Abrasive/Emery cloth

    Emery was considered a suitable abrasive for fitting work and the final adjustment of steel parts for a perfect fit. It had the advantage that, unlike harder abrasives, it was not considered to embed abrasive traces in the polished components afterwards. Emery was also used for cleaning, as a means of removing rust from polished steel components.

    Both emery cloth and paper are still sold in hardware and do it yourself stores, but have been largely supplanted by the increased use of machine grinding to precision size, which has minimized or eliminated the need for hand-fitting; the widespread availability of powered hand tools employing sanding and grinding accessories such as flapwheels; and a shift to other forms of abrasive, such as aluminum oxide, aluminium zirconia and silicon carbide.