Polishing tools and associated methods are disclosed. In one aspect, a tool for polishing a work piece is provided. Such a tool may include a solid substrate with a greater than 10 wt % graphite having a high degree of graphitization. The solid substrate may have a working surface which has asperities having a tip-to-tip RA value of less than or equal to about 10 .mu.m, and the working surface may have a surface roughness RA value of less than or equal to about 50 .mu.m. A method for making such a tool and a method for polishing a work piece are also presented.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/543,761 filed Oct. 4, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,285,039 and of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/706,132 filed Feb. 12, 2007, now abandoned each of which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/357,712, filed Feb. 17, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,241,206 all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
