1678 J. Moxon I. iv. 74 The Mortess Chissel..is a narrow Chissel but hath its Blade much thicker, and..stronger... Its Office is to cut..Mortesses in..wood.
1819 P. Nicholson III. 151/1 Those [used] for cutting mortises are called mortise chisels.
1991 Apr. 8 (caption) Set the pins of a marking gauge to the width of the mortise chisel to be used.