belt life questions

mattd · Dec 18, 2003

I was rereading Bob Warner's faq section of his website and the topic af annealing was touched on. I have overlooked this step, if it is one, on my first knife. I have and will be using 01 and am wondering if anealing will save belts when grinding and what should I put the blade in after heating it? could I put it between two heated up fire bricks over night or the oven set real low? I would really like to go through less belts. Also, if I lube my belts up with cool tool II, would it help improve the life of belts or would it make them less effective?

george tichbourne · Dec 18, 2003

O1 is generally supplied in the annealed condition.

Belt lube reduces heat buildup during grinding which is a good thing for belt life but some belt lubes cause a buildup of grinding dust which affects rate of stock removal.

The greatest thing affecting belt life is grinding technique. Excessive digging in of edges of the steel will scrape off a lot of the grit seriously affecting belt life and prolonged grinding of flat surfaces heats up the belt causing the grains to round off and glaze.

I regularly profile a dozen knives per 50 grit aluminum oxide belt and bevel grind over 20 per belt...Large bowies the figure drops to 5 profiled or 4 bevel ground(large flat surfaces kill belts fast). I don't use a belt lube.

AKA Knife Knut · Dec 19, 2003

Newbie with no practical experience here;

Would it be possible to wet grind with belts?
Would keep down dust, and cool everything off.

Mike Hull · Dec 19, 2003

Originally posted by AKA Knife Knut
Newbie with no practical experience here;

Would it be possible to wet grind with belts?
Would keep down dust, and cool everything off.

Yes, but not all belts are waterproof. Just make sure to get the proper belt.
Seems, that if you didn't have variable speed, it would be very messy.

AKA Knife Knut · Dec 19, 2003

I guessed those would be issues.

What if you used a different fluid, such as mineral oil? A more viscous fluid would be less messy right?

etp777 · Dec 19, 2003

Think it'd still make a mess unless you could get your grinder going pretty slow. I know I wouldn't try it on my Grizzly, een with the slow down wheel

Mike Hull · Dec 19, 2003

I use 40, 120, 320, and 600 grit belts, or their micron or whatever equivilents.
On the 2 courser grits(40, 120), I spray WD40 on the belts. It seems to help a bit.
After 120, it doesn't seem to help at all.

george tichbourne · Dec 19, 2003

The reason they call it "wet grinding" isn't because only the belt is wet. About a lifetime ago I used to wet grind the edges of mirrors, it wasn't fun.

watakipoma · Dec 20, 2003

I was driving down the road and noticed that Woodworker's Warehouse is going out of business. I ran inside to pick up what I could and I noticed the stack of belt cleaners, the ones that look like big erasers. I bought the stock.

Those belt cleaners really help. Especially if you only have one belt grinder like me and use it for steel, wood, brass, kydex and Micartia. I doubled the life of my 120 grit by using this.