There’re many “tools” to sharpen a knife, you can use wet stones, machines like KME, but the ultimate sharpening solution for me would be sharpening using a belt sander why? Because it’s quicker and offers a Convex Edge (if you’re wondering what a convex Edge is, it’s where the bevel on each side of the blade is slightly rounded).
So if you share my opinion, I’m sure you’re looking for the best belt for your sander but not any sander the 1×30 belt Sander.
Therefore, I’m going to show you the Best 1×30 belts for knife Making in the market to keep your knife sharp and ready to cut!
Table of Contents
Best 1x30 Belts For Knife Making
1. Red Label Abrasives Premium Ceramic 1 X 30 Belts
This is by far the best choice for knife making. This belt is built from ceramic (Ceramic is a tough heat-treated aluminium Oxide grain), the Ceramic offers the belt an Extra long life.
This blets mainly designed for knife makers. They come with six belts the 36, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 grit ceramic belts, the ceramic material is very great for grinding, hogging and sharpening steels, stainless steels, and hardened metals.
The belts are heavy duty Y-weight polyester cloth backing (there re 3 levels of cloth Backing: J, X, and Y, heavy clothing is referred by Y), Anti-clogging stearate to reduce heat and buildup, and water-resistant. So if you’re looking for a robust and lasting belt for knife shaping, knife sharpening and metalworking, this is your choice!
Pros:
- Designed for heavy grinding and Hogging
- Robust and long Lasting Belts
- Super Heavy Duty Y Bak Clothing
- Water Resistant
Cons:
- Expensive (Cause of Premium Materiel)
2. Norton SG Blaze Plus 1x30 Ceramic Sanding Belts
Our Second choice is the Norton SG blaze Ceramic Belts, and of course, Ceramic means an extremely hard grain that’s ready to cut, shape and sharpen steel, the belt can be used for many types of knives, stainless, carbon and others.
Extremely strong belts made for knife making that will last for a long while cutting into metal, have a Y polyester waterproof cloth backing, and the grains are coated with a lubricant for less heat during the grinding.
They come at a pack of 6 belts, 2 of 3 grit (40 ,60, 80 and 120 grit), the company offers the choice between the grits, which is great for excellent customer experience.
Pros:
- Perfect for grind Metal and hard wood
- Mainly Designed for Knife Shaping
- Strong and Long Lasting Belts
- Water Resistant
Cons:
- Expensive
3. Red Label Abrasives 1 X 30 Zirconia Sanding Belts
Our third choice for knife makers is the Zirconia Belts from Red Label, Zirconia or Zirconia Alumina is a very tough material, perfect for cutting, grinding and shaping metal and hardwoods.
The belts come in six Grits: 24, 36, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100 and the 120, 12 of each, what I didn’t like about this product, is the company isn’t offering “Mixed” Product, you can buy 12 belts of one Grit, I would prefer to buy a pack where I can have three belts of 4 types of grit, that would be more efficient and economical.
Other than that the belts are ultra-strong so they will last for long, with heavy-duty Y weight polyester cloth backing, provides a sharp and long-lasting cut on metal.
So if you’re looking for a great belt for sharpening, shaping and making our knives, Zirconia Belts are your belts.
Pros:
- Strong lasting Belts
- Heavy-Duty Cloth Backing
- Great for Metal grinding
- Great for knife making and sharpening
Cons:
- The pack offers 12 belts of one type of Grid.
4. Sackorange 1 x 30 Silicon Carbide Sanding Belts
There are two main reasons why these Sackorange 1 x30 belts are in this list, the performance and the price, for the performance you get a Silicon Carbide grain in your belts, it’s a very tough material that can trough metal, the company recommend it for light metal but many users, used it for their knives, and they’re satisfied.
The belts are heavy duty Y weight Polyester cloth backing and fully waterproof, so they can run wet or dry and last for a bit long.
They come in the following grits: 120, 240, 400, 600, 800, and 1000, the great news is that you get a pack of 24 belts 4 of each grit for a low price.
Extremely strong belts made for knife making that will last for a long while cutting into metal, have a Y polyester waterproof cloth backing, and the grains are coated with a lubricant for less heat during the grinding.
They come at a pack of 6 belts, 2 of 3 grit (40 ,60, 80 and 120 grit), the company offers the choice between the grits, which is great for excellent customer experience.
Pros:
- Cheap Price for 24 Belts
- Water Proof and with Heavy Duty Y cloth backing
- Though Belts great for metals
Cons:
- Not the best for shaping/Grinding knives
5. Red Label Abrasives 1 X 30 Silicon Carbide Belts
Another Product from the Red Label, the Silicon Carbide belts from Red Label have a place in my list since they’re so great for sharpening a knife, I know this list is about knife making, but sharpening is a part of knifemaking.
Made from Silicon, the belts are robust and can cut trough soft metal smoothly, they’re closed coat, and a heavy-duty Y-weight polyester cloth backing.
They come in 12 belts, with 4 types of grits (400, 600, 800, and 1000) 3 from each type.
Many users use these belts for polishing and sharpening, they’re great, and they come for a very low price.
Pros:
- Cheap Price
- Great For Sharpening and Polishing
- Strong Belts
Cons:
- Not great for Grinding and Shaping knives
Buyer's Guide
I hope I brought some help in your choice of the best 1×30 belt for knifemaking. Therefore I’d like to help you more and tell you on which base I made this list, first you should understand the features of the belts, there’re many types of belts, and each one offers a specific usage, some are great for knife grinding some are great for polishing. Once you know that, making a choice on which belt to choose would be an easy task.
Types of belt
There’re four main types of sanding belts, and each one is offering its properties:
Ceramic
The ceramic belt is known for their endurance and long life, they’re coated with hard materiel, they’re commonly used for grinding hard materials steel, for example, they’re an excellent choice for knife making.
Zirconia Alumina
This the great belt for working annealed steel and other metals. They’re self-sharpening, they’re usually used for rough grinding and profiling before hit treatment, a great choice for knife making.
Silicon Carbide
Or the Carborundum, very famous in the industrial field, they have a gray/black color they’re very great for knife sharpening.
Aluminum Oxide
The AO is a rusty brown (close to red), it’s known for its affordability, durability, and efficiency, they’re commonly used for wood.
Sending belt Grit
Every belt has a specifi grit, as its name suggests, it’s the size of the grit used in the belt, a lower grit 40 for exemple, mean that the belt has a rough surface great for grinding, in the other side a high value 400 and more mean that the surface of the belt is smoother, and would be great for finishined surface.
How to use your 1x 30 Belt
When you’re putting the belt in the grinder, they usually have some directional arrows on them, try to respect them (they put them for a reason)
I always start with 120 then I go for the 400, always keep your belt very wet, or use honing oil or just anything to help keep it lubricated, once you get your edge redefined, and started to be sharpen already, head and switch for the 600 and repeat the same steps (put some water or oil on the belt, make it wet), once you finish you go for the 800, once finished sharpening with 800 I’m sure your knife would be sharp enough to shave.
Few things to know when sharpening your knife on a 1*30 belt, it does take a little bit practice to get a consistency angle on both side, and it is easy to miss up, so I highly suggest practicing on low-end knives, other than that sharpening with a 1*30 is very easy and cheap to do.
If you’re looking for the best 1X30 Belt Sander, I wrote a full article about it, check it out!.
How to Maintain and clean your belt
To keep your belt for longer, you will need a “Belt cleaning tool,” all you need to do is to run in your belt and clean it with the belt stick, that will allow all the material stuff to pull out of the belt, You can also use the Eraser belt they do the job just fine.
Final Words
If you’re a beginner, 1X30 belt sander is an excellent choice for sharpening your knife as an old knifemaker said, “Nothing wrong with starting small. Probably give you a better feel for what you don’t want in the future”.
Before starting to use belt sander don’t forget to have a wet paper towel dunk it in water, it will come handy while sharpening your blade, let’s not forget sharpening is about heat temperature while sharpening you always push your blade in the wet towel, so you retain the temper of the blade from going up, because if it goes high and changes colors, it’s bad, so you better be careful.
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