Gator AO VS Ceramic Trizact?

Depends on your application. I find that the Gator belts work well on hardened steels, to refine finish- think AEB-L for stainless and low alloy stuff for carbon. I've not used the other Trizacts nearly as much, but perhaps they would work better if you are doing much work with hardened v steels.
 
I have a Structured Ceramic belt that I used last week to finish a 4V knife and 2 M4 knives (4V was at 63 Rc and the M4 was at 64+) and it seemed to perform really good and felt as though it still had a good bit of life left.
I called to get the recommended speed and it was a very fast, to me, 3600 SFM. I ended up running it at around 2000-2200 to get a feel for the cutting action and it actually works much better at the faster speeds. It was an expensive belt but if I can use it to clean 2 or 3 10V blades it will totally be worth the cost compared to my current standard method.
 
I like the gators just fine but I only use them for the final blending but I wouldn't mind trying the Ceramic out..I just got my first cork belt about two weeks ago . That was a pretty nice idea as well . So glad I decided to get one.
 
I use the gator for satin or machined finish go up to an A45, which is 400 I think. I use the trizact for a polished finish. A30, A16, A6.
 
Aren't the "Gator" and the "Trizact" the same thing, 3M 337DC right? I've used both the AO and the ceramic and I don't think the ceramic have a place in handmade knifemaking. I use a lot of the Trizact AO belts and Tru-Grit sent me a A65 ceramic with one of my orders to try out. It is a strange belt, no real grittiness to it. The structured abrasive is shaped similarly to the AO belts but it is in very smooth little bumps. It is my understanding that this belt is designed to be used in industrial applications where very high speeds and pressures are involved. I thought it might work ok on my surface grinder so gave that a try and it really just burnished the surface. I recommend sticking with AO belts in the structured abrasives but keep in mind, these are finishing belts; it is still best to hog off most of the material with a ceramic like the Blaze or the Cubitron first.

Bob
 
What I call the AO gator belts are the ones with grooves all through the belts. They have little rectangle patches that make up the whole surface. The trizact belts are the ones that seem to be made up of strands of abrasive. They are dark grey and somewhat smooth and shiny.
 
"Gator" belts are 337DC Trizact Aluminum Oxide and the other trizact are 307EA Trizact Structured Aluminum Oxide. I like the gator belts but I don't think they last as long as I've heard from other people. The 307EA Trizact belts have way too much bump for my tastes. I would maybe use them with my 10 wheel but not on a flat platen. The other belt that I've recently tried and like a bit more than gator belts are Norton U254 Norax Engineered Aluminum Oxide. For me they stay consistent longer than gators IMO. Anyone else try the Norax?
 
rcetroy said:
"Gator" belts are 337DC Trizact Aluminum Oxide and the other trizact are 307EA Trizact Structured Aluminum Oxide. I like the gator belts but I don't think they last as long as I've heard from other people. The 307EA Trizact belts have way too much bump for my tastes. I would maybe use them with my 10 wheel but not on a flat platen. The other belt that I've recently tried and like a bit more than gator belts are Norton U254 Norax Engineered Aluminum Oxide. For me they stay consistent longer than gators IMO. Anyone else try the Norax?
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Ok, so Trizact covers a wide range of 3M structured abrasive belts of which the "Gators" are one type. Got it! I've not tried the Norton U254's but, I'll throw some in the cart on my next order and check them out.

Bob
 
Funny, isn't it, how an idea will get into your head and become part of your belief system....Because the highly expendable belts I use for handle shaping are rough AO and the hard working belts for removing a lot of metal are "ceramic," I came to think that all quality belts are ceramic, and only the cheapies are AO.
Only to find that my go-to finishing belts are all AO! Some of these last a ridiculously long time for what I use them for (Norax for quick sharpening, for instance- thousands of blades.)
What I get from the corp. websites is that AO, generally speaking, is much better suited to light pressure, which is most of what we do. The only time we get much benefit from ceramic is when we really lean into the grinding.
The limitation on the 254s is (for me) that they are kind of thin, and any irregularity from the platen or casual grinding technique really shows through on the blade.
Most likely a bit of stiff leather or something on the platen would give it that little bit of cush I'm missing...or a rotary platen.
 
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Marko3 said:
I like the gators just fine but I only use them for the final blending but I wouldn't mind trying the Ceramic out..I just got my first cork belt about two weeks ago . That was a pretty nice idea as well . So glad I decided to get one.
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"One"?

Treat yourself and em in 250, 400, 100. Get 2 of each one with compound and one without.

You can vary the type of finish from satin all the way up.
 
I know ! I just tried one a couple weeks ago and I got a 220 or 250 and I like it. So next order I am all in !
 
i love the green gators and they seem to last forever for me in my shop ive dressing them to get new grit exposed i have even run them wet (on grinding wheels ) i have foud on the flat platten when run wet they tend to build up gunk and cause a poor finish on the bevel
belts i have in the shop are 50-80-120 ceramics then i have the full range 300-45 gators i keep a few 220J flex for handles and an odd few belts for sharpening (also scottbrite belt and some felt buffing belts )
 
butcher_block said:
i love the green gators and they seem to last forever for me in my shop ive dressing them to get new grit exposed i have even run them wet (on grinding wheels ) i have foud on the flat platten when run wet they tend to build up gunk and cause a poor finish on the bevel
belts i have in the shop are 50-80-120 ceramics then i have the full range 300-45 gators i keep a few 220J flex for handles and an odd few belts for sharpening (also scottbrite belt and some felt buffing belts )
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How do you dress the gator belts? I'd love to get more life out of them.
 
i just have one of those bench grinder dressing stones (carborumdum ?)but a diamond point woudl work or jsut the sharp spine of a HTed blade (really doesnt take alot and really helps )
 
I like the Gator belts. What I need to find are stiff backed belts up to say 600-800 that are truly waterproof. Any suggestions?
 
I'm having a hard time finding a belt progression that works well. Those green AO belts are ok in the upper grits but i get belt bump and they wear fast. The gators seem to work well with lots of pressure for me.
 
I used that structured ceramic belt this afternoon to finish up some tapered tangs. I ran it a lot faster than I normally would at around 3000 FPS and used generous pressure.
It was definitely outside my SOP but the belt cut great. I finished 6 tangs today and still has lots of life, and that is after finishing several blades over the past few days.
It was an expensive belt but is definitely paying for itself at this point.
When working with 3V, S90V, M4, and 10V there is definitely a place for ceramics.
 
The gators are the only ones I've used that I've been able to get a nice belt finish with. I tried the 307ea and still use them for some work but not final finishing in the blade. I think the stiffness of the gator helps with getting crisper lines than the others.
 
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