Noob needs a selection of belts for his belt grinder

L

Line_of_weakness

Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Messages
11
Hi All,

I recently purchased the Jet2x42 belt grinder (has an 8" disc as well) I know I should have saved up and bought the.... whatever. We aren't gonna be having THAT discussion today (but it should be a sticky)

What I would like some opinions on is what belts to buy for it. I have an order in the cart with tru-grit, and got it down to under $120 for a nice selection but what are the pros/cons of these different types of belts.

Firstly, the knives I make are very no-frills outdoor rescue knives for backcountry athletes like climbers and the SAR guys that go looking for them when they don't show up at camp. Think thick prybar style, full flat file-ground knives, some simple drop point, some wharncliffe, and some bolo-style recurve too (don't hate). I just need a rust-resistant cost effective finish. No mirror polish, no cerakote. I also will be grinding away at wood, stabilized wood, g10, and micarta for some other products I make.

I see they have these gator belts. What are they all about?
How often will I wet sand anything but maybe micarta and wood?
Do I need a 'surgi'sharp' leather belt for stropping? Does it do anything else?
When is ceramic/silicon carbide/aluminum oxide/zirconia ceramic/alumina the ideal choice?
What do I use to apply a satin finish with a belt grinder, as opposed to a bench grinder? Will this finish refine the surface of the blade enough to reduce corrosion on par with a mirror polish? (I use 10xx series, d2, a2, 01, and 5160 steels)

You're all saints among men, don't fail me now, enlighten this FNG and tell him how it's gonna be.
 
I have a 2x42 Craftsman (now modified for 72" belts), but on the 42" I liked:

Pre Heat Treat: (Use better belts in the 80-320 grits as they last longer and give a nice finish). I think it's key to get your knives about as perfect as possible before heat treat, so much easier to work on annealed than hardened.
60 Grit to profile
80 grit to start bevels till about 75% of pre heat treat complete
120 grit when for 75%-90% of pre heat treat complete
220 grit 90%-95% of pre heat treat complete
320 grit 95-100% of pre heat treat complete

Post HT:
120, 220, 320 Cheap aluminum oxide as I'm just cleaning off scale and getting a burred edge. They are cheap and throw away, and I use a fresh belt for each blade unless I only make a few passes (which is usually the case with the 220 and 320s if you do you pre-heat treat prep).

Sandpaper:
Get 80, 120, 220, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000 of good stuff. This and a piece of 1x flat stock and 1/4" round will help you clean up spins, finger grooves, handles and all kinds of stuff.
 
Line_of_weakness said:
Hi All,

I recently purchased the Jet2x42 belt grinder (has an 8" disc as well) I know I should have saved up and bought the.... whatever. We aren't gonna be having THAT discussion today (but it should be a sticky)

What I would like some opinions on is what belts to buy for it. I have an order in the cart with tru-grit, and got it down to under $120 for a nice selection but what are the pros/cons of these different types of belts.

Firstly, the knives I make are very no-frills outdoor rescue knives for backcountry athletes like climbers and the SAR guys that go looking for them when they don't show up at camp. Think thick prybar style, full flat file-ground knives, some simple drop point, some wharncliffe, and some bolo-style recurve too (don't hate). I just need a rust-resistant cost effective finish. No mirror polish, no cerakote. I also will be grinding away at wood, stabilized wood, g10, and micarta for some other products I make.

I see they have these gator belts. What are they all about?
How often will I wet sand anything but maybe micarta and wood?
Do I need a 'surgi'sharp' leather belt for stropping? Does it do anything else?
When is ceramic/silicon carbide/aluminum oxide/zirconia ceramic/alumina the ideal choice?
What do I use to apply a satin finish with a belt grinder, as opposed to a bench grinder? Will this finish refine the surface of the blade enough to reduce corrosion on par with a mirror polish? (I use 10xx series, d2, a2, 01, and 5160 steels)

You're all saints among men, don't fail me now, enlighten this FNG and tell him how it's gonna be.
Click to expand...

I use 36 60 & 120 grit belts, VSM Ceramic are about the best deal I have found after over 15 years of knife making and buying most of my belts from Tru-grit.

For a satin working finish which is what I use most of the time on my culinary and camp hunters I use Scotsbrite woven belts. Get the Brown, heavy. Maroon in the middle and grey for a finish.
I go from the 120 grit ceramic to the scotsbrite belts.

The wet & dry papers work great on all of my handle materials except when you get into the very white colored materials. I buy 220, 600, 1000 & 2000 grits and Norton ICE is the best paper I have found. Far better than 3m wet & dry.
 
First let me quantify everything I'm about to say by making it clear that I've only been doing this for four months.

You don't need a lot of different grits. Here's where I am at in my belt selection and I believe it is the best bang for the buck.

-60 grit ceramic R980 Blaze by Norton

-120 grit zircon R823x Norzon by Norton

-220 grit zircon R823x Norzon by Norton

-400 grit aluminum oxide RB346MJ by Hermes

I buy all my belts from Tru-Grit unless Jantz has a good sale on the Blaze 10-packs ($60 last time). I prefer the Hermes belt to the Klingspor because the splice is far smoother. I hated the big bump on the Klingspor. I have a few Gator belts and I think they are incredibly smooth and run cooler but they have a tendency to bunch up if you push too hard which causes too much material removal on the leading edge of the stock. I think they would be awesome on a surface grinder with a belt conversion.

For hand sanding, I use 3M long board sanding rolls with PSA backing. I get them locally from an autobody supply in 120, 220, and 400 grit. I like them because the stick to my sanding blocks without having to use any other adhesive; saves a lot of time! Going above 400 grit I use 3M wet or dry sheets in 600, 1000, and 1500. I have been working to get away from hand sanding as much as possible. I just ordered a couple cork belts that I will be trying out to see if I can get straight from the grinder to the buffer. Lots of others have their system locked down and I'm sure they will be different than me. You have to experiment to find what works for you.

Bob
 
Hawk has said it very well, and Lawrence is very experienced at the knife making, repair, and sharpening. Frank
 
I use 3 belts.

60 grit Blaze

180 grit gator

3m fine (dark green) scotchbrite.

Thats it. It gives a real nice satin user finish. The gator belts just seem to cut and blend things a bit more evenly. The belt isn't stiff, but the grit is thick. That thickness kinda helps the edges of the belt cut and smooth the inside plunges. You can also briefly run a stiff steel wire brush across them as they're running, and they will cut like new again. They last quite a long time.

I've learned that the more belts I tried to use, there were more chances that I had to screw up. The key for me is getting the most out of just a couple grits. My first few knives ended up a different shape than I had planned. I used about 5 belts on them, just because I believed that I had to. I didn't have the confidence yet to do exactly what I wanted.

"Hey....this looks awesome at 180....nah, better keep going because that shouldn't be right..."

Don't ever tell yourself that.
 
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