best value grinder belts

Bryant Hollinger

Bryant Hollinger

Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
58
What do you guys think are the best value in 2x72 grinder belts for general flat grinding, ones that last a while, cut well
and are not the most expensive (looking for a brand/series recommendation)

Thanks
 
The more expensive belts, in my estimation, are the best value. Quality ceramic belts in the 36 to 60 range may cost you 9 dollars. But you get 9 dollars worth of value. They cut cleaner, quicker and longer, by far. The wonder of ceramic is that it can be fractured over and over presenting a new belt surface that cuts like new. That it accepts heavy pressure and extreme speeds makes it ideal for todays high speed belt grinders. There are commercial grinding outfits that can grind a hundred blades with one belt using a 5' lever system to hold the blades and belt speeds in excess of 7000 sfm.
Try a couple of belts that come with different abrasives and decide for your self.

I have just started using the 984 cubitron belts from 3m and believe they are the best for the money. Pop's Knife Supply carries them.

Fred
 
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36 grit Aluminum Oxide 2 x 72 from Industrial Abrasives 1-800-428-2222. Buy 12 - get 12 free, they don't cut forever, but you can well afford to enjoy a fresh good cutting belt, throw it away when it looses its best and get another. It is easy to waste time using an expensive belt too long after it has lost efficient cutting ability. For me they are a time and money saver. Last order was for 12 dozen belts.
 
I've been pretty happy with the norton ceramics in terms of value. I'm hoping the Blaze belts are even better. For actual metal removal, just hogging out the bevels and a profile, the 36 grit zircs from klingspor are another that go a long way for the money.

I've found that the gator belts are not economical as material removers, they wear well but remove material slowly for their grit. On the other hand, if you just want to work your way through the grits giving the steel a nice finish they are great. They do THAT quickly and cleanly and last quite a while doing it. I love the gators, but I don't do anything but refine what I already ground out with the zirc and ceramic belts.

In general I found that the cheaper belts were a waste of time and money, but I can see where Mr. Fowler's coming from, with that kind of deal on a coarse belt you don't need to get much work from it before tossing it, so despite not lasting long they're still a good value. Outside that kind of situation, aluminum oxide belts for anything but handles or very specific tasks always seem to be a waste for me. These days the only ones I use are the 309J belts for cleaning plunge lines and other tight radius situations.
 
I only use 3m Blaze and the gator belts. They're expensive, but nothing else works for me it seems. I can get my finishes with usually one pass on a gator. The blaze belts cut fast, cool and flat. They seem to track better on my machine too. After the Blaze lose their bite, they're still awesome for profiling.
 
We grind a lot of forged pieces..Blue Zirc's work fine for that and last a pretty long time..Forge scale will kill even a nice new ceramic belt in no time..We save the new ceramics for griding bevels, thats about it..A $3.50 36 grit Blue Zirk will grind a whole bunch of axes..
 
I forgot to add that Ironwood,G10 and Micarta will clog a good belt as fast as it will a cheap AO..Use cheap AO for handles stuff and save the good stuff for precise work..
 
I use the blue zircs also.. I have blaze, gators etc but for 'value' I think the blues are in the lead for me...

If someone has compared the blue to blaze in a side by side comparison I'd like to hear the results, I intend to do it myself when I order more belts...
 
What do yall like for 220 and 300ish belts? Im a big fan of the the blaze for low grits and like my 80 grit gators.
 
I like the gators in 220 then move to the trizact 320 400's and up.
 
I like blaze or cubitron early (60-120), AO middle (180-400), either cork or trizact gator last (280-800)

I haven't nailed down the perfect progression yet, but for me, it's in there somewhere.

BTW, Supergrit had 180 AO's for $1.30 each this week. I bought 60.
 
Thanks Erik, I just went and ordered a bunch. Always good to have some cheapies around to do a some quick cleanup work . They can be tossed after without worry:D

To answer the OP's question.....for the most part I'm with Fred and others who have said that quality, higher priced belts are the best value. Ive settled on the 3M cubitrons for the most part and use Gators for finishing. Also use som 100X Norton Norax ceramics with some great results. They're more than ten dollars each but damn do they cut forever.
 
Battle Creek Knives said:
I use the blue zircs also.. I have blaze, gators etc but for 'value' I think the blues are in the lead for me...

If someone has compared the blue to blaze in a side by side comparison I'd like to hear the results, I intend to do it myself when I order more belts...
Click to expand...

I have some of the blue belts in 60 grit. The difference between the 60 grit blue belt and the Blaze belt is that the Blaze belt cuts faster and smoother. The blue belt feels more "rocky" on the platen if that makes any sense.

The blue belts don't seem to track as well too. The blaze and gators track like a dream on my Coote. I've had some of the blue belts run all over the place. Maybe because the backing is thinner?
 
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Thats my exp..Though like i said we use the blue zirks on heavy removal where there is a lot of forge scale..The way we use them tracking isnt that important, just trying to get to clean metal..Then if its a knife swithc over to 967's or Blaze belts..
When doing knife bevels you absolutely have to have a perfect tracking belt..Some of the blues like you said dont, but if your just hogging off scale and flux it dont matter..At just a little over $3 each I like em' for that..
Josh Mason said:
I have some of the blue belts in 60 grit. The difference between the 60 grit blue belt and the Blaze belt is that the Blaze belt cuts faster and smoother. The blue belt feels more "rocky" on the platen if that makes any sense.

The blue belts don't seem to track as well too. The blaze and gators track like a dream on my Coote. I've had some of the blue belts run all over the place. Maybe because the backing is thinner?
Click to expand...
 
The ceramics I bought worked great and lasted, in fact I can still grind with the first one I bought, but my blue zircs work well to for the price. I think the ceramics edge out the zirconia belt for the clean cut they leave and the added life, but there is only a few dollars savings for me between the 2 so when I have the money to spare I go ceramics, if I am trying to come in under a certain price point on an order I will drop down to the zirconia belts and when they get too dull for steel I use them on wood. I don't but zirconia belts over 220g though.
 
Cheap belts (for grinding steel) are a waste of time and money IMO.

I stick with Cubatron II, Trizac, Gators and Regalites.
 
The old saying, "You get what you pay for" applies to cheap belts. Several years ago, I tried some cheap belts. Several of them broke at the splice in less than a minutes use.
I think a person saves money with the better belts.
For grinding ATS-34 I don't think Norton Hoggers in 60 grit can be beat.
 
Different belts accomplish different tasks. Some belts should see 1 blade and some belts should see many. I have probably paid more attention to belt choices since I joined this forum than any one other single preference and I can say that the preferences are many. To the OP, Bryant, the answer is, it's all in the way you use them. Keep a log and adjust your belt progression as you see fit.

Nothing in knife making works for everybody. All of the previous remarks make good sense, but don't confuse cheap with inexpensive. Try them all. If you want to go on the super inexpensive route - Profile with a 36-50 Cubitron or Blaze, leave flats rough, bevel with a 60 then 120 Blaze and then 400 Trizact Gator. Do five knives with the same belts.
 
The number of blades a belt will grind will vary with the type of metal being ground.
 
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