There are many abrasives on the market ranging from the sanding block at the DIY store which comes in medium or fine grades, to the sheets of abrasive that were once called sand paper years ago. It then was called glass paper but now to be politically correct we refer to it as abrasive.

I do accept that cost is a big factor and despite new turners using a lot of abrasive until they learn how to use gouges correctly I would nevertheless recommend buying a good quality paper, a sheet of aluminum oxide abrasive will by far outlive many sheets of cheaper quality papers. So before you pick up some bargain sheets of abrasive just stop and think how long you will be able to use it for before it breaks up. Abrasive is meant to cut so avoid pressing as hard as you can, as that will not achieve a good finish and will only breakdown the abrasive quicker. I find that the cloth backed abrasives are best these are readily available up to 600 grit, after that I use wet and dry which is available from most car accessory shops up to 1500 grit.

I have a Sorby rotary sander and I sometimes use a battery drill with a foam backed sanding pad with a velcro backing. As stated above you will use less and less abrasive as you become more proficient at rubbing the bevel of your gouges, by which time you will need to do little sanding and dependant upon the type of wood sometimes you can obtain a finish straight from the gouge or skew chisel. Remember though whatever you do to ventilate and extract dust from your workshop, always wear a mask capable of collecting the tiny dust particles (see extractors and air shield notes above) .