Recommendation? Is 36 grit worth it?

Don't stock up, get a few and try it.

There's nothing like first hand experience with YOUR equipment and style.

I personally don't like to go that coarse, except maybe on wood
 
Last edited:
Going from 50 to 36 is not going to be as dramatic as 80 to 36. Anything less than 80 is when you need a lot of material gone ASAP. A fresh 36 eats material like a kid on a bag of Halloween candy.

I bust it out for major repairs like a broken tip chef knife grinding the front into a santoku.
 
I’ve found VSM and then Norton Budget Ceramic Belts to be the best value. I like 36 for Stainless Blade Steels & I grind after HT. My progression is 36, 60, 120 then to finishing belts. As stated , we all grind a little different . Try some ceramic 36 belts. They make my life easier!
 
Thank you all for your input! I will try a couple 36 and see by myself.
 
36 grit belts when they've become useless for bevels and slow to profile still have a lot of life left in them for rough surface grinding with a hard contact wheel.
 
im a 50 grit grinder but im running slower SFPM and im grinding 3/32 SS. if i wass hogging away thicker carbon steel sock and had a 3500rpm motor on my KMG then the 36 might make more sense
 
I'll use 36 grit ceramic belts to rough in bevels when I'm using stock thicker than approx. 0.125". On thinner stock I rough them in with 50 or 60 grit because there's not as much steel to remove. I like the VSM XK870 that Pop's Knife Supply has.
 
Good to know guys, I'll definitely try a couple 36 grit, maybe for the thick stock like some of you suggested.
 
I have been grinding some Z-Wear and the 36 grit belts made a huge difference in being able to rough out the bevels.
 
Regarding the comment from the SIA representative, good advice on technique but I would take the commercial advice with a grain of salt, 3M is closest to the gold standard, so its wise not to compare with them because you may lose more times than wins, but below is where the battle is more intense, so if SIA says they have the best product my guess VSM or others would say something similar too.

I've used siabite/vsm/hermes/norton (3m is way too expensive here in Argentina) and I currently use Sunmight (a Korean brand)

I mostly grind post hardening, only grind pre hardening on thick steels just to remove some bulk. When I tried siabite my regularly used belt was VSM and kept using it, the siabite durability was noticeably lower than VSM.

Then a belt provider switched brand to Sunmight and the cost was 30% lower. Compared to VSM they aren't as good, but very good nevertheless, but given its lower price I switch to new belts more often, which I prefer.

I wish Nortons where readily available, but its been many months since I don't see it listed on my usual providers.

BTW Sia soft backing belts are great, but if you can find the yellow Klingspor j-flex, these are awesome.

Pablo
 
kuraki said:
36 grit belts when they've become useless for bevels and slow to profile still have a lot of life left in them for rough surface grinding with a hard contact wheel.
Click to expand...

i use them for removing scale on Damascus billets on a 2” contact wheel. Lots of pressure and belt speed helps.
 
Hi Pablo, you are right that it is also marketing, but even if the SIA are a bit less performant, they still are cheaper for me than vsm, and free shipping. The store is juste a few street from me so SIA are currently my best bet for now.

Willie71 Willie71 They are not available online, I phoned my local store and because I will order a lot, I have a discount.
Edit: they are available online but at higher price.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top