Lengthwise belt finishes on kitchen knives

[FredyCro]

I end up hand sanding all of my kitchen blades but I set up hand sanding with length wise grinding on my 14" contact wheel.
I grind the bevels on both hard and felt platens to create a hybrid full flat/convex profile.
My grit progression is ceramic 50 then 80 on the flat platen down to around 0.03" followed by felt platen grinding. I use ceramic 80 and 120, then 3M gator belts A300, A160, A100, A65. All of this is perpendicular grinding.
Then I switch to length wise grinding on the 14" contact wheel. For AEB-L I can usually go to gator belts starting at A300 and on down to A65 or A45 then on to hand sanding which is really just refining things and doesn't take very long. If I'm using a higher alloy steel I usually start length wise grinding with ceramic 120 then to A300 gators and on down.

I guess when you change to vertical its only finishing work? I ground out my convex edge when I switched to the wheel last time.

 

[Robert Erickson]

I guess when you change to vertical its only finishing work? I ground out my convex edge when I switched to the wheel last time.

Yes sir. The blade geometry is finished at that point. I’m just setting up for hand sanding with length wise grinding

 

[Natlek]

Thank you, I'll stick with the very fine belt then.

I think my cork belts are broken in, I get a really nice finish grinding across the blade. I think the cork belt does not have enough give to conform to the convex blade like the Scotchbrite does, that's probably why I can't get an even finish.

Hubert , although Scotchbrite adapts to the shape of the blade that does not mean that it takes away the material equally on all surface . Pressure from belt is simple not equal on whole blade .Where it was compressed more it take more material ....and vice versa .
Rocking the blade should give you more constant result. I just think out loud, i have never tried nor have belts like that one...

 

[Hubert S.]

Hubert , although Scotchbrite adapts to the shape of the blade that does not mean that it takes away the material equally on all surface . Pressure from belt is simple not equal on whole blade .Where it was compressed more it take more material ....and vice versa .
Rocking the blade should give you more constant result. I just think out loud, i have never tried nor have belts like that one...

Natlek, you should really try the Scotchbrite and/or cork belts, they leave a nice finish. I have been taking multiple passes changing the angle slightly and it works ok with the cork, just not perfectly. There are some slight variations in the texture of the satin finish, especially in the area near the heel on a plungeless grind. I think there is just such a small contact area when grinding a convex bevel lengthwise on a contact wheel. When I loaded the cork with compound, I could see that in some areas of the blade, a single pass would only be somewhere between a quarter and a half inch wide from the pattern left in the grease film on the blade. The Scotchbrite belts also require multiple passes at slightly different angles to get the entire bevel evenly. I just find it way easier to get an even texture with them. It might well be my technique. For now, I have a combination of belts that works pretty well, but I might give the cork another try as I prefer the texture compared to the Scotchbrite finish.