This gives an intermediate action somewhere between a straight glue bond and a straight resin bond. Abrasives are the cutting tools on the surface of the and can be either man-made or natural. Some abrasives must be tough and durable to resist point wear or fracture for high pressure applications while others must be mild and friable to fracture before serious dulling occurs. Aluminum Oxide is a tough, wedge-shaped abrasive that is well suited to grinding most steels, tough bronze and hard woods. Ceramic Aluminum Oxide is the newest in the family of man-made abrasives.
Natural abrasives are generally soft and more suited for mild action and fine finish work.
For coated abrasives, Garnet is the most widely used of all the natural abrasives. Because of its very sharp edges, it is particularly good for furniture and other woodworking. Before the introduction of man-made abrasives, emery was one of the more popular abrasives. It is a blocky abrasive that cuts slowly but polishes very well. It is used where there may be loading, clogging or filling problems, generally offers greater flexibility and the resulting finish is usually poorer.