I've been turning for a couple years. For about a year and a half I
sanded my turning by hand using plain sandpaper (usually the same stuff
I used to sand my other woodworking projects).

This year I replaced my lathe with one with more power and a reversing
motor. I've also been buying those expensive sanding disks because I've
been wanting to improve the appearance of my finished turnings.

However a nagging memory has been haunting me, I remember seeing
something about not needing sanding disks if your lathe will reverse.

I've also seen some demos where sanding was done just by holding the
sandpaper by hand and not using a drill and velcro sanding disk.

How many turners use the sanding disks? How many don't?

Which is better?