Best Grinder Belts For The $

ColsonCustoms

ColsonCustoms

Joined
Oct 19, 2015
Messages
76
I have had good luck so far starting with the 60 grit Cubitron for 90% of the initial material removal and then switching over to a 80 grit Trizact CF to even everything out and get the last 10%. I picked up a few Norton blue 60 grit belts for a decent price. They seemed to last a pretty long time and cut well, but the grit also seemed to cleave off very badly and I had to use eyepro, which I usually try to avoid If I can.
For the money, who makes the best belts for hogging metal off? I like the Cubitron, but $15 / belt isn't ideal.
 
VSM ceramics from tru grit in 80 grit for me then Trina the gators to about 220 grit. VSM are hard to beat at a little over $3 each
 
3m 984f in 36 & 60. The best ceramic I know of on the market these days. Pop's knife supply carries them. They are long lasting, stable and fracture well.

Fred
 
I have literally got hundreds of new 2x72 belts in my shop. Some people are hooked on alcohol, heroin, cigarettes but the monkey on my back is to own at least 3 or 4 of each belt made. I use VSM 100 grit belts on my surface grinder attachment at about $3 each but for grinding bevels I think it is hard to beat the performance and longevity of Norton Blaze belts from Pop's knife supply at about $6.50 each in 60 grit and 80 grit. I prefer them to my Cubitron belts by 3m. I have no science to back this up; just my experience. These are old photos. I am even sicker now. Larry

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Question about the 984F 3M belt - since it's a ceramic, what belt speed does it need to cut good and break down to maintain the edge? Seems I have read the ceramic belts needed high speed and heavy pressure to cut good and keep a sharp edge exposed? My max belt speed is 4,000 SFPM, but I seldom grind that fast. When doing bevels I seldom get above 3,000 SFPM with not too much pressure. Since I make mostly kitchen or folder knives these are usually thin (<.1") that are ground post HT and always concerned about over heating.

Ken H>
 
Ken H> said:
Question about the 984F 3M belt - since it's a ceramic, what belt speed does it need to cut good and break down to maintain the edge? Seems I have read the ceramic belts needed high speed and heavy pressure to cut good and keep a sharp edge exposed? My max belt speed is 4,000 SFPM, but I seldom grind that fast. When doing bevels I seldom get above 3,000 SFPM with not too much pressure. Since I make mostly kitchen or folder knives these are usually thin (<.1") that are ground post HT and always concerned about over heating.
Ken H>
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They don't need to be screaming to cut well.
 
Cubitron ll 984 need heavy pressure to grind with and run about $11
Cubitron ll 947 are for low/medium pressure and are about $7

VSM run about $4-6

VSM + run about $5-7

So with the Cubitron ll pick the belt that best fits the pressure you grind with.
 
I'll have to try some VSM due to the price but the 984 is better than anything else I tried by a huge margin. It fractures fine for me at 3200 sfm. It just cuts and cuts and cuts.
 
I also use the 984F belts and mostly grind post HT. I prefer them to any other ceramic I've tried. My grinder is a KMG 3-spd, and I don't have any issues at all, even running them at 1800 sf/m. I've also never noticed them requiring "heavy" pressure to cut, although that's probably all relative. I rank them a high value considering how long they last and how well they perform over the life of the belt.
 
ColsonCustoms said:
I have had good luck so far starting with the 60 grit Cubitron for 90% of the initial material removal and then switching over to a 80 grit Trizact CF to even everything out and get the last 10%. I picked up a few Norton blue 60 grit belts for a decent price. They seemed to last a pretty long time and cut well, but the grit also seemed to cleave off very badly and I had to use eyepro, which I usually try to avoid If I can.
For the money, who makes the best belts for hogging metal off? I like the Cubitron, but $15 / belt isn't ideal.
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you wanna hog, get something designed to do that, a good variable speed 4 1/2" angle grinder with a grinding wheel or coarse flap wheel. after that, 40 grit zirconium belts. use zirconium belts for shaping and metal removal, use ceramic for shaping and finishing. other piece of the pie is type of knive and thickness of steel. i work alot with thin stock, 3/32"(0.09") or less, I am not removing that much metal when beveling or finishing, so finer grits(80 and higher) work well.
scott
 
I have tried using the angle grinder in the past in an attempt to remove a lot of stock. I think the 2x72 w/ a 60 grit fresh belt is noticeably faster. A bench grinder might be a viable alternative.
So the Zirconium is better for pre-heat treat and ceramic post? And does going to a really low grit make that much difference? I have seen 36's before, but never picket up any lower than 60.

As for the other question about thickness of stock, I work with mostly .094"-.130" and .187"-.375". Some stuff in between, but most fall into those 2 ranges. The thicker stock is where I really need to chew through a lot of material fast.
 
I use ceramic at all steps. I'm getting into a process now. Rough with 60 grit 984, touch up with 120 grit 984, after heat treat clean up with 120 984, step up to 220 grit regalite, then either I'm blasting and parkerizing, hand sanding, or finishing with trizacts and cork.

I really only buy 60, 120, and 220 anymore, until I need to replace trizacts. And some cheap zirconium or AO for handle material.
 
economically, i would go with the 984f in 36 grit for hogging. i get more knives out of the 36 than the 60. i usually get about 12-15 knives out of a 36, 6-8 with a 60 before i feel they are too dull. your results may vary depending on your speed and pressure. for comparison, i get about 3 knives out of a 36 grit aluminum oxide. if you try a 36, make sure you stop earlier before switching up to the next grit, the scratches are deeper than you think.
 
ColsonCustoms said:
I have tried using the angle grinder in the past in an attempt to remove a lot of stock. I think the 2x72 w/ a 60 grit fresh belt is noticeably faster. A bench grinder might be a viable alternative.
So the Zirconium is better for pre-heat treat and ceramic post? And does going to a really low grit make that much difference? I have seen 36's before, but never picket up any lower than 60.

As for the other question about thickness of stock, I work with mostly .094"-.130" and .187"-.375". Some stuff in between, but most fall into those 2 ranges. The thicker stock is where I really need to chew through a lot of material fast.
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Zirc belts go as low as 24grit. 60 grit should work ok. i use zirc pre-heat treat and for the first half after(establish bevels and bring edge to 0.02 or so). if you shop you can find 2x72 Deerfos 80grit zirconia belts for less than $2 each
 
Just ordered some VSMs to try. I may do a direct comparison following my current practice of 60 grit, 120 grit, HT, 120 grit between the VSM and 984 cubitron, since i have a number of same profile same material blanks to rough out and HT.

Right now, I know I'll go through one 60 grit and one 120 grit 984 per blank before I'm no longer happy with how those belts are cutting. They're not dead, but they get put on a hook for other tasks like profiling or roughing handle material. And while that may sound like poor life, these are deep blades with long bevels. It's a lot of material to remove.
 
kuraki said:
Just ordered some VSMs to try. I may do a direct comparison following my current practice of 60 grit, 120 grit, HT, 120 grit between the VSM and 984 cubitron, since i have a number of same profile same material blanks to rough out and HT.

Right now, I know I'll go through one 60 grit and one 120 grit 984 per blank before I'm no longer happy with how those belts are cutting. They're not dead, but they get put on a hook for other tasks like profiling or roughing handle material. And while that may sound like poor life, these are deep blades with long bevels. It's a lot of material to remove.
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I get 3 or 4 bowie blades (9"-12"), or 12-15 folder/hunter size blades with one 60 grit 984. You must be doing something different?
After that I'll use the 984s' to profile 20 or blades.

You do know about the + sign on the arrow on back of the belts?
 
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