Best sanding belts

For the coarser grits, I switched from Blaze to the 3M Cubitron 984F belts a while back.
 
jdm61 said:
For the coarser grits, I switched from Blaze to the 3M Cubitron 984F belts a while back.
Click to expand...

2nd this one. I am still new and learning belts, but this was a good switch for me.
I am looking forward to other recommendations for the 100 to 400 range belts.
 
I agree with Joe.
But keep in mind - your grinding technique has as much to do with belt efficiency as the belt itself.
 
Karl B. Andersen said:
I agree with Joe.
But keep in mind - your grinding technique has as much to do with belt efficiency as the belt itself.
Click to expand...

I am learning this. I went from using over a dozen belts for a knife down to a couple in the last couple of months. Do you have any tips directly on this?
 
VSM

36 50 120

Gators A65 (240) A45 (400)

Cork 250, 400, 1000

And I like Hermes J flex in various grit for handles and plunges
 
I grind all post HT, and as Karl mentioned your technique makes a big diff and the belt that works best for me, another experienced maker may not like at all.

IMHO,These are the best belts I have found for the money in a Ceramic belt which is what I recommend for working post HT.

These are the price of some A/O. When grinding post HT I like the fresh first 50% of the belt because to me, they build up too much heat after that so at $3.00-$5.00 and change a piece I only ask to one to two knives per belt. 36G 60G & 120 Grit VSM belts from Scott at trugrit.com I then finish with Scotchbrite belts. VSM are from Germany.
 
In the coarse grits like 36-60, when doing stock removal of the just-forged blade, I do most of the excess material removal with an 8" wheel. Making a series of short hollow grinds the length of the blade.
This makes MUCH!!! better use of the grit, which is designed to chip off and expose new cutting edges.
That action does not happen much on a flat platen, and is very poor use of a good belt.
In fact, for most of my material removal with the aforementioned process, I can use older/used 36/60 grit belts that have lost their precision on a flat platen, yet work wonderfully well on a round wheel.
Stock removal on a flat platen is very, very inefficient and costly.
Then I take the blade to the flat platen and simply knock off the ridges created by the series of hollow grinds.
To get a flat blade takes all of a couple minutes.

You can all thank me later.
 
Blaze or cubitron II for low grits, both seem equal to me. Definitely the expensive low grit belts. I bought some blue fire or something like that and they didn't track well at all. 1/8 sway to each side. I only used them for rough grinding because of this. Then j flex 312 and Gators.
 
Karl B. Andersen said:
In the coarse grits like 36-60, when doing stock removal of the just-forged blade, I do most of the excess material removal with an 8" wheel. Making a series of short hollow grinds the length of the blade.
This makes MUCH!!! better use of the grit, which is designed to chip off and expose new cutting edges.
That action does not happen much on a flat platen, and is very poor use of a good belt.
In fact, for most of my material removal with the aforementioned process, I can use older/used 36/60 grit belts that have lost their precision on a flat platen, yet work wonderfully well on a round wheel.
Stock removal on a flat platen is very, very inefficient and costly.
Then I take the blade to the flat platen and simply knock off the ridges created by the series of hollow grinds.
To get a flat blade takes all of a couple minutes.

You can all thank me later.
Click to expand...

I have heard that a wheel does not wear the belt as much. Thanks for emphasizing the point. I'll give that a try on my next grind.
 
Brock47 said:
I have heard that a wheel does not wear the belt as much. Thanks for emphasizing the point. I'll give that a try on my next grind.
Click to expand...

You're missing the point - the round wheel BREAKS off the sharp edges of the grit - causing it to fracture - exposing new cutting areas and getting the most use out of the grit!!
A flat platen, when you're grinding against the larger flat portion of the blade, does NOT fracture the grit. It just dulls the grit and fills the substrate with debris, clogging the belt and making it dull.
The round wheel DOES wear the belt - but it wears it by keeping the grit sharp because of the small contact area of a circle.
Flat platens are very inefficient stock removal surfaces. Guys are always looking for better belts to use on their platens, but the belts aren't the problem.
The platen is.
Also, when using the round wheel for stock removal, use the steady rest and PULL the blade across the wheel, making a straight, shallow hollow grind.
Then tip the blade some and make another hollow grind right above/below that one.
Scribe center lines on the edge and grind right to the line.
Then flatten the ridges with the platen.
Easy-peasy.
And it's amazing how long your belts will last, and you can use worn belts for the round wheel stock removal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top