Klingspor Belts

Walt2

Walt2

Joined
Mar 13, 2001
Messages
1,157
What do you guys think of Klingspor belts? Do they compare to Blue Zirconia?
I used my first ones today on some D2 and was aware that D2 is supposed to be rough on belts. This was my first time to use D2 and I was surprised how soon the belt was worn. Is there a brand of belt that outperforms the rest?
Thanks
 
Walt2 said:
What do you guys think of Klingspor belts? Do they compare to Blue Zirconia?
I used my first ones today on some D2 and was aware that D2 is supposed to be rough on belts. This was my first time to use D2 and I was surprised how soon the belt was worn. Is there a brand of belt that outperforms the rest?
Thanks
Click to expand...


Yes and No. It depends on the belt, the steel and how it is ground, flat, hollow or some other flavor.

I have only used Klingspor J flex belts and they work great for their intended use. They make other belts but I haven't had the luxury of using them except on one occasion.

Norton makes good belts as does 3M. I like the ceramic belts. I have had problems with Hermes coming apart at the splice but that could just be the shelf life, not sure. Don't take just one person's experience.

Craig
 
I use Klingspors in regular and Blue Zirc. I use the X weights for flat grinding and I love 'em. I get mine from Pop's, can't beat his prices. Not even the Klingspor Rep. can.
 
I used to use the Klingspor, blue zirconia belts in 60 grit to start off with. They had no life at all, and I switched to 977 3-M ceramic belts.
They are not that much more, and outlast the klingspor over 10-1, way over. :eek: :eek:
The 3-M 967 is another excellent belt. :D
 
I used to use the Klingspor J weight AO belts but have recently switched to their ceramic belts for my initial (60 grit) grinding. I can say that I will never use AO belts again for rough grinding and profiling. From one ceramic belt I can grind the scale off the bar stock, profile and then flat grind several large full tang knives. With their AO belts I was lucky just to grind the scale off the barstock with two belts.

I still used their J-weight belts in finer grits for finishing though.

Dean
 
what about slack belt grinding? are there certain belts that do better? (at the grinding grits...36-180)
 
The 3M ceramics far out-perform any other belts I have tried on D2 and S30V, which is even worse on belts. Both have a high carbide content with Vanadium even when they are annealed.

I use 977s for 60 and 80 grits and 707 J wt in 120, then go to Trizacts. My belt life has gone way up and costs way down from when I was using AlO and ZrO grit belts.

Edited to add: Check out Pop's, I can't find his address now, but will post it later.
 
Thanks Mike. I tried it yesterday, but left off the last / and got an error page 404. Sometimes all this Simon Says stuff on computers still throws me.
 
Steve, I think their site was down for awhile yesterday. I got the same type of thing. But, it's working today.
 
fist time order today with this one.
g l perice 1-800-938-0021
for zirconia 80 and 120 grit $3.00 each
I'm told that these are about the same as the ceramic and a lot cheaper.

220 400 600 grit A.O J flex $1.70 each..

prices look good at least..

I like the 3M Microns too but he doesn't carry them :grumpy: :)
 
I use about the same belts as Mike, going to Norax for the final grits. You cannot beat the 967 or 977s for initial grinding. I've used the same belts for so long I'm getting bored with them!

I do wish I could find some 400 and 600 belts that would last longer though... I use at least one of each per knife, and if it's a very "particular" project sometimes more.

Any suggestions? Since most of my knives are flat ground I'm working against the platen; I think this contributes to fast belt wear.

I also have just bought a felt belt that I'm going to try for polishing. Has anyone had any experience with these? They're pricey so I only got one to check it out but if it works I'm going to switch my blade finish to the big machine too. I'd like to hear any other's experiences.
 
For polishing its hard to beat the cork belts. I've gone from 60 grit after heatreatment straight to 400, then to cork and get great results.


Has anybody had any more results from the "gatorback" belts to form an opinion on them?
 
In my book there is no substitute for Norton Hoggers in 36G to 120G for finner grit I use Norton Norax belts down to 600G or finer and thy will often wear out the backing before the grit is gone. The best price is at Tru Grit. Gib
 
Mark Williams said:
For polishing its hard to beat the cork belts. I've gone from 60 grit after heatreatment straight to 400, then to cork and get great results.
...
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Cork is the hot setup. Here's a link to most of the cork belt finishing threads in Steve Johnson's forum, at CKD.
They will make a BIG difference in the amount of belts you use, and the time spent finishing.
http://www.ckdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19319

http://www.ckdforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20276
 
ddavelarsen said:
...
I also have just bought a felt belt that I'm going to try for polishing. Has anyone had any experience with these? They're pricey so I only got one to check it out but if it works I'm going to switch my blade finish to the big machine too. I'd like to hear any other's experiences.
Click to expand...
I just ordered one of those myself. Hasn't come in yet but I plan to use K&G proprietary green chrome on it for a final mirror on the mostly hollow grind I do to keep the grind line a little sharper than the buffer does.

I was doing cork with chrome for a year or two and have since gone to Norax belts from 100x down to 5x. I find I can get a little cleaner mirror using Norax than with cork. I really need to do two blades side by side using the two methods to see which is the fastest. The mirror I get from using Norax seems to be just a bit crisper...that and I don't get covered with green crap from head to foot...:D
 
Tracy which grits do you use in your progression? I've been stopping at 30X then working an 800 grit cork belt before polishing on the buffer. I recently got some 22Xs to see if taking it higher helps. I hadn't thought of going further because I'm so cheap. But if it makes for better grind lines (and saves valuable part-timer time) I'm all for it.

I also decided to do a Trizact-to-Norax test head up to see if I can determine which is better for finishing steel. Haven't done that yet so I'm interested in hearing anyone else's experience or opinions on this. They're about the same price at Tru Grit but I can get Trizact locally slightly less expensive.

I'm looking forward to trying the felt belt...
 
ddavelarsen said:
I also decided to do a Trizact-to-Norax test head up to see if I can determine which is better for finishing steel. Haven't done that yet so I'm interested in hearing anyone else's experience or opinions on this.......
Click to expand...

Early on, the Trizact's weren't waterproof, and the Norax are.
I understand that Trizact's are now availabe waterproof.

One other thing, the Norax belts have a bit of cushion to them, the Trizact's don't.

Other than that...... :confused:
 
I just picked up a couple of the 3M ceramics in 36 & 60 from Pop's this weekend to try 'em out...we'll see. He said the Grizzly with the 8" wheel will run plenty fast enough for these belts to work to their potential.
 
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