belt wear

[jason0012]

I was reading a post where a new smith was asking about grinders and thought I might ask a slightly different question. I have been making knives for many years now, and recently upgraded from the old 1x30 to a 2x42. The lousy sears model was a stop gap addition to the shop while I decided which real grinder I wanted. I have however used it quite a bit and never gotten around to getting a better one.
Now for my question. I go through a LOT of belts on this thing, and I mean a LOT of belts. This of course gets pretty expensive. 2x72 belts aren't much more expensive but nearly twice the length so therefore obviously a better value. What has me stumped with belts is that I seem to be working cheaper to file and sand by hand!( shop rate $120 an hr) Are the expensive belts really worth the money? I am using 3-4 belts to grind a 5 inch blade( forged to nearly finished size)then another 120 & 220 grit. At $5-$8 a belt that adds up fast. I see 2x72 belts listed for as much as $15-18 and have to wonder, could I really grind more than one blade with one of these?

I should add that the sears belts are definately not the best quality and being an odd size not generaly available anywhere else.

[Fe-Wood]

From your post I can't tell what the make up of the belts you are using is so all I can say is- try one and see.
Good quality belts suited for the purpose should last a long time. Not belts per knife but knives per belt!

[Steve Sells]

I get a lot of sq inches of damascus steel with a 40 grit blaze belt, then I move up to 100 grit blaze, getting 6 to 10 blades easy with the 100 grit, 3 to 8 with the 40 depending on how much shaping I have to do after forging. 2 x 72 on my bader B3, having said that I cant get one blade from a budget AO belt. to cost is about the same, PITB from stopping work and using partly worn belts is worth getting better belts and just working smoothly.

[ThomasPowers]

One thing that can help is to remove any scale from the blade before grinding---overnight soak in vinegar or sandblasting or even using a cheap angle grinder. Scale is harder than steel and so wears abrasives more.

[jason0012]

Sounds to me like I should just shell out the 2-3K for a Burking or Bader and be done with it. I might save more than the cost of the machine in belts, let alone the aggravation of constantly changing them.

[David Kahn]

I get a lot of sq inches of damascus steel with a 40 grit blaze belt, then I move up to 100 grit blaze, getting 6 to 10 blades easy with the 100 grit, 3 to 8 with the 40 depending on how much shaping I have to do after forging. 2 x 72 on my bader B3, having said that I cant get one blade from a budget AO belt. to cost is about the same, PITB from stopping work and using partly worn belts is worth getting better belts and just working smoothly.

I love, love, love the Blaze belts. These are, by far, the best belts I've ever used. I got some of the 24 grit ones for rough work, and they are XXXX amazing. They take off metal like nobody's business and last forever. (Of course, they look like somebody glued orange popcorn to a grinder belt, and God help you if you inadvertantly push your finger into the edge while the grinder is on.)