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NICE !!!
Well, there ya go. Thanks guys.
Well, there ya go. Thanks guys.
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bumpng at the seam
- Thread starter rupsty
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I don't take the blades up to a high grit on the belt any more... but the Hermes (blue abrasive, yellow backing) J flex belts are my favorite handle and guard contour belts!
They're $2.40 each from Pop's, or $2.50 each/10 from TruGrit.
I do all of my handle sculpting with the Hermes Blue super flex belts with my Rhino Finger Skins on of course!
Nick, have you had a chance to try handle sculpting with your RFS yet?
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2010
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Actually, Hermes has some new ceramic belts (green) that are great, and much cheaper than Blaze or the Cubitron belts.
Also yes, the Blue J-flex belts have an excellent splice that is *much* smoother than the yellow belts.
Personally however, I'm using the Hermes ceramic J-flex belts and the Y-weight Blaze 120's now. They each outlast about half a dozen of the yellow or blue AO j-flexes. Give them a try, Pop has both.
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Javand
I had the local Hermes Rep give me 30 of those green ceramic's 10 each of 36, 60 & 120 grit as a test for Scott at Tru-grit. The 36 grit where cut crooked and I didn't even get one of my 7 3/4" Asian chefs knives bevel ground from one belt. Of all of the different ceramic belts I have used they are at the bottom.
The VSM belts that I get from Scott I easily get the primary bevel do on the same knife on one, to one and a half. Try the VSM or the Merit best Value "Norton" belts from Scott. I am sure you will find them better than those Ceramic green Hermes for hogging off metal up to 120 grit..
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- Feb 17, 2009
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I like the VSM over the Merit...Both are good but the VSM seem to last longer for me. The VSM are real champs at hoggin I use the 36, 50 and 120 grits and the price is a good deal.
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- Oct 17, 2010
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I buy the VSM belts, they're also very good.
All of the first green ceramics I bought were great, but I have heard of a bunch of wobbly belts lately from friends.. Not sure wtf is with that.
I don't personally use many 36 grit belts, almost none, and typically just buy those in the 984F Cubitron II's, since they are undoubtedly the best I've ever used. I do buy the VSM or the Green 60's and 80's, and none of the ones I've had so far were bad, but I bought a ton of them a while back. I also recently bought a bunch of the 120 green belts though, and they've all been champs. So dunno what's up with Hermes QC. I like how the green ones cut better than the VSM's personally though, FWIW.
I haven't tried the 120 VSM's though, are they J weight?
All of the first green ceramics I bought were great, but I have heard of a bunch of wobbly belts lately from friends.. Not sure wtf is with that.
I don't personally use many 36 grit belts, almost none, and typically just buy those in the 984F Cubitron II's, since they are undoubtedly the best I've ever used. I do buy the VSM or the Green 60's and 80's, and none of the ones I've had so far were bad, but I bought a ton of them a while back. I also recently bought a bunch of the 120 green belts though, and they've all been champs. So dunno what's up with Hermes QC. I like how the green ones cut better than the VSM's personally though, FWIW.
I haven't tried the 120 VSM's though, are they J weight?
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I've been using VSM Ceramic for roughing and J-flex for finishing for a while now.
Belt bump was a huge issue for me in the past, still somewhat of an issue now.
Once I started finishing my blades with a cork belt or fine scotchbrite depending on the situation, it is mostly a non issue.
Belt bump was a huge issue for me in the past, still somewhat of an issue now.
Once I started finishing my blades with a cork belt or fine scotchbrite depending on the situation, it is mostly a non issue.
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- Joined
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I am at home right now so I can't tell you the exact weight, but they are a heavy backed belt than a J weight. They work fine for flat grinding, haven't used them on a hollow grind.
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- Oct 17, 2010
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Actually, I'm completely confusing the VSM belts with the ACT Klingspor ceramics.. Not sure I've ever tried the VSM belts. Anyway, the red ACT ceramic belts are very good for the money.
I buy my belts from Pop almost exclusively though, so if he doesn't carry them, I wouldn't have tried them.
I buy my belts from Pop almost exclusively though, so if he doesn't carry them, I wouldn't have tried them.
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- Jun 5, 2012
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I wanted to add... I tried the new cubitron 2 belts that tru grit has, and they are really something special. They may replace the VSM belts in some cases for me.
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Ian,
I agree about those CubeII 3M belts, I just got the 120g in and will probably be using buying these over the VSM belts in 120 grit. The last quite a bit longer.
These CubII belts are a mid-priced choice , More than VSM or Merit & less costly than the Blaze.
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- Jun 5, 2012
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I've noticed they shine particularly bright when grinding hardened blades. They are one of the only belts I've used that didn't start heating shortly after the belt was broken in.
In fact, they cut so much better for me on hardened stock that I almost screwed up a couple blades as I wasn't used to material coming off that fast...
In fact, they cut so much better for me on hardened stock that I almost screwed up a couple blades as I wasn't used to material coming off that fast...