Belt sharpener question

[foxhunter2]

Guys that use belt sharpener do you use silicon carbide or aluminum oxide belt
and why one or the other

Thanks

 

[Fred.Rowe]

I think either is fine; belt speed is the important factor. Slow as possible is the way to get nice edges without hardness reduction along the edge. To me sharp belts are needed because you don't want to apply pressure increasing friction and therefor heat build up. I like any belt that can be streached flat on the platen without the seam causing the blade to jump.

 

[foxhunter2]

Thanks for the reply, I use a Kalamazoo sander with aluminum oxide belts just lately come upon a
silicon carbide belt I was surprised how fast and shiny maybe even cooler it cut.

 

[ksskss]

I agree with Fred's technique points. Regarding belt types, it depends on what you are sharpening and the formulation. I prefer structured abrasives in ALOX, SIC, Ceramic or diamond where available. I tend to use ALOX more than SIC but prefer ceramics for longevity. Lately on my Kalamazoo, I'm using CBN on linen and even more recently on nanocloth as these belts give me an abrasive that is renewable rather than a belt that has the abrasive wear out and is no longer usable. The Kalamazoo is reasonably slow, but for more critical work, I do like a slow setting on a variable speed unit.

---
Ken

 

[Bo T]

It doesn't matter for the knives/tools that I sharpen. If you have a hard steel with lots of carbides then the SiC might be better. I have read that CBN rivals diamond for use on most material so that might be the way to go. I use a slack belt for most of my sharpening (on a belt).