Stitched buffs are stiffer when spinning and don't "mushroom" out against the work. This allows more pressure and more cutting by the abrasives. Unstitched wheels make a smoother and less aggressive cut. They are for final polishing, and create less scratching. Muslin is coarser than Cotton, and thus used for the emery and tripoli cuts. The finer cotton is used for finer grade compounds. The combed cotton/linen wheels are the finest grade for super fine and bright polishing ( often called Finex). They are more for soft metals than steel, though. I use them for ivory. Unstitched muslin or cotton are fine for final polish on blades, with the cotton being better for handles.
When polishing blades, start with the black/brown (emery and tripoli) on treated stitched muslin, and then switch to stitched cotton for the green , blue, and white.
For handles sand by hand to 100+ grit and then buff with white or no-scratch pink.
I never was a fan of the sisal wheels, but some hollow grinders swear by them for blending cuts.
BTW, "cut" is a polishing term that refers to the abrasive in the polish "cutting" the metal...which is what it does in polishing. Just like in sanding ,different metals sand better with different papers. The same goes for polishes. The abrasives in polish are blends of metal oxides that can be made to a very fine powder.The powder is carried by a grease/wax matrix. The most common metals are iron, tin-aluminum-magnesium-calcium, chrome, and cobalt (red,white,green,blue).
The white polish compounds can be confusing , as they can be a medium cut (aluminum oxide) to a super-fine cut ( fine tin oxide). Don't just go by color, but test it to see how it polishes. Also, in polish, just like in abrasive papers, you usually get what you pay for. So, the cheap polishes at the discount stores on from some sellers may be made with un-graded ( or poorly graded) compound that has large and small grit jumbled together. These are often sold as "Universal" or "Fast Cut" polish compounds, and will both cut and polish...but don't leave a very shiny surface, because the coarser grit cuts micro-scratches and the finer grit polishes those scratches. For many things this is a real time saver, but it won't work for a mirror polish on a steel blade.
Polish is just like steel - try several types, and when you find the ones that you like....stay with them and learn to perfect their use. Also, get the product from a reliable source where the quality will always be the same. Jumping around for one type to another will lead to a lot of wasted money and frustration....this is very true for both steel and polish
I suggest getting a one pound bar of:
Black emery
Brown tripoli
Green Chrome
Red Rouge
Matchless White or No-scratch pink
Also, get three stitched wheels and three unstitched wheels. Bk,Br, Gr - stitched; Gr,R,W/Pk - unstitched.
Keep the polish and the wheels in Zip-lok bags.
Be aware that polish can go bad...yes it has a shelf life. Some is as short as six months. The grease stick types are good from six months to a year. Most hard blocks are good for a long time. When the carrier breaks down ( or the tallow goes rancid - yuck!), the grit can clump together and make larger scratches.
I probably own twenty or thirty different polishing compounds ( maybe more), but use three or four 99% of the time. I am often tempted to put most the rest in a box for the next "Iron in the Hat' I go to.
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