The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Read the description on the reverse side of the packet (pictured in link) and tell me if the needle "sharpens" itself.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pack-of-100- ... Sw-XBgNBTO

I'd guess that any steel needle point would in effect "sharpen" or shape itself as it grinds through a shellac record groove. That's how they're designed, to quickly fit to the particular record groove being played. That custom point won't fit the next record groove exactly, so you'll have extra record wear. Turning the needle makes matters worse. Bad advice in my opinion!
Bob

Yes, the needlepoint which has run a side gets ground in a kind of V shape, even with flat shoulders at the upped part of the V, where the needle has not penetrated in the groove. When you turn the needle and use it again, these sharp flat faces get into the grooves, and wear them as a chisel. Maybe after a few turns of the record, the point is ground again, and the needle readapts to the new groove, but the point is blunt, and there is a real risk of ruining the record. Anyway, the first turns have been damaged.
That's the reason of many 78s having rough starts. And that's the reason of finding many worn out 78s. People sometimes didn't care about changing the needle...
I've been playing 78s on acoustic gramophones 40 years, and the first 100 or so I had at the beginning, were played many many times, each time with a fresh steel needle, and after all those plays, they're still in good shape today!