Belts per knife?

S

SamaraVolk

Joined
Apr 17, 2014
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93
I'm curious. How many belts and what type do you guys go through to grind a bevel? I've been going through 2 40 grit ceramics on annealed 1/4" 1095 steel. I'm not talking polishing, just to get to the desired edge thickness.
 
Hey samaravolk I'm assuming your doing stock removal because of how many belts you use?
I forge my blades from 1/4stock mostly but because the bevels are forged I only use one 50 grit aluminum oxide belt to get my final edge thickness. Then just a 180 grit to clean up the scratches right before heat treat. Then after heat treat another 180 and then 400
 
PaulDiStefano said:
Hey samaravolk I'm assuming your doing stock removal because of how many belts you use?
I forge my blades from 1/4stock mostly but because the bevels are forged I only use one 50 grit aluminum oxide belt to get my final edge thickness. Then just a 180 grit to clean up the scratches right before heat treat. Then after heat treat another 180 and then 400
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Yes I do do stock removal but the 2 belts are only for grinding the bevels. I bought belts from a new supplier this time and I don't seem to get much life out of them.
 
I'm definitely no expert on ceramic belts but the few times I used them a single 36 grit was all I needed to grind the one and only stock removal knife I've ever done. It was 3/16 thick about 10 inch overall with 5 inch blade. I did all the profiling and bevel grinding with that one belt and it was still usable afterwards. No idea what brand belt it was a while ago. I hope that helped you out even a little bit.
Paul
 
PaulDiStefano said:
I'm definitely no expert on ceramic belts but the few times I used them a single 36 grit was all I needed to grind the one and only stock removal knife I've ever done. It was 3/16 thick about 10 inch overall with 5 inch blade. I did all the profiling and bevel grinding with that one belt and it was still usable afterwards. No idea what brand belt it was a while ago. I hope that helped you out even a little bit.
Paul
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Thanks. I think it's the brand I am using now. I paid $4 per belt. Great price but they just don't seem to last.
 
I don't have permission to move a thread out of Custom... someone will though.

Don't get mad but I can rough grind 10-12 knives on a single 36 grit ceramic. It is all about pressure and direction. I can just as easily ruin a belt with one knife. If you are getting sprayed in the face with bits of abrasive when you start out, your angle of approach is off. At times you need to apply significant pressure to fracture the abrasive and get new life. I also tend to ignore the "direction" on belts but not sure if that does anything to extend life. Get a stone wheel dressing tool... the ones with the rolling "spurs". They bring back belts from the dead. I have never had a belt break but I'm sure I just jinxed myself by saying that.
 
For those getting nearly a dozen blades out of your belts. Is that pre or post heat treat? I grind hard at pretty much full thickness and go through A LOT of low grit ceramics. I'm lucky to get three small blades out of a belt. :confused:

Blessings,
Joshua
 
Do you grind down the initial square edge with an old belt first? If you use on old belt to knock that down first then switch to a new belt for the the remainder of the bevel, you can save some of the life of the belt.
 
I bought some combat Abbrassives and they are far and away better than the 60 grit Merritt I was using. I've only gone through 5 or 6 blades (lots of mess ups) but it's still going strong
 
I only rough grind pre heat treat. Maybe 40% of the total bevel. So most of my grinding is done post heat treat. I always start with a worn belt. Grind about a 40 degree angle first. Then I use a fresh Norton Blaze ceramic belt. Start with 50grit. And like others, I get many sharpenings from one belt. And when too worn for steel, I dress them with a diamond file & use them on wood, G10, Carbon Fiber, etc.
 
kuraki said:
Same, multiple blades with one 36 grit. Fewer if I'm forging, for whatever reason.

Gonna see how many I can get from one 132" now :D

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Wow! Id be more worried about putting a hole in my jeans tbh!


I go with the stock removal method, so for large ~1/4" thick blades i would go through 2 entire 50 grit 72" hermes ceramic belts and they would each get me an extra smaller blade done. After that is a 120 grit belt.

I push my belts to the absolute limit. I might start forging the bevels from now on... good quality belts here in Australia aren't exactly cheap!:confused:
 
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