cubitron vs blaze vs merit ceramics

timos-

timos-

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
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Ive got to make my next purchase of belts last for my next 30 knives or so.

I am grinding hardened kitchen knives in steels like aebl, 1095, and w2. But also 3v and 20CV. I have always used Blaze belts b/c I could get em for like 3$ a pc. Not any more though.
I am getting a price from a local guy on the cubitrons 9874f but am seriously considering the Merit best value brand. They are close to a third of the price.

I have found that with my grinder at least, I need one or two blaze belts per chef knife especially for the 20CV and 3V. You know once you get down to almost final thickness the belt has to be cutting super efficient. I dunk each pass, no wet grinding yet.

Is it reasonable to expect I can do 95% of my grinding on a .100 thick x 8" chef knife with one or two Merit belts (80 grit)?

I recently tried a no name generic ceramic belt and they didnt last more then 5 minutes. I guess those are gonna be my rough handle shaping belts.

Anyways, Id appreciate any insights especially the cubitron vs the merit.

TIA,
Tim

edit to add: I am looking at the 2 X 72 80+ X 947A cubitron II ...these are the low to medium pressure belts. I just cant seem to find out of the X weight backing will hold up to water.
 
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I switch from Blaze to 984's because of the glue issue.
 
I personally like the 967's for grinding hardened stainless. Haven't tried the 987. I've used a few other ceramic options, and none have cut like the 967 on my machine, running 70% speed or so.
 
VSM are a good ceramic and are a great price

Cubitron II 947 are a very good choice and they last much longer

Merit belts are ok, but for the same price VSM are better.

The Cubitron II 947 and 984 will grind several blades with ONE belt so keep that in mind.
 
I am with Jason on the cubitron 967, they seem to stay sharp longer than even the 984. I ordered several of the Merit ceramic belts last year last and gave most of them away, half the grit came off right away and the rest broke down way to fast. I believe with belts, you really do get what you pay for.
 
I've been running the 3M Cubitron 984-f ceramic belts for a year. I like them a lot. All of them run true, there good on the wet machine and they fracture well.
They are expensive to purchase but I measure, money spent per blade ground, the 984-f belts are a value when you look at it this way.

Fred
 
Ok guys thanks alot. I am gonna give the 947's a try. The only difference I can tell from the 984's is the backing and the "grinding aid" is meant for medium to high speed pressure on the 984s where as the 947's are low to medium speed. I am guessing that with my free hand grinding I wont be able to take advantage of the higher pressure belts anyways. I might look into those VSM belts too in the higher grits. I like the trizact gator belts pretty well though.
 
i use zirconia belts, Norton Norzon and belts by Deerfos and VSM. you can find grits from 24 to 220, all are wet/dry, all cost 40 to 70% less than Blaze. i have some Deerfos 80 grit belts coming that cost less than $3 each delivered, Blaze today are costing $7.95 plus shipping.
maybe do a trial with one blade and grind a little thinner pre-heat treat?
 
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I've been happy with the Blaze's, and wouldn't mind trying the 3M stuff. I've received a bunch of Deerfos belts, and they track very poorly on my KMG compared to Norton and 3M.
 
Don, i have found with those kind of belts, you don't need to go down to 36 grit. 50 or 60 works fine and they cost less. On small blades, you could probably get away with 80 grit.
Don Hanson III said:
I used to use 3M 967s', but have found 60 grit 3M 984 is the best for roughing in bevels.
Click to expand...
 
jdm61 said:
Don, i have found with those kind of belts, you don't need to go down to 36 grit. 50 or 60 works fine and they cost less. On small blades, you could probably get away with 80 grit.
Click to expand...

Yep Joe & the 60 seems to be the sweet spot.
 
To expand the conversation, which heavyweight waterproof ceramic belts have you guys used in the finer grits like 120-220-320? I have used the Blaze and one of the Cubitrons up to 120, but not any higher.
 
I have used the Blaze 120 just recently. The cut well but I burned one out on hardened 20CV pretty quick. I suspect that with the wide variety of grinders out there that results will vary, widely.
My home built machine on a 1.5 HP Leeson with 110 power and a step pulley belt system actually bogs down when I apply alot of pressure tapering a tang.
I am not sure I have the right machine for high pressure belts and that I may be getting alot less life out of Blaze than I could otherwise.
I am stoked to try the 3M stuff this weekend. Ive got about 6 hardened w2 blades to rough in :)

Scott, I had bought about 10 of the 220 grit norton blue fire belts that are zirconia. If I recall, they became my go to belt for finishing around the tang and spine. They heat up too much finishing the bevels on a really thin blade after just a couple passes for me. I grind free hand with my fingers on the blade so I can feel the heat as it comes on.
 
Tim, my experience has also been that the 120 ceramics don't last as long as the heavies.
 
Don, when looking at the 967 vs. 984, are you talking about grinding annealed (or at least normalized) steel? I have used some 967's on annealed 1084 bar stock. They cut well, but aren't all that special in that application. Where the 967's impress me is on the hardened stainless. Good clean cuts on HT'd 154CM, and they'll cut a long time.
 
Jason Fry said:
Don, when looking at the 967 vs. 984, are you talking about grinding annealed (or at least normalized) steel? I have used some 967's on annealed 1084 bar stock. They cut well, but aren't all that special in that application. Where the 967's impress me is on the hardened stainless. Good clean cuts on HT'd 154CM, and they'll cut a long time.
Click to expand...
Normalized carbon here, very little stock removal after heat treating. No stainless. For me the 984s' last 3-5 times longer & cut much faster than the 967s'. If I every do any hardened stainless I will remember this.
 
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