Why are stronger and more regularly shaped grains used for heavy grinding?

For heavy grinding applications, stronger and more regularly shaped abrasive grains are preferred because they offer greater durability under high-pressure conditions.1

While splintery, sharp grains are effective for rapid material removal because they penetrate easily and break down quickly to resharpen, they are often too weak for heavy-duty tasks. In contrast, when a grinding wheel or abrasive belt must remove large amounts of material under significant force, a robust, regularly shaped grain is necessary to stand up to the stress without failing prematurely. In these scenarios, the extreme pressure applied during the process is sufficient to force the abrasive into the material being ground, making the initial sharpness of the grain less critical than its structural integrity.1