[ad. F. fermoir chisel for making mortices, altered form (as if f. fermer in obs. sense to fasten, secure) of formoir, which was earlier anglicized as FORMER.] Used only in comb., firmer-chisel, -gouge, -tool (see quots.).
[1688, 1727–51, 1764: see FORMER.]
1823. P. Nicholson, Pract. Build., 239. The Firmer Chisel is a thin broad chisel, with the sides parallel to a certain length, and then tapering, so as to become much narrower towards the shoulder. It is used by being driven by the blows of a mallet on the handle.
1876. Gwilt, Encycl. Archit., Gloss. 1243. Firmer Tool, a chisel used by joiners with a mallet, by which the sides of mortises are formed.
1888. Lockwood’s Dict. Terms Mech. Eng., Firmer Tools, the ordinary short chisels and gouges of wood workers, so termed in order to distinguish them from paring tools.
