Sanding, Blasting, or chemical for paint removal from old metal cabinets?
Sanding will leave irregular sworls all over the cabinets.
Blasting will leave that shiny metal with a matte finish.
Chemicals may or may not be rough on your lungs &amp; hands &amp; the carpet in the living room.

Although it falls under "chemicals", try brake fluid first. Really. It's very effective as a paint remover, and its fumes and dermal effects are negligible, and it doesn't evaporate off quickly like commercially-available paint strippers do. It'll still make a mess on that carpet, though, so do it outdoors.

Sanding... unless you WET-sand, which is unlikely (and dangerous) with an ordinary handheld sander but reasonable with a pneumatic sander... will go through abrasive disks (assuming disks) rapidly; the paint will tend to clog the abrasive long before the abrasive is effectively "worn out".

Blasting... goes through a LOT of blasting media (NEVER USE BEACH SAND!) in a hurry, and requires a pretty healthy compressor. NEVER use any "white" sand in a sandblaster - it WILL give you a case of silicosis, which is a permanent condition much like emphysema.

There ARE some "safe" non-brake-fluid paint strippers out there on the market - they're worth exploring. I know of none that will strip ALL paints, though - there are some paints that steadfastly resist any chemical stripper, forcing you to resort to mechanical means (or question your goals).