What roughing belt

VSM all the way. I honestly don't notice much of a difference between VSM and the nice belts like cubitrons.
 
I have some cubitron 947 (medium pressure) and man they are leagues above VSM, combat abrasive, or even 3m 707.
So if the 947 are that good i cant imagine what a 984 would be like
 
I am going to have to order some of those blaze 50's from Pops next.
 
Everything seems to be creeping up in price. I just looked at my last bulk belt order (February) and both ceramics and AO belts have gone up 10 and 20% respectively. What was a $500 order is now a $575 order. And February 2018 was 10% more than April of 2017.
 
valknut said:
I have some cubitron 947 (medium pressure) and man they are leagues above VSM, combat abrasive, or even 3m 707.
So if the 947 are that good i cant imagine what a 984 would be like
Click to expand...

984's are better, *if* you've got the speed, and a firm enough hand to utilize them. However, I also think they do really well with light pressure on soft steel, because they don't glaze up under those conditions. It's why they kick ass for titanium also, they just don't load or glaze when cutting it. I'm not one to "wear a belt to the backer", even with premium belts, I typically allot one each for each knife, sometimes two, because I only want to grind with fresh, super sharp abrasive, after that, its relegated to profiling or knocking scale of, but I could grind 20 titanium bevels for a run I did a few years back on carbidized edge ultralight knives, with one single 984F, and still use it for profiling steel later.

I thought for sure I'd like the lower pressure version of the cubitron ii's when I first heard about them, but they just didn't work for me too well, because I had already adapted to the 984Fs.
 
kuraki said:
Everything seems to be creeping up in price. I just looked at my last bulk belt order (February) and both ceramics and AO belts have gone up 10 and 20% respectively. What was a $500 order is now a $575 order. And February 2018 was 10% more than April of 2017.
Click to expand...

Yeah, we had a steady increase in many things from big gas prices a few years ago, but then pretty static prices during the low economy for a while, then a cycle of increased competition to recapture market share, now rising import costs, and a more stable economy seem to be causing prices to creep up quick. Typical cycle I guess? =\
 
JTknives said:
So you use the 984F in 50 grit on hardened stainless? My other thing is coolness. I would rather sacrifice belt life a tad for a belt that cuts cooler.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'll use either. Currently the blaze because of the cost difference. I still prefer the 984F's but, not enough to justify the higher price. If you're gonna pay that much, get the yellow ones instead.
 
javand said:
Yeah, we had a steady increase in many things from big gas prices a few years ago, but then pretty static prices during the low economy for a while, then a cycle of increased competition to recapture market share, now rising import costs, and a more stable economy seem to be causing prices to creep up quick. Typical cycle I guess? =\
Click to expand...

I'm sure it's typical. It just surprised me. I work on deferred costs to such an extent that I don't see prices more than 6 months at a time really. So to me it's like it was instant. But at the same time affirms the purchasing model I'm personally using, if you can call it that. Buy cheap, stack deep.
 
I have never used the new blaze belts as I had a good suply of the pre gunk belts. So I’m wondering if I will like the new Plus belts even more.
 
Don't forget to throw in a couple of 784 when you order next time, I really believe they give a lot of bang for the buck.

5nf8LvH.jpg
 
john april said:
i like the cork because they last and last. i usually wreck one accidentally before it wears out. i have a 400 i have been using for 2 years.
Click to expand...

For belt finish I usually wobble between the corks and the gators. Both have different but nice finishes. I have cork from 400 to 1000. Not sure I notice a huge difference running cork loaded with green buffing compound or not. That was the rage a few years ago when cork hit more mainstream ( to me at least ).
 
I was a Blaze guy, then a 984 guy, and now I'm a "buy cheaper ceramic 36 belts so I can keep using a new sharp one an not worry about going through them as much" guy. I like that first 25% of sharpness to a roughing belt for grinding bevels, since I'm in hardened steels above 60 RC mostly in kitchen knife work. Then I beat them to death on the surface grinder or other rough tasks.
 
skillgannon said:
The J flex at 220 grit might be nice for a few things.
Click to expand...

My experience with ceramic belts above 120, especially J-weight ones, is that they just aren't worth the extra cost over the good AO's. They seem to go dull just as fast. I haven't tried these, but the older 3m ceramic j-weights (707JE I think?) just didn't last any longer, and frankly didn't feel as sharp. I attribute this mostly to the backer, soft flexible backings just can't hang onto the abrasive very well IMO, although I could be wrong about this.
 
Ive got 10 of the blaze 50s on the way to compare to the more expensive yellow cubitrons. Ill also give my vsm veramics another go now that i have direct drive set up.

Does anyone have any thing to share on how these belts/grinders compare to higher tensioning? I notice vast improvement in belt life and speed with my 60lb spring as opposed to the 20lb I used to have but is this going to have a negative impact on the motor and other bearings over the long run?
 
I don't think the effect would be measurable given that the pressure is radial and the loads we're talking about are rather low in comparison to what they're rated for.
 
timos- said:
Ive got 10 of the blaze 50s on the way to compare to the more expensive yellow cubitrons. Ill also give my vsm veramics another go now that i have direct drive set up.

Does anyone have any thing to share on how these belts/grinders compare to higher tensioning? I notice vast improvement in belt life and speed with my 60lb spring as opposed to the 20lb I used to have but is this going to have a negative impact on the motor and other bearings over the long run?
Click to expand...
I m glad that you get improvement with modification .....I don t think that 60lb spring will have any impact on motor , especially not on bearing .Speed , yes .... but not that much to worry about that .
 
I just got my Blaze order from Pops and used to 50 to flat grind a hardened 180mm AEB-L petty/utility down most of the way. Worked pretty nice with no real overheating issues. Haven't checked the platen for gunk yet. :D Later, I will do a comparo on a similar knife using a 60+ 984.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top