Most cursed items, like the Armor of Vulnerability, require to you attune to them in order to become cursed. Curse. This armor is cursed, a fact that is revealed only when an identify spell is cast on the armor or you attune to it.
At your touch, all Curses affecting one creature or object end. If the object is a Cursed magic item, its curse remains, but the spell breaks its owner's Attunement to the object so it can be removed or discarded.
Some magic items require a creature to form a bond with them before their Magical Properties can be used. This bond is called attunement, and certain items have a prerequisite for it. If the prerequisite is a class, a creature must be a member of that class to attune to the item.
A player can only attune to so many magical items at a time, forcing them to think carefully about which items to use. Occasionally, however, a magic item will not require this attunement process, and its powers and abilities can be utilized without restriction.
In Dungeons & Dragons, one of the greatest tools a DM can have at their disposal is a cursed magical item. Cursed items in D&D are unique in that magical identification can reveal what magic items do without necessarily divulging the information on the curse that comes with it.
Yes, an unattuned magic weapon can be a pact weapon.
Some magic items require a creature to form a bond with them before their magical properties can be used. This bond is called attunement, and certain items have a prerequisite for it....
Attunement grants 1 slot at 10, and 5 slots at 19. If you feel like spending 4 more points after that, you can have 6 slots. However, it's recommended that you not spend more afterwords (unless you really want more spells).
You can strike someone with a magic weapon even if you're not attuned to it, and the weapon still counts as magical. Your attunement doesn't determine its magicalness.
If the item confers a statistical bonus, it should require attunement. That keeps you from passing the thing around. +1 anything should be attuned. Items that confer abilities, require rolls to use typically, so attunement is not as much of a barrier as the roll itself.
You find a magic weapon regardless of it's benefits and or magical properties but don't attune to it. It's still a magical item, detect magic will clearly show it as such, so if you use the weapon without being attuned to it wouldn't the damage be done still be considered magical damage.
Breaking attunement can be as easy as leaving it behind and traveling more than 100 feet away from it for 24 hours, or simply spending a short rest with that item to break the connection between the attuned and the item.
A grindstone cannot remove a curse. Grindstones also do not remove an item's custom name.
Put plainly, without the use of console commands or Creative Mode, a curse can only be removed when the cursed item is broken or when a player dies.
Average damage of 2d6 (7 dmg) is better than 1d12 (6.5 dmg), but if you want to get 12s, your odds are better with the 1-12. You also have a better chance of rolling a 1, than you have of getting a 2 with the 2d6.
An item can be attuned to only one creature at a time, and a creature can be attuned to no more than three magic items at a time. Any attempt to attune to a fourth item fails; the creature must end its attunement to an item first. Additionally, a creature can't attune to more than one copy of an item.
Cloak of the Manta Ray: Allows you to breathe underwater, and swim pretty fast. There's another item like this that makes a bubble of air around your head. Neither require attunement.
Karazhan is the first raid dungeon requiring an attunement quest in The Burning Crusade.
The gentle touch and voice used by a caregiver builds a child's sense of security. A parent can pay attention to how their child feels by looking at how their little one responds to stimuli (e.g. likes to be touched firmly rather than softly, likes soft lights instead of bright lights, or doesn't tolerate crowds).
Cursed Items: Most methods of identifying items, including the Identify spell, fail to reveal such a curse, although lore might hint at it. A curse should be a surprise to the items user when the curse's effects are revealed.
There is still no precedent for the remove curse spell or any similar effects being able to rid a cursed item of its curse. Unfortunately, wish and divine intervention remain as the only permanent RAW methods, as you have surmised.
Removing a curse or its effects
Once a cursed item is equipped, it cannot be removed normally. To unequip cursed items, the player has to visit a Sanctum and talk to the healer there, requesting to remove cursed items. Cursed items can be used without the side effect. The Cleric's Ring is the answer to this.