I recently bought a brick so well condensed it broke a tea pick and nearly broke the tip of a heavy duty knife I tried in desperation. I began a search for something to cut into this brick. I bought an ice pick and a oyster knife on the recommendations of others on Teachat. They turned out to be excellent tea tools but useless for the brick of bricks. I also bought awls on Amazon which were also not up to the task. A chisel worked but I decided it was not a good idea. After some ebay searches I found the Awlman Ice Pick/Awl. It broke off chunks of that impossible brick safely and easily! While it is not a tool of finesse, it is worth buying if you have exceedingly well compressed bricks.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/281140454424?ss ... 1439.l2649