Sharpening tools is an important aspect of woodworking. If your tools are not adequately sharp, you do not get the desired and there is also a risk of spoiling the piece you are working on. A blunt tool is not a tool; it is simply a waste of time. It is a routine with experienced woodworkers to start the day by checking and sharpening their tools.

An abrasive is material, usually a mineral, used to shape, sharpen or finish a workpiece, often a tool, through rubbing, resulting in part of the material to wear away. Natural stones have since long been considered better but technological advancement in material technology has reduced this distinction. Many synthetic abrasives are identical to natural mineral stones; in some cases even better because impurities in the natural mineral reduce its abrasiveness.

Unless a tool is in an extremely poor condition or has been damaged by overuse or due to an accident, it is possible to sharpen any tool with as few as 2/3 abrasive grit sizes just as it is done with water stones. No matter the condition of a tool, modern abrasives are designed to address every condition of woodworking tools. They can take a chisel that is rusty or poorly surfaced or a plane blade to a mirror finish. It is entirely up to you to take a call on how fine a finish you require and will be comfortable with. As such, it is your requirement of surface quality that restricts the selection of abrasives.