The surface topography of a coated abrasive was measured by a special designed profilometer with an oscillating stylus, revealing very detailed geometric features of the peaks. The criterion for a peak to be a dynamic active cutting edge is analyzed and the results are applied for the identification of active cutting edges of the measured profiles. The distributions of some geometric properties of the active cutting edges as heights, distances, rake-angles and wear-lands are evaluated for six grades of coated abrasives.