Grinding Belt Supplier For Makers on a Budget

J.McDonald Knives

J.McDonald Knives

Basic Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2007
Messages
2,021
i just got my second order of belts in from Industrial Abrasives Co. i told them how i had 3 1x30 320 grit belts break on me in no time at all and they replaced them with 6 1x30 320 grit belts for free. they have a good deal on Everlast belts for buy 12 get 12 free. best value i have found for a limited budget. their website is http://commerce.riverweb.com:8002/SANDINGBELTS.html hope this helps all the new guys out and guys on a low budget. they have grits from 32 to 400. all the sizes that knife makers use as well as a lot of others.
 
You will have to let us know how they last. I found out real quick that a $5.00 3m ceramic will outlast a 3.00 belt by 3 yimes over making the cheap belt way more expensive in truth! Still, that is a really good promo. Let us know how the belts work for you.
 
The belts they sell are aluminum oxide belts, and they dont last that long unfortunately. I think in the long run it's much cheaper to buy the more expensive ceramic belts if you're working with metal. Now if your'e buying belts to work on softer handle material, that's a heck of a good deal however.
 
You definately get what you pay for in belts. It is really not a free dozen. That is just what they are worth. I purchased two different brands from two different dealers and there was definately a difference in belts. Both were name brands but the more expensive belts put the cheaper belts to shame.
 
Cheap belts are just that, cheap belts. I can go through them three to one over good quality belts.
 
the belts work good for me. since i dont have expensive equipment yet and are running my belt grinders at full speed im just going with the cheap belts. im still on a budget. im tempering my second knife and figuring out how to fix this third knife. knife numbers 2-4 are all hidden tang. once i get a kmg ill be buying the more expensive belts. im just letting the guys who are on a tight budget know that you can get some cheap costing belts taht will get the job done but may not last as long. they are holding up well on my 2x42 and my 1x30. just use a belt cleaner every so often and they work good.
 
I suppose the main thing to say is safety. You already stated that you had these belts break. Luckily, you were not injured.Not fun to be grinding sharp knives and having belts come apart.I tried some of those about 15 years ago and had one come apart and got some nice belt rash on my nose.They went immeadiately in the trash and I got some good ones. And like evryone has said they last longer.Don't be cheap here.Dave:rolleyes:
 
dont worry Stacy, i already knew they were unidirectional. i had them going in the diffect direction. it was just bad tape or old belts. i know the same problem has happened to a lot of makers here who have been making blades for a while. at least they gave me twice as many new belts as broken belts. i had only asked that the ones that snapped on me get replaced. i didnt ask for more than that. its a good company.

yall seem to be missing the whole point of this thread. this thread was made to inform the new guys on a limited budget where to get grinding belts for cheap. it wasnt to say taht it was the best deal on belts period. its just one new guy trying to help other new guys. the belts may be cheap but they work. i used the aluminum oxide 1x30 belts to make my first knife. im still using the higher grit belts taht i used on my first knife. they will last for a few knives. the lower grits wear out faster so make sure you order a few more of the lower grits than the higher grits.
 
I started out using aluminum oxide because that's what the supply houses sold in coarse grits. Granted, this was awhile back. :) I'd get one blade beveled per 2x72 belt and then use it for the next blade to profile and knock the edge off to start bevels. It would have enough life left to grind a handle if you didn't push too hard and burn.

I still keep the cheap 60g AO belts on hand to do tasks like dressing forged blades and dressing profiles. I don't particularly care for 36s of any kind. I see little sense in using an expensive belt and glaze it with oxide scale and cutting the life out from under it. Dressing profiles is hard on the grit, too. For bevels and such I nowadays buy fancier belts, but I've got nothing against AO.
 
I had thought I was a loquacious bastard... but it's going to take me 2.5 years to reach the number of posts he's got in 2.5 months.
 
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