Something better then wobbly leather belt?

I

Incahiker

Joined
Oct 2, 2009
Messages
727
I have been sharpening with a 1 x 42" belt grinder and have always gotten astonishing results. The only thing is that 1 x 42" belts never seem to turn as smoothly as any of the sanding or mylar belts and always slap the hell out of the blade and it's hard to have consistancy since the leather also gives so much. I have 2 leather belts and they are both like this, even when brand new.

So I was wondering, does anyone use a felt belt or cloth belt that will readily take the green polishing compound and will be as stable as a mylar or normal grinding belts?? This would be much more useful then a wobbly leather belt and I will get much better consistant results. This belt just needs to be non abrasive so that I can add the polishing compound which would be the abrasive. Any tips?
 
I use cork belts now. I had the same problem with leather stretching. you can get them with abrasive embedded in the cork or just plain. Supergrit also has wool/felt belts but I have no experience with those.
 
you might want to check into the paper wheels. i use my belt sander to work up a burr on a convex edge and remove the burr with the paper buffing wheel. i had a buddy sharpen some wood chisels on his tormek and then had me run them over the paper buffing wheel. he said the paper wheel did a much better job. i have a set thats going on 19 years old and still going.
 
I am really interested in trying a paper wheel soon... I have the same experience with leather that the OP does.... even though with good results. But I have had equally good results just coating a worn out 9micron belt with some green and also from SuperGrit you can get wool polishing belts. I am really liking the wool... they are cheap and it turns smooth. It has some stretch more than the leather and it kind of pops into place over the wheels.

On the Cork belts, I have one but it seems to be very rough did you do something to smooth yours out or it just works well the way it is? I also got my cork from supergrit.

I have tried Cloth (I think that's how they had them labeled) belts and didn't like them. They didn't hold the wax bar compound it just flew right back off. I agree I really like the way the Mylar turns, you might try using and old one with some compound first as you will already have your body used to the motion/force/technique of that particular type of belt... I find myself thinking when I switch to leather, wool, etc: "Now how did I approach this the last time."

Thanks, HTH!
 
Thanks for the tips. Ya, I love the mylar belt, it is nice and tight and gives me incredible results, but I always go one more step and polish the knife with green compound.

I was thinking of just ordering another mylar belt, but I wish I could order one without any kind of abrasive on it. I need to look into getting a paper wheel.

Does the wool belt get really loose like the leather does? The leather does do the job, I guess, but I don't know exactly what the angle is that the leather is putting on the knife because it gives and pops and wobble and I don't know what the hell it's doing. It does give great results, but I just want something more stable.
 
if you get a set of wheels i'm sure you will like them. you wont have to keep buying leather belts only to have them stretch later. the slotted paper wheel is a strop and you can save the leather strop for out in the field. one member who goes by Noctis3880 had diamond stones and spray plus other systems checked into the wheels and loves them. check out some of his posts. go check out these 2 threads i started on the wheels.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8534074#post8534074

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=578787
 
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I haven't been using the wool belt for for several weeks... so someone else might be more qualified to answer. So far so good though.

Incahiker said:
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Does the wool belt get really loose like the leather does? The leather does do the job, I guess, but I don't know exactly what the angle is that the leather is putting on the knife because it gives and pops and wobble and I don't know what the hell it's doing. It does give great results, but I just want something more stable.
Click to expand...
 
The felt belts work well.As good as leather,but not quite as fast.No,they wont flop around like the leather.
 
Try putting your belt on backwards so the back of the belt is facing you. I've used the back of old belts a few times and thought it worked great.
 
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