styrofoam balls & pins
 

Do styrofoam balls dull pins? Is there something that sharpens them, besides walnut shells?

Emery sharpens pins and I have also heard that raw wool with sharpen pins as well as steel wool.

I made a small pincushion with some steel wool inside.

Emery power. Personally, I don't think walnut shells sharpen pins any more than cutting wood sharpens knives.

I made pin cushions with SOS pads and they work really well

Im a newbie, so this is great info.

What about sand? Isn't that what's in the tomato pincushions?

The tomato part is usually filled with sawdust and wool roving (lanolin in the wool prevents rusting) and the strawberry part is usually filled with emery.