Cork belt question

A

alexmin

Joined
Nov 16, 2005
Messages
513
I just got my cork belts(15, 400 and 600grit) from Tru-grit.
I was surpriced when found that finer belts look much coarser.

Please explain how exactly cork belt work. Not how to use them.

I know I have to "prime" it for 10 minutes before use. On " Making SubHilt" video cork belt looks like it's just a holder for buffing compound. Anyway there is no abrasive left in cork belt itself after 1 year of usage. So my question is - why do you want to switch from 400 grit to 600 grit belt if they just hold compound but don't have any abrasive on it's own?

I've read all posts I could find on cork belts but haven't found the answer.


I first posted it here and got no replies so far.
http://www.knifenetwork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34166

Thanks,
Alex
 
I'd like to know also as I saw a post about cork belts on another forum with a similar question.
 
there is still abrasive left after breaking it in. put green chrome on the belt, it will only cover 50% to 70% of the belt at most, run the belt as fast as it will go with out throwing all the buff compound off, push hard when using it. There were several threads on Steve's forum on this, you'll have to go back 2 or 3 years. Steve uses a 400 grit belt, some guys thought if a 400 is good, a 600 must be better.
 
Could you guys post a picture to show me what the finish from a 400 cork belt with green rouge would look like?
Thanks,
Jim
 
Take a piece of blade stock and push it into the cork belt like you're profiling the blade. Wear eye protection when doing this as particles will fly all over the place.
You have to keep "profiling" that blade for at least 10 minutes per belt. Then they're reasy to use.

It sounds like you're defeating the purpose, but believe me, they work better after breaking them in. They will appear much smoother after breaking in.

Steve Johnson had some pictures of the broken in cork belts on his forum, in, I think the Knife network(?)

Good luck.
 
The abrasive grit is impregnated in the cork.The cork granules make it look like a 50 grit belt,but the abrasive is 400.After breaking the belt in to make the granules smoother (and expose the cork better) most users add a polish to the belt (green chrome oxide for example) or a 400 grit stick abrasive.This gives the belt lots more life,and in the case of the green chrome,make the belt polish the metal as it grinds it with the 400 grit abrasive in the cork.Because the cork has "give" it conforms to the surface and applies pressure to a very small area (per each granule) and thus makes the polishing/grinding faster and smoother.Sort of the same as when you put one fingertip behind a piece of sand paper instead of the flat of your palm.The cork granules provide thousands of micro fingertips.This is my understanding of how they work.Hope it helps.
Stacy
 
Like Mike said above, Steve Johnson had a couple of very thorough discussions on his forum on The Knife Network Forum (CKD back then) two or three years ago. Cork belts work very well, used the way prescribed there.
 
Steve Hayden said:
Like Mike said above, Steve Johnson had a couple of very thorough discussions on his forum on The Knife Network Forum (CKD back then) two or three years ago. Cork belts work very well, used the way prescribed there.
Click to expand...



Yep, there were several long threads on the subject. I had them all bookmarked in my favorites, but when they changed the name of the forum it made all the old links to CKD worthless.:eek:

Kind of a shame, and shortsighted, if that was done on purpose.:confused:

A search in Steve's forum and archives might turn them up. It went on as to how to use them in the manner that did the most good and saved you the most time and belt money.
It also proved you do not need 15 progressively finer grit sized belts to make a great knife.
 
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