Belt Question

Thanks Rick for the comparison. Anyone else have these same experiences between trizact and norax?

Also, here's another question. I remember reading on one of the forums that we knifemakers run our belts much slower than the manufacturer recommends for some belts and if we really cranked the speed up we would get longer life from the belts. Does anyone remember what belts these referred to and what the actual operating SFPM was supposed to be to maximize lifetime of that particular belt? Sorry the question is so vague...

:)

-Darren
 
On the Norton website there are charts showing the best belt life based on belt speed and pressure. The speed is pretty easy to manage but I have no way to guage how much pressure I'm putting against the work. I've tried to estimate it by pressing against a scale, but don't feel I gained much.

For the higher grits I slow the belts down and maintain a fairly firm pressure. This works pretty well. When the belt starts to go shiny the metal heats quickly and that's where I retire the belt. I would like to know if there's a way to restore any life to the X30s after they hit that stage?

Unless I'm using something really exotic for a handle, belts are the single greatest expense for any knife project; I probably spend $25-$30 on abrasives for a normal 11" knife.

Dave
 
Which is best,3M or Norton, I really cannot say. The newer trijacs are waterproof and still have a very long life. I flat/convex grind mostly, but do a little HGing ever so often. With my limited experience, I find that the norzons work best for HGing and the trizacs for flat and convex. Guess it all depends on the style and type of grinds.
Ken
 
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