Finishing belts that are ok with water?

L

lanternnate

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Nov 5, 2016
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I have some Trizact "gator" belts that I like for finishing, but tonight I was working on a piece that I was extra paranoid about overheating so I was dunking a lot. Even though I'm not running a "wet system" just the fact that I wasn't really getting the blade all the way dry after a dunk was enough to ruin the belt. Are there alternative belt options that are similarly nice for finishing work as a gator belt, but a little hardier in the face of water? I know the recommendation is probably use the gator belts at a lower speed, but my current little 1x42 is just one speed. If the reality is there is no equivalent to the gators and I need to take the time to fully dry after each dunk, please tell me I'm a dummy and need to do that also. Thanks guys.
 
I haven't found anything quite as nice as gators myself.
Even with standard belts, some don't like water. I'll often use a spray bottle of coolant to mist the belt every few passes, and I've had quite a few Hermes Jflex blow apart at the splice from that. Other brands seem fine though.

As for other gator alternatives the Norton norax are fairly nice, but don't like water either.
 
go to belt maker's website and check if belts are waterproof. I like 3M 707E (P220 grit) or Norton R823P (220 grit). both are waterproof. biggest difference is 707E is J weight belt and a little more flexible.
 
I spray massive amounts of water on Trizact CF belts while I'm grinding - 4 jets of water on the face of the belt and 1 jet spraying behind the belt (to cool the platen). I don't notice any problems.
 
Ditto with P. Brewster. I work with batches of blades. Not uncommon for me to do 30 to 40 at a time. Each blade is dunked regularly and I have never noticed a problem.
 
what is the number on the back of the gator belts(not the grit) from what i understand 2 different gator belts out there one can be run wet the other rnot so much. i run mine wet
 
I run the ceramic tizact wet. I wipe the blade after dipping with the Gators. I have also used them wet, and they haven't fallen apart.
 
CF 337DC is the number on the back. Basically the gator "nubs" all wore down really quick and the belts are now flat. Where usually these things last and last, but I usually keep things very dry. I have not tried scotch brite belts yet. I'd like to try them, but those might be more finish than I was at. I ruined an A65 then an A100 because I went backwards to what I had to try to finish up the work I was doing. I ended up quitting not done. Ceramic might be the way to go, I'll look into those. Thanks guys.
 
Scotch Brite will give you a brushed finish. I like it for most user knives, and it's easy for end users to maintain.
 
So a bit of an update, I think I was wrong to blame the water. Just chewed another couple belts, and I kept things really dry this time. This blade is my first time working with W2, so I think the difference I'm seeing is W2 must just be harsher on abrasives than the 5160 and 1080 I'm used to. I got it done though!
 
I find that very surprising. I grind a lot of tougher and more wear resistant steels than W2, and I'm still on my first gator of each grit of the year. The A100 is just about done though.

Are you sure you're not getting corners or sharp edges stuck in the belt?
Those things last forever if you use them right, but you can ruin one on minutes of you're doing something wrong
 
This is a bit more curvy than I normally do. Maybe I am just catching corners and edges more than I normally do on a standard knife:
6C419BF7-1060-4963-A301-D12C67B15B36_zpshwmdnpfz.jpg

This pic was at a lower grit (120). This is a collaboration where another smith did the initial forging, and I'm having a go at finishing it. It's a bit more adventurous and ambitious than I typically do.
 
Finishing belts for use with water = Cork belts. They run perfectly with dunked blades, no drying. I have 400, 600 800 and plain cork versions, all good. I take blades to A45 Gator or Norax 30, then start in with the corks in sequence. Wish I had bought the 220 grit and 1000 grit belts when I last had the chance.
 
You'd love the 1000 grit cork belts. By far the best set up polish for a mirror I've ever tried.
 
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