Help... What do all these different belts do ??

J

Jason Cutter

Joined
Oct 9, 2002
Messages
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I'd be very appreciative if anyone can help me with basic information about the types of belts. I hear Trizact, ceramic, micron, etc. etc that are available for knifemakers. I have no idea what these all do, and the info about "this one is the best, that ones is the best..." is confusing me.

I am going to run out of my current batch of Hermes sourced belts made for me by a local abrasives firm. I use the "blue" hard-backed belts in 36, 80, inherited numerous "blue" and "yellow" JFlex in 120 and 240grit and plain AO belts in 180grit and 320grit. I use 3M Scotchbrite belts which are great.

The abrasives firm can't seem to give me "in plain English" info about what the different belts do ("we just make them"). I figured the blue belts are great for grinding steel and I run the AO belts at low speed to increase belt life.

Can someone point me in the right direction for simple info ? Thanks in advance. I'm going to post this in Knifenetwork.com also. Jason.
 
That's a tough one Jason. About all I can add is a bit about the structured abrasives, Norax, Trizact, Trizact CF Gator. What makes these "better" is that the abrasive particles in the belt are all the same size and are applied to the surface of the belt in a uniform manner. On typical AO belts there is a great variation in the grit size and you can end up with deep scratches you don't expect.

The structured belts also have a benefit of breaking down as they're used, exposing fresh abrasive. Under some conditions like flat grinding even these belts can glaze over so many users will dress the belt with another abrasive to expose fresh grit. I use the burr on band saw cutoffs, someone else mentioned that he uses a steel brush to dress the belts.

I get a lot more life and a better finish using the structured belts, and still use ceramic for heavy stock removal. I hope this is of some value.
 
Good morning Jason

You are going to get a lot of answers on this one but I'll try for the simple, plain English you asked for. The blue belts youare using are are Zirconia - a good belt for hogging off steel and the middle ground for value and belt life. The yellow belts are designed not to plug up as bad as others. The 'open coat' has less abrasive but stays clear longer. Probably best for woods. You already got a pretty good answer about the structured abrasives. They are consistent, long lasting and a bit on the pricey side (though worth it!). Ceramic belts are everything your Zirconias are but several times over. They are more than worth the money cutting much longer and considerably cooler.

For a detailed (but still English) comparison, see http://www.trugrit.com/belts-descriptions.htm

Rob!
Ranger Original Handcrafted Knives
 
See, this is why I love these forums ! :cool: :) :D THANK YOU.

I also posted the same questions on Knifeforums, and the responses I got in just the last couple of hours have really helped to clear SO MUCH up. I don't know if those same belts will be available here in Oz, but it might actually be worth the $$ to just ship them over.

Its sounding like a step up to ceramics, Trizact CF is worth a shot. 3M 967FCubitron sounds good too. I like the "eats everything" description !! My main challenge will now be to work up a selection in J-flex type belts as well.

Thanks again for the advice and info. Any more ideas and offerings will still be very much appreciated. Jason.
 
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