Zirconium Belts vs Aluminum Oxide belts for handle shaping

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Erdbeereis

Well-Known Member
Do any of you guys use zirc belts for handle shaping? Do they last longer than alox? I can get them for the same price, that's why I'm wondering.
 
The "zirc" belts will last longer.....BUT.......most of the time you can only get the zirc belts in and "X" or "Y" weight backing, which means near zero flexibility. (means you will gouge things up badly if you try to go too far with the stiff backed belt(s)) I generally use a 50 grit belt to knock the majority of material off for handles.....then go to a J-flex 220 to refine things. Finish out with 400 to 600 in J-flex, depending on how much hand sanding you want to do.
 
I concur with what Ed has stated about the backing on the Zirc belts.

I personally don't care for the way Zirc belts tear or gouge material off. A/O seems to grind of the material more if that makes sense? Wood or steel.

A/O belts in 40g are inexpensive and I get about two handles rough shaped per belt which is under $2.00 each. Then I use 120G Hermes Superflex to fine shape and then 4-600G ones, then hand sand the rest.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Erdbeereis said:
Do any of you guys use zirc belts for handle shaping? Do they last longer than alox? I can get them for the same price, that's why I'm wondering.
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it depends a little.
is the material Wood or g10/micarta?
 
Micarta is a bit tougher on the belts (as can be G10), so the Zirc may last longer if you are doing more Micarta than wood. I prefer AO belts for handle work and save the Zirc/Ceramics for blade work usually unless it's a hard to work material.
 
I only do about 10% of the handle work on the grinder. The only dedicated handle finishing belts I buy are the 120 & 220 grit Klingspor scalloped edge belts. They are A/O on J-flex backing. The scallops help alleviate the gouges Ed described. When grinding handle material one of those rubber eraser belt cleaners help keep the belts clean and cutting well. Do yourslef a favor and buy one. They're cheap and last a long time.
 
Use AO for wood and leather and some plastics. Generally, AO belts simply work better on wood than zirc or ceramic. The AO breaks down easier and exposes sharp edges (this is good). Wood isn't tough enough to fracture Zirc abrasive so the belt simply goes dull well before it's useful life is up. Some man made material like G10 can fracture zirc and expose sharp new edges. Some can't. It depends on belt speed and pressure used and the composition of the material.

AO belts are often cheap and "open coated" with basically less abrasive glued on per square inch. Sticky material like plastic or kydex or oily wood like cocobolo tends to clog up belts. Cheap Open Coated belts have more "free room" for the sticky stuff to cling to so they clog slower, if at all.
 
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I've been wondering about where to get open coated 2x72 belts after trying a piece of coarse open
coated paper on my disk grinder and being amazed at how well it cleaned up stabilized wood blocks
back from WSSI as well as how long it lasted.

Do you carry open coated AO belts in, say, 40-80 grit?
 
I would pass myself on A/O belts from Ace. Unless they are 3M brand, Then depending on cost they may work out fine.
I get my A/O Hermes belts from Tru-grit. Not sure if Boss dog carries those or a equivalent?

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Dan Pierson said:
I've been wondering about where to get open coated 2x72 belts after trying a piece of coarse open
coated paper on my disk grinder and being amazed at how well it cleaned up stabilized wood blocks
back from WSSI as well as how long it lasted.

Do you carry open coated AO belts in, say, 40-80 grit?
Click to expand...

yes, the lowest price AO we sell are all open coated. I use them for wood, leather, kydex and for g10/micarta. In this case, the cheapest belts are the best way to go which is never the case with metal.
 
Erdbeereis said:
How are Klimgspor AlOx belts?
Click to expand...

Klingspor makes a good product, I prefer Hermes brand. I think they last a little longer.
The best part of any belt is the first 40% or so of it's life. For handles most inexpensive A/O open coat belts will work fine. As long as they aren't Chinese made ones, pass on those.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
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