Favorite belts and progression on g10

B

Brian.Evans

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Aug 20, 2011
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I've only worked a few handles in g10; mostly I use natural materials. I'm getting ready to do a whole heap of g10 handles. What are your favorite belts and progressions for a nice user g10 handle.
 
I'm sure you already know but make sure you have one hell of a mask/ goggles. G10 turns into 1000 razor hooks as soon as it touches a belt.
 
I use

36 grit to hog to rough shape

50 grit to get it down almost to the tang

100 grit to get to the tang and finalize shaping

220

400

then decide where you want to go from there
 
G10 is my favorite handle material for several reasons.

I treat G10 just like steel, except with a lighter touch. Do not attempt to grind it aggressively or use dull glazed belts; it will char and burn and stink and make you say bad words.

60-grit for hogging, 120-220 to knock the corners off, A30-A45 and sometimes Scotchbrite to blend it in along the tang (to match whatever finish I put on the blade), rotary tool and then handsanding with good paper wrapped around various blocks/sticks for final shaping and finish. How fine you want it is entirely up to you; I usually only sand it up to 600 or 800-grit, then sometimes I go over it real quick with a scotchbrite belt. Many makers like the finish they get on it by just rough-shaping it and media-blasting it.

If it's a light color like grey or desert tan, you may get some dark streaks in the "grain" from metal you've taken off when sanding over corby bolts and so forth; Windex usually lifts that right out.
 
I've always done my rough blanking with a 36 grit bluefire belt, then final shaping with a 120 grit bluefire or blaze belt. The 36 grit belt will last forever (I'm still using my first one).

When removing stock quickly with a coarse belt heavy pressure is a must. The material transmits heat very slowly so if you push hard and cut fast you can stay ahead of any burning of the material. If you take it slow the material will heat up, and turn brown and soft.

You can see my process at 6:55 and 7:43 in this video:

[video=youtube;DQUxFFON5Lo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQUxFFON5Lo[/video]

The blue belt is a 36 grit Bluefire, and the orange belt is either a 120 grit or 80 grit blaze, pretty sure it's 120 grit. I leave my handles at 120 grit, the finish looks great and I find that if I take them any finer they get slippery when they're wet.

One other thing to watch is grinding handle pins. If your belt is a bit dull it will heat up the handle pin really quickly, that heat will cause the G10 to craze and leave a white ring around the pins. I dunk my handles in water a lot when I'm doing final shaping.
 
james terrio said:
G10 is my favorite handle material for several reasons.

I treat G10 just like steel, except with a lighter touch. Do not attempt to grind it aggressively or use dull glazed belts; it will char and burn and stink and make you say bad words.

60-grit for hogging, 120-220 to knock the corners off, A30-A45 and sometimes Scotchbrite to blend it in along the tang (to match whatever finish I put on the blade), rotary tool and then handsanding with good paper wrapped around various blocks/sticks for final shaping and finish. How fine you want it is entirely up to you; I usually only sand it up to 600 or 800-grit, then sometimes I go over it real quick with a scotchbrite belt. Many makers like the finish they get on it by just rough-shaping it and media-blasting it.

If it's a light color like grey or desert tan, you may get some dark streaks in the "grain" from metal you've taken off when sanding over corby bolts and so forth; Windex usually lifts that right out.
Click to expand...

Nice tip about the Windex! I've hated dealing with light colors in the past because of those streak, I will do my best to remember the Windex tip!
 
Aaron, I have so many questions for you, more than about just handles. I'll have to coalesce my thoughts and email you.
 
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