A sharp-edged blank is a piece of cork cut to approximate stopper dimensions but not yet finished — it retains sharp edges and has not been chamfered, polished, or otherwise worked to its final form. A finished stopper, which has been shaped, smoothed, and is ready for insertion into a bottle, is classified under heading 4503. The presence of finishing work (rounding, surface treatment, printing) is the practical dividing line.

Cork plates and sheets classified under 4502 are in an intermediate form — debacked and cut but not yet agglomerated or fabricated into a finished product. Finished cork flooring tiles, insulation panels, and similar fabricated articles are classified under heading 4504 as agglomerated cork products. If the sheets are sold and used directly without further fabrication, classification should be reviewed carefully against the heading 4504 descriptions to confirm the correct tariff line.