On the other hand I now use tungsten carbide indexable insert tools for bowl turning and wood composite pepper mills which are especially hard on tools. These carbide insert tools offer a tremendous value in time saving especially in roughing operations. They remove material so fast that it becomes neccessary to wear thin leather gloves while roughing a dry hardwood bowl blank in order to protect your hands from the hot chips. You can literally bury yourself in chips if you have a sufficiently powerful lathe. There is no need to sharpen carbide tools because they use an indexable carbide insert that offers four edges or a round insert that lasts a very long time. In order to grind carbide, a diamond grinding wheel is needed to achieve the fine finish to produce a sharp edge. I do not regrind these inserts but I will touch them up with a diamond hone to extend the life. If you turn dry hardwood bowls you owe it to yourself to try this tool.