Beginner Belts, How many?

viral

viral

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Jan 20, 2013
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Before I get started, I will inform you that I searched far and wide for a thread about this in hopes of not having to ask the wonderful gentleman of blade forums.

My question is this, if you had lets say $150 to spend on belts what would you get and from where?
I was looking at super grit and i am wondering if this is going in the right direction. What I am wondering is my quantities of consumption in comparison to other grits. Do you burn through 2 120 grits compared to 1 of each other grit? I just dont know. I would like to keep my budget under $150. Thank you so much. BTW this is a dummy order from Supergrit and it comes to $100.

2 X 72 BLACK S.C. BELT
2 X 72 BLACK S.C. BELT 400 Grit

400 2 X$3.00 $6.00
2 X 72 BLACK S.C. BELT
2 X 72 BLACK S.C. BELT 600 Grit

600 2 X$3.00 $6.00
2 X 72 CONDITIONING BELT
MEDIUM Grit

MEDIUM 1 X$13.00 $13.00
2" X 72" Ceramic Belt
220

220 2 x$5.25 $10.50
BORA 7 - 2" X 72" CERAMIC BELT
BORA 7 2" X 72" CERAMIC BELT 120 GRIT

120 6 x$6.25 $37.50
BORA 7 - 2" X 72" CERAMIC BELT
BORA 7 2" X 72" CERAMIC BELT 60 GRIT

60 3x $6.75 $20.25
 
that is about what i had to spend on belts last month I ordered from Pops knife supply and usa knife maker. A few things to keep in mind when buying belts 1 buy the best belts you can afford. 2 what are you going to do with the belts (I hardly ever use belts over 220 on handles and very little of then in the first place). 3 gator belts seem to last forever, I have a friend who has been using the same one for years. 4 a dull finishing belt is less then worthless (Believe me I know). 5 lastly you are going to have some trial and error of what you like to use, I like grinding almost every thing with 36s and some people like grinding with 80s, but no mater what belts you get you can find a use for them.
any way this is what my first order looked like.
5 984 cubitron 2 in 36grit
5 984 cubitron 2 in 80 grit All belts from pops.
5 klingspor 312 jflex in 120
5 Klingspor 312 jflex in 220
one of each of the "gator" finishing belts (A300 - A45)

50 pack of rhynowhet 150 grit and 50 of 320 from usa knife maker
 
I will be using most of them for post heat treat grinding i believe. I would like to make petty knives and some mid sized chef knives. As well as hunters and bushcraft blades. I intend to use mainly carbon, 01-1084 or the likes. I patina my blades so I was thinking the dull finish would be okay, Or would that not fly? Thanks for your input man, looking at belts is like a spiral of knowledge and every answer is right but maybe wrong...
 
Need to know what finish you want to achieve. I have up to A6(2500) trizact belts for a mirror finish. I use 600 for satin. If doing a satin finish, all with the grinder, I use blaze 50, AO 220(blue face and yellow back) AO 400, cork 600. I go through the 220s pretty good just because I like a fresh one. They are around $2 a piece so it's not bad. I still get a knife or 3 out of 1 belt depending on the size of the blade. You likely will be stingy at first(like I was) and then realize that new belts are way better, easier, and faster. Use them like there free! So, for $150 bucks "I" would get 3 36 blaze for profiling($30), 5 50 or 60 blaze($50), 10 AO 220s($30), 10 AO 400($30), some cork or scotch brite belts(the rest). That's roughly $150 and will let you make a bunch of satin finished knives. All of those are my preferences and you will have different results but I hope this helps

I use trugrit because they have every belt I could imagine. I would still go to 400 or 600 with the patina finish just to make sure it's smooth and scratch free.
 
All I can say about belts to a new maker is buy the best ya can. Cheap belts dull quick when they get dull ya start pushing harder . You will start making mistakes when that happens.
Don't know what size knives ya make but unless there Big you don't need a 36 grit there animals they will eat.
98% of what I use is

984 cubitron 60 grt.
120 klingspore 312 j-flex
220 " " "
400 " " "
I keep a few of the 120 blue klingspore belts for some scale work now and then because its a stiffer belt then the 312 and will help ya from getting a dip in scales. As time goes you'll find a few others ya like around.

Good luck
Cliff
 
Rookie25 said:
I would still go to 400 or 600 with the patina finish just to make sure it's smooth and scratch free.
Click to expand...

^This. Your etching will only make 120 and possibly even 220 grit scratches stand out more.

Depending on how you profile and how thick of stock you use, you might consider a 36 grit ceramic or 2. Normally I profile with worn 60 grits that I normally cut in the bevels with. I would recommend getting a few each of the Blaze and Value Ceramic belts in 60 grit to see if the Blaze is worth twice the price for how you grind. I would get 120 grit for your next grit, ceramic or AO, your choice. Then I use 220, 400 and 600 for my progression thereafter. Maybe get 3 to 5 each of these grits depending on how your budget is looking. I would recommend getting both the medium and fine conditioning (scotchbrite) belts. Some people even use these in progression after 120 or 220 instead of using 400/600. I've not ever used the SC belts myself, I'll have to look into them.

A lot of this will be determined by you and your machine. Everyone is a little different as to what works for them.

Good luck,
Chris
 
Gator grit. I have a 300, 100, 65 and 45 and thats how i finish each and every knife. I cant fathom how many hours those 4 belts have saved me in sanding.
 
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hellspawn415 said:
Gator grit. I have a 300, 100, 65 and 45 and thats how i finish each and every knife. I cant fathom how many hours those 4 belts have saved me in sanding.
Click to expand...

Hey hellspawn, in what ratios should you order these and from what seller?
 
Honestly you really only need one maybe two belts of each. They last forever. I have finished maybe 40-50 knives on mine with no signs of dulling and i know people who have used the sanme gator belt for a year. I bought mine from pops, but if you want to by norton or VSM they are also sold at true grit.
 
You are referring to the trizact cf correct? Would you recommend the scotch bright pads as well?
 
hellspawn415 said:
Gator grit. I have a 300, 100, 65 and 45 and thats how i finish each and every knife. I cant fathom how many hours those 4 belts have saved me in sanding.
Click to expand...

If you use these belts to finish, do you use other belts to grind the bevel initially?
 
viral said:
You are referring to the trizact cf correct? Would you recommend the scotch bright pads as well?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if you're talking to me but I will answer anyway. The scotch brite belts make a nice satin finish as do the cork belts. I use the structured AO trizact belts.
 
I like the cork belts as well. I have never used the scotchbrite belts but have heard that one must be careful when using them to keep crisp grind lines.
 
When talking about 'gator' belts which one is it? I can't find it on pops site
 
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