to admit that when I see depictions on cable TV of the tools and the way they are thought to have been used in completing types of jobs I do today I’m DAMNED skeptical. The limestone and sandstone yeah, fine, I’ll buy it. But the red granite...I don’t know...

[Windflier]

I’d guess if copper was all they had then that is what they used. Copper will do the job but it will take an immensely longer time than steel.

Thanks for your feedback.

I did a bit of reading on the relative hardnesses of the materials we're discussing. On the Mohs Scale, copper is rated at 3, and granite is rated at 6 to 7.

I'm not sure what method the ancients used to harden their copper chisels, but I doubt they could increase the hardness of those tools to be tougher than granite.