

1" x 42" Sanding Belts for Profiling & Sharpening



Collections: Belts

Category: 1" x 42", Belts

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1" x 42" Sanding Belts for Profiling & Sharpening

What is Profiling & Sharpening?

Profiling is the development of the basic shape of a cutting instrument. Sharpening involves giving an edge to the profiled piece of steel/metal that was previously profiled and shaped. 

What does an X or J weight mean?



1" x 42" sanding belts lean toward the finer details and work that blades can require—e.g. sharpening or detailed handle work. This makes the 1" x 42" size one of the most common belt sizes for knife making for profiling, bevel grinding, detailed edge sanding, and sharpening.

How do most knifemakers use 1" x 42" aluminum oxide belts?

Aluminum oxide is a general purpose abrasive material—it is a less expensive material that ceramic or zirconia alumina. Alunimum oxide is often called alumina in various other applications and is used in a wide array of abrasive products due to its characteristic high hardness. It's also used widely in these applications because the more expensive materials, ceramic and zirconia alumina, are often not needed in finer grits than 120 grit due to offering little over alumina oxide due to lower heat and durability requirements. Fundamentally, as the grit start to move higher (finer) than 120 grit, there is no benefit more expensive materials. This makes aluminum oxide a fantastic material for the majority of grits on soft to medium hardness materials that need to be shaped or grinded down.

Keep in mind, that for very rough grinding or stock removal of something like ¼" steel, a 36 grit aluminum oxide belt will likely quickly run down in life due to the high heat generated at that coarse of a grit. In that case, check out our ceramic and zirconia alumina that while cost more per belt will have substantially longer life in high-heat situations that such coarse grits produce—ultimately saving the knifemaker money.

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