Steve,

I would recommend adding a glass platen. It makes it grind cooler, and provides a smoother surface. Some use a tool steel platen. Several suppliers provide the glass platens in various sizes. You'll probably have to cut it to length. I use a disc cutter and just go slow. Be sure to wear a mask and eye protection, long sleeves, gloves, etc... I wear a face shield. Glue it on with JB weld. Be sure and plug the screw holes with grease before gluing.

I start with 60's and go to 120 before heat treat, but I also use a disc to keep it flat. After heat treat I'll use a Trizact belt A45 or 65 to clean up the plunge lines. Then a 120 j flex on the profile. Then it's back to the disc. I use Brownell's anti scale powder prevent scale. Really cuts down on the grinding.

I get most my belts from Pop's. He also carries the glass platens.

I get my sheet paper from Super Grit? I think that's what it's called. 80-2000. I just trim it to the disc after gluing them on. I use the trim scraps for my hand finishing.

Check out Steve Culver's web site he has all sorts of jigs to make life easier with the KMG.

Hope that helps some!

Bob

Guess I should have added, I do use 36's on occasions to profile when needed.

Steve, I use the regular platen. Of course I have to resurface it every now and then. I do have a leather cover for it for special purposes. The KMG rotary platen does the same thing. For belts, most of mine come from Pops and Uncle Al at Riverside machine in DeQueen Arkansas. I normally use 36 grit for profiling and scale removal, then a 60 grit for grinding. Usually klingspor blue belts or the norton and 3m belts. Blaze and 3m 967's. I take my blades to 120 before heat treat and use 120 klingspor j flex for the final before heat treat grind. The j flex belts get in plunges real well. After heat treat back to 60 grit, usually the blaze or 967 to get everything right. Then from 120, 220, 400, before hand finishing. I like the j flex and trizact belts.

Brion

I have been following this thread and thought I would jump in. I have taken my knives up to 400 grit prior to HT. After HT I have been hand sanding instead of using a belt. I have not used the belt grinder after heat treat as I been worried impacting the heat treatment. Am I over worried about nothing or are you dipping the blade more quickly?

Scott, if you grind bare handed you won't have to worry about messing with the temper. The blade gets very uncomfortable to hold long before you hit the 400deg or so that we usually temper at. I typically give the blade a quick dip every other pass which keeps it nice and cool.

Thanks Justin. I can be a little retentive about things like this as I don't want to ruin anything mid-stream. This will make cleaning up after HT a little easier.

Thanks for the information--I just ordered a bunch of belts from Pop's.

Here is a follow-up question. I know the answer to the following question depends on many factors--the quality of forging, how soft (annealed) you're able to get the blade prior to grinding, the amount of scale on the knife, the size of the knife, the amount of steel you leave on to grind off...but I'll ask anyway: what is your investment, on average, in grinding belts per knife (let's say, for a 7 inch blade fighter)?

That is a hard one to answer. I use a belt until it doesn't cut well, then retire it for wood working. A worn belt that's not cutting will make mistakes easier. Using an anti scaling powder during heat treat will make the post heat treat clean up a lot easier.

Bob