flat iron; iron
A heated metal tool used for pressing clothes; commonly called アイロン in modern Japanese, but コテ can appear in traditional or specific contexts.
An electric tool for melting solder; in electronics and crafts, コテ is the standard term.
curling iron; curling tongs; crimper
A heated styling tool for curling hair; often specified as ヘアーコテ or カールコテ in beauty contexts.
She is curling her hair with a curling iron.
trowel
A flat-bladed hand tool for plastering or smoothing; in construction and plastering, コテ is the common term.
The plasterer finished the wall smoothly with a trowel.
In the past, people used a flat iron to smooth out wrinkles in kimono.
A soldering iron is essential for electronics work.
notched trowel
Katakana spelling is common for this tool word; usually written in kana.
Hiragana spelling is also used, though katakana is more typical for tool names.
Kanji form is rare and may not be recognized by many readers; usually written in kana.
The origin is uncertain; the word こて has been used for various flat metal tools since the Edo period. The kanji 鏝 is a kokuji (Japanese-made character) combining 金 (metal) and 曼, but the reading is not derived from the kanji components.