Finishing grind, belts and grits and whatever else....

N.N

N.N

Well-Known Member
I'm about to make a new belt order and I think I'm going to try some stuff I've never tried before. I've watched a bunch of videos on the subject, but I was wondering if anyone would like to share what they use/do.

In the past I've done most of the grind with 40grit ceramic belts, then up to 80, then up to 120/150 pre heat treat. Then after, clean up with the 80, then 120 again. Then I'll usually go with a scotchbrite belt and up through some cork belts. This doesn't always work all that well and I find myself spending a lot of time trying to remove scratches from previous grits. A more recent attempt led me to hand sand with some 400grit and then go back to the cork and cork w/polish to finish and this worked a little better. But it looked more mirrored than a nice fine even satin finish. Honestly I'd prefer not to have to hand sand and this got me to thinking.

I'm thinking that with this new belt purchase i'm going to try a few things I've not tried yet in the higher grit department. I'm thinking maybe jflex 300ish and 600 before going to the cork for a polish. I also though I might get a few of those gator belts to see if I liked that finish. The gator belt at 500grit is going to be rougher than the jflex at 600...but which would leave a better satin finish? How much can you use a jflex or gator before it's worn out for a good finish (I ask this because I typically get a lot more use out of a 150 ceramic than an 80 and am still using cork and scotchbrite from who knows how many knives ago...I know that for every 5 40grit belts I need about 4 80 grits and 2 120s etc)

I just thought this would be a good time to see if anyone could give me some good input before I buy a bunch of stuff I don't need. So what's your typical belt progression for a nice satin finish...is it the same if you're going to etch it?
 
I use gators to a point and end up hand sanding. I hate hand sanding but, love that hand rubbed satin finish. I especially like lines that run from tip to ricaso. For a mirror shine I run the full gambit of gater grits and polish with felt belts and compound.
 
I like the Norax U264 belts. I grind to 120 with a Blaze belt and then switch. They are more of a finishing belt than a grinding belt.
 
I have not worked on knives for awhile now but ordered belts the other day and this is what km going to try. Ian Hall from over on bladefourms posted this along with a how to video and his stuff has the look I want so I'm going to give it a try.
a6b2e042c3250cc1be48d9bb6291e0bd.jpg
 
Thanks for the thoughts guys. I didn't think about it before, but I was looking at my cork belt just now and I'm pretty sure I've worn this thing slap out. That might have been part of my problem on this last knife I was working on.

I think where i've always stopped at 120, i'm gonig to go ahead and pick up some 220 ceramics as well. Then work up through a few jflex's to 400 and grab a new cork belt as well.

I don't know if I've been doing something different, and I know cork belts are supposed to last a long time. But I think i've only done 4 or 5 knives with this one.

And Justin, that was a good video by hall. Thanks for that.
 
N.N said:
I know that for every 5 40grit belts I need about 4 80 grits and 2 120s etc)

I just thought this would be a good time to see if anyone could give me some good input before I buy a bunch of stuff I don't need. So what's your typical belt progression for a nice satin finish...is it the same if you're going to etch it?
Click to expand...

i would say for every 40grit belt get 2 80grit, 2 120grit, 2 220grit, 2 320 or 400grit. i hope you have speed control for you grinder. for finer grits, you get longer belt life if you get the speed down below 600sfpm.
 
Your structured abrasives like Norax & gator last longer than any of the ceramic or S/C, A/O belts and the cork are good for a year or longer.
 
I ended up getting my normal 40, 80 and 120, added a handful of 220 and 400 (or the equivalent) gator belts. I'm excited to see what they do. I should have put a new cork belt in there as well as I think after this past weekend I've killed the one I was using. It didn't seem to last as long as I hear they do.
 
N.N said:
I ended up getting my normal 40, 80 and 120, added a handful of 220 and 400 (or the equivalent) gator belts. I'm excited to see what they do. I should have put a new cork belt in there as well as I think after this past weekend I've killed the one I was using. It didn't seem to last as long as I hear they do.
Click to expand...

as i said above, turn you speed down when using grit higher than 220. at this point, you are polishing not shaping. use lower speed and less pressure.
 
Does a cork belt used properly not tend to last for a few hundred blades? Seems like I read that somewhere. I loaded my cork with green compound and it doesn't seem to actually wear much at all since it's the compound doing the work with cork only the carrier. Then I think if compound is doing all the work -...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top