I have sharpend pins and hand needles many times by sticking through steel wool, but never thought of this idea! For those who mentioned they were afraid of this idea I want to say that yrs. ago in a craft class we made homemade straight pin sharpeners & holders to stick the pins in. We used canning jar lids as the base, put steel wool pads on top and covered them both with velvet, or velveteen. We then glued this to a small glass ashtray, or dish. I still have mine and I still use it! I have had no problem, it sharpens them all, over and over again. :)