Sandpaper (coated abrasive)
Papel de lija (abrasivo adherido)
- Date
- c. century XIII · confidence low
- Place
- China
- Credited to
- Chinese craftsmen
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A sheet of parchment with sand, crushed shells or seeds bonded with natural gum for smoothing wood and metal. It replaced pumice and horsetail as a flexible abrasive.
The earliest known report is Chinese from the 13th century; the place is unknown. Natural abrasives (pumice, emery) are much older, and industrial glass paper was patented by Isaac Fischer in the United States in 1834.
What it led to
- smooth finishing of wood, lacquer and metal
- glass paper of 1834 (Isaac Fischer) and industrial carbide abrasives
- the power sander and abrasive belt