Is this the norm with scotch-brite? Updated pics

Matt Rochester

Matt Rochester

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Nov 28, 2014
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I just got a red and blue scotch-brite belt and am wondering is this the best it can look in terms of the grind lines? Is there a way to minimize washing the plunges?

I went with scotch brite on the flats and finished the bevel with a 400 cork. I think this looks better and I was able to keep the plunge crisp. I think the scotch brite belts have a place and will be great on the plungeless gyutos and utility kitchen knives I make.
 
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Probably yes to your first question and probably no to your second question. Some people are probably skilled enough to just use the belt on the flat and then just on the bevel but I am NOT one of those. I think it looks nice in my opinion. I'm going to try using the Scotch Brite lengthwise on the knives and see how that looks too.
 
I just got a scotch-brite belt as well. I'm haivng similar issues. I noticed after a short break-in period the grind lines looked better, not so harsh. Still having an issue with it washing out the plunge and the transitions between flat and bevel though. Interested in what others have to say on this, I'll be following this thread for sure. Thanks for starting it!
 
I really like the looks of that. What grit did you grind to before using the SB?
 
220 AO, red sb, blue sb. I already had this ground to 220 and was going to hand finish it. I just hit the flats and the the bevel with the sb and this is what I got. With that said I usually grind the flats to finish grit and then do the bevel. With normal belts this keeps all my lines crisp. I will try the same procedure with these sb belts next and think I will have better results.
colu41 said:
I really like the looks of that. What grit did you grind to before using the SB?
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I think the issue with SB is that it has a depth to it where a normal belt does not. If you press the blade into the SB, it compresses it under the blade while the abrasive just over the blade is not so it forms a rounded transition. I have not used it on a belt grinder but I imagine after it breaks down a bit and if you go very lightly you might minimize round over.
 
I'd be interested in hearing what Nick Wheeler has to say about this sort of thing........................

Nick?
 
Scotchbrite belts need a breaking in period. A brand new fine scotchbrite will throw sparks and round everything over. Spray some WD40 on the belt as its running. It will cut smoother and help break it in. It'll keep the small loose fibers from flapping against your edge too. Leaves a hazy kinda fuzzy appearance to your edge and spine.

To be honest, I'm seeing alot of your previous grit scratches in that finish. Use some dykem blue in between your grit progression. For example, grind at 60 grit, coat with dykem, grind with 180. Use the 180 grit belt until you see no vertical blue lines. You can also hold your blade at certain angles in a clean bucket of water, and the 60 grit scratches will be bright and really stand out. The scotchbrite will really make the rougher scratches stick out.

If you decide to go with a horizontal flat, finish that section last. If you finish a flat with horizontal scratch pattern, and then use the SB belt on your bevels, you'll get fuzzy, hazy scratches right on the bottom of your flat.

Hope this helps. This is the finish I do primarily on most of my blades. Try the dykem trick and the scotchbrite will be a better friend.
 
Josh Mason said:
Scotchbrite belts need a breaking in period. A brand new fine scotchbrite will throw sparks and round everything over. Spray some WD40 on the belt as its running. It will cut smoother and help break it in. It'll keep the small loose fibers from flapping against your edge too. Leaves a hazy kinda fuzzy appearance to your edge and spine.

To be honest, I'm seeing alot of your previous grit scratches in that finish. Use some dykem blue in between your grit progression. For example, grind at 60 grit, coat with dykem, grind with 180. Use the 180 grit belt until you see no vertical blue lines. You can also hold your blade at certain angles in a clean bucket of water, and the 60 grit scratches will be bright and really stand out. The scotchbrite will really make the rougher scratches stick out.

If you decide to go with a horizontal flat, finish that section last. If you finish a flat with horizontal scratch pattern, and then use the SB belt on your bevels, you'll get fuzzy, hazy scratches right on the bottom of your flat.


Hope this helps. This is the finish I do primarily on most of my blades. Try the dykem trick and the scotchbrite will be a better friend.
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Thanks for your advice. This was a rough go at it as this blade still needs ground higher. I was just impatient and wanted to see what the finish looked liked. What grit do you take it to before switching to the red sb? Also, do you typically finish your flats horizontally?
 
To avoid washing out your lines, sand to a finer grit before going to the SB belt. I either get a really good 220 grit or go to 400 before the SB finish. You should only be texturing with the belt, not trying to remove deep scratches.
 
Not sure if you can get a finer belt than blue where you are but they do make a silver one that gives a very nice finish.

Richard
 
I typically do a hand rubbed fishes with stones and sandpaper, so I am not a skilled "machine" finisher and Scotchbrite is pretty new for me. I have little knife I did and can clearly see some previous scratches. But I saw Claude Bouchonville go from a really good 400 belt finish IIRC to a Scotchbrite flap wheel to a stitched cloth buffer wheel with white compound and you would have never known that he used Scotchbrite. You can see the result in a thread currently open in the custom subforum in the close up picks of some of his hunters.
 
*disclaimer- I do mostly hand rubbed finishes on my knives*

However, I have done a few satin belt finishes. I greatly prefer a nicely conditioned cork belt (no compound) now over the scotchbrite belt I have (grey-fine) for that type of finish. The scotchbrite has too much give for my taste. It's just too easy to wash out the shoulder at the plunge and any transition line between the primary bevel and the blade flats. I also don't like how it will remove some of the mark from the etch on my maker's mark (and I etch my mark pretty deep). This is important to me as I may occasionally need to touch up the finish after the knife is completed. The cork belts are X weight belts and just work better for me if a satin belt finish is what I'm aiming for. BTW, I always run my finish lines for the flats (ricasso) parallel to the length of the knife, whether I'm doing a belt or hand finish. Vertical finish lines on the ricasso don't look right at all IMO.
 
I kind of specialize in machine finishing, I've found that most scotchbrite grits are too coarse in both cut and appearance, even broken in, and they have too much "squish" for my taste. I have seen them put to very good use by multiple makers. I don't mind the finest one too much, I think it might be gray color but I can't remember.

Pre-loaded cork goes all the way down to 220, which gives you a mean satin "as ground look". If I'm going for even more aggressive look than that, I might go with a 220 equivalent structured, but that's rare.

Most of the time I go up to 600 on traditional and then bring it back with 400 cork. If I'm going for a more visible finish, I'll go 400 traditional and then 220 cork. If I really want it to look nice, I might go to 1200 mylar/felt and then back to 800 cork.


The thing I love about cork is that the grit is contained in a single plane, and it has very little "squish", so you and use it as final finish on a bevel without brushing onto the finished flats. Scotchbrite would simply not work for my finishing technique, although I do like them sometimes for working finish kitchen blades.
 
HallHandmade said:
I kind of specialize in machine finishing, I've found that most scotchbrite grits are too coarse in both cut and appearance, even broken in, and they have too much "squish" for my taste. I have seen them put to very good use by multiple makers. I don't mind the finest one too much, I think it might be gray color but I can't remember.

Pre-loaded cork goes all the way down to 220, which gives you a mean satin "as ground look". If I'm going for even more aggressive look than that, I might go with a 220 equivalent structured, but that's rare.

Most of the time I go up to 600 on traditional and then bring it back with 400 cork. If I'm going for a more visible finish, I'll go 400 traditional and then 220 cork. If I really want it to look nice, I might go to 1200 mylar/felt and then back to 800 cork.


The thing I love about cork is that the grit is contained in a single plane, and it has very little "squish", so you and use it as final finish on a bevel without brushing onto the finished flats. Scotchbrite would simply not work for my finishing technique, although I do like them sometimes for working finish kitchen blades.
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I have a 400 and 600 cork belt that I've used before. 2 questions. Do you finish your flats horizontally? You said preloaded cork belts but I'm not sure what I have so , do you load them with compound or not? Thanks for the replies fellas.
 
I threw my SB belt in the trash. Nothing worse then taking a blade and finding out the SB got contaminated and screws up the finish.

I use corks a lot from 220, 400 and 1000 grit.

I use the 220 and 400 with and without compound.

You will be able to control your finish and polish much more with cork belts.
 
AVigil said:
I threw my SB belt in the trash. Nothing worse then taking a blade and finding out the SB got contaminated and screws up the finish.

I use corks a lot from 220, 400 and 1000 grit.

I use the 220 and 400 with and without compound.

You will be able to control your finish and polish much more with cork belts.
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Thanks for the reply. Is the consensus to finish the flats horizontally and the bevel vertical? That's how I do my hollows that are satin.
 
I've never tried the cork belts, but from what I'm hearing, they are great, and sound right up my alley.

If you're still willing to stick with the SB belt for awhile, I'd kinda ditch the thought of using them in a progression. I think scotchbrites should come after your final regular belt grit. Here's my formula. People may think this is lazy, or too rough etc, but I make working knives. I learned this from a well respected and very talented maker years ago:

60 grit ceramic
180 grit (A100) Gator.
Fine dark green scotchbrite loaded with WD40.

Thats it. Your grinds and flats have to be dead on though, which is why I suggested the Dykem trick.
 
Matt R said:
Thanks for the reply. Is the consensus to finish the flats horizontally and the bevel vertical? That's how I do my hollows that are satin.
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That is typical for a machine finish, but if you look at what Nathan does you can learn how to do your bevels horizontal as well.
 
AVigil said:
That is typical for a machine finish, but if you look at what Nathan does you can learn how to do your bevels horizontal as well.
Click to expand...

hello

This is 100% a belt finish:

2.jpg~original


^220 grit

I like Scotchbrite, but I don't fool with it much anymore. A clean belt finish is pretty straight forward.
 
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