As an abrasive garnet can be broadly divided in two categories, blasting grade and water jet grade. 

1)The garnet, as it is mined and collected, is crushed to finer grains.

   * Usually garnet sand 36-60 mesh, used for sandblasting.

   * The pieces between 60-120 mesh  are normally used for water jet cutting. 

   * The 100-320 mesh are used for glass polishing and lapping. 

Regardless of the application, the larger grain sizes are used for faster work and the smaller ones are used for finer finishes.

2) Garnet sand is a good abrasive, and a common replacement for silica sand in sand blasting. Alluvial garnet grains which are rounder are more suitable for such blasting treatments. Mixed with very high pressure water, garnet is used to cut steel and other materials in water jets. For water jet cutting, garnet extracted from hard rock is suitable since it is more angular in form, therefore more efficient in cutting.

3) Garnet sand is also used for water filtration media.