Help choosing abrasives

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Keanen

Joined
Nov 21, 2024
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Hello, I have been using Norton Blaze belts for my bevels and I am wanting to see if there are any better options out there that anyone could suggest? I ground a hardened D2 steel knife out and went through 2-3 belts on that one blade! I am wanting it for both hardened and soft steel. I appreciate any suggestions you might have. Thanks! Keanen
 
That sounds like a lot of belts for one D2 blade. I have always felt that the Blaze belts are some of the longer grinding belts but they don't work as well for me as with how I grind I use medium to low pressure.

Some people love the high dollar VSM Actirox type belts but others don't.

Pop's sells a VSM belt that I have been using with decent results, they call it the Optimal Ceramic. I can't remember the VSM model name.

What you are going to find is there are many different options and preferences among makers. Try some different belts to find what works best for you.

Also try the search function on this forum as there as been belt discussion numerous times.
 
Norton makes some nice belts, and the blaze is their higher end. I think you COULD find better belt performance (I don't personally use those) but I
l'll say those are not bad belts. Also, depending on how much metal you removed and by which grits, that's certainly not unreasonable. Many makers will say they spend more on belts than steel. I have used more than 3 belts on a knife before a LOT of times....dunno if that helps?

Best,
John
 
Try vsm 885 50 grit.

3M is king but expensive. Try 984

All ceramic belts require a certain amount of pressure to work well.

You can freshen a belt with a wheel dresser.

Hoss
 
See we all like differnt belts. Just depends on our expectations and grinding styles. The vsm 885 that Hoss recommends is recommended for medium to high pressure. For me personally I prefer the 50 grit vsm 880 that is rated for medium pressure as I find it works better for what I want it to do.

Try some different belts and find what works best for you.
 
Norton Norax U936 for grit equivalents of 120grit and finer. I tend to save these for more abrasion resistant steel. I too use Blaze in 36 and 60 grit for bulk removal, but I use either 3M Trizact Gator or the U936s for refining and finishing.
 
Keanen said:
Hello, I have been using Norton Blaze belts for my bevels and I am wanting to see if there are any better options out there that anyone could suggest? I ground a hardened D2 steel knife out and went through 2-3 belts on that one blade! I am wanting it for both hardened and soft steel. I appreciate any suggestions you might have. Thanks! Keanen
Click to expand...
I'm not sure how to read your question. Are you saying you used 2-3 36 grit belts on the single blade? That's a LOT of belts for a single blade.

OR,
perhaps you are saying you used a 36 grit (or 50 grit), an 80 grit (or 120 grit), and a 400 grit belt to grind that blade. That sounds about right. This is Monday and I'm sorta slow Mondays :)
 
I think an important question is what grinder do you have? If you have a 1x30 I could understand needing multiple belts to finish one blade. If you are using multiple belts per blade on a 2x72, something is wrong. Blaze belts are great and you should get much more life out of a belt. For example, I will get 7-8 blades from a VSM 880 ceramic.
 
J. Hoffman said:
I think an important question is what grinder do you have?
Click to expand...
I didn't even think about what grinder - the 2X72 is just so common, but you're right, it could be a 1X30 or perhaps a 2X28" grinder. All makes a different in number of belts required. Glad you brought up that point
 
Agree, a Blaze should last better than that. Personally I find they like pretty good pressure and high speed. Push stick, or gloves, for the rough grinding.
 
They’re expensive but I haven’t found anything that outlasts the 3M Cubitron 2 belts. I used a single 40 grit belt to profile and bevel 30 80CrV2 blanks pre-heat treat. It could have done more but I ran out of blanks. Norton blaze are probably the second best. Once I get into the finer grits (above 120) I switch to cheaper belts.
 
Seedy Lot said:
That sounds like a lot of belts for one D2 blade. I have always felt that the Blaze belts are some of the longer grinding belts but they don't work as well for me as with how I grind I use medium to low pressure.

Some people love the high dollar VSM Actirox type belts but others don't.

Pop's sells a VSM belt that I have been using with decent results, they call it the Optimal Ceramic. I can't remember the VSM model name.

What you are going to find is there are many different options and preferences among makers. Try some different belts to find what works best for you.

Also try the search function on this forum as there as been belt discussion numerous times.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much. Yeah, I use light pressure because I grind post heat treat. The blade was at 62-63 rockwell, so maybe that's why. I'll check out the belts you mentioned.
 
DevinT said:
Try vsm 885 50 grit.

3M is king but expensive. Try 984

All ceramic belts require a certain amount of pressure to work well.

You can freshen a belt with a wheel dresser.

Hoss
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot. I'll check them out. The belts look glazed over when I'm done with them. They still look like they have life left in them. Do you think I need to use more pressure when grinding?
 
Ken H> said:
I'm not sure how to read your question. Are you saying you used 2-3 36 grit belts on the single blade? That's a LOT of belts for a single blade.

OR,
perhaps you are saying you used a 36 grit (or 50 grit), an 80 grit (or 120 grit), and a 400 grit belt to grind that blade. That sounds about right. This is Monday and I'm sorta slow Mondays :)
Click to expand...
Yeah, I used 2-3 60 grit belts on a single blade. I am doing all of my grinding post heat treating for D2 since it's plate quenched. I try to do more grinding pre-HT with 80CRV2 and 1084. Thanks!
 
J. Hoffman said:
I think an important question is what grinder do you have? If you have a 1x30 I could understand needing multiple belts to finish one blade. If you are using multiple belts per blade on a 2x72, something is wrong. Blaze belts are great and you should get much more life out of a belt. For example, I will get 7-8 blades from a VSM 880 ceramic.
Click to expand...
I have a 2x72 from Housemade. I am wondering if I'm not using enough pressure?
 
Keanen said:
Thanks so much. Yeah, I use light pressure because I grind post heat treat. The blade was at 62-63 rockwell, so maybe that's why. I'll check out the belts you mentioned.
Click to expand...

Besides the VSM 880 an excellent low to medium pressure belt is the 3m Cubitrorn 947a. They are a little more expensive but they run smooth and leave a finer scratch pattern. I get mine from true-grit.
 
Push harder. Blaze ceramic needs speed and pressure to fracture the grains and create new sharp cutting edges. Low pressure dulls the abrasive and generates heat without the benefit of removing metal.

Or buy belts that are intended to work with lower pressure.
 
You can still grind "slow" with ceramic belts, but you have to get that glaze back off when they make more heat than grit. Get a cheapie diamond dresser and experiment with it. A lot cheaper fix than playing the belt game if you don't need to.
 
In fairness, I have given a dulling 36 grit Blaze a bit more life by running it at max speed and leaning into it with the end of an old 10” file. Lots of sparks, but got some grain fractures and the belt even felt sharper.
 
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