Make a knife without hand sanding! (knife making with surface conditioning belts)
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- If you are tired of sanding your knives by hand try knife making with surface conditioning belts! This is easy knife making! The video teaches how to make a knife without hand sanding, #1 BEST hand sanding hack, this is something easier than hand sanding! 2x72 surface conditioning belts or scotch brite belts are pretty awesome! They do come with some drawbacks that I will go over in depth in the video. The video is a tutorial style format with no music and lots of verbal instruction. I recently launched a video about grinding knives like a pro where I made these 7 knives. Now it is time to move them through the finishing processes. Here we will condition the surfaces with conditioning belts. Next in the series will be guard fitment for all seven and then on to a really exciting new addition to the channel, the handle material playlist! As always thank you for watching and all of your support! Please feel free to ask me questions in the comments!
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Hi its Trevor here from Zimbabwe,I am about to start making knives as a retirement hobby and its nice to watch and learn from you guys who have been doing this for some time.
Excellent Trevor! Cheers and good luck!
How’s it going Trevor from Zimbabwe? It’s been a year. Been making knives?
Man, I love these belts for sure. They're 100% worth it!
Agreed! Love that old atlas lathe you just picked up! I am running a 1954 south bend heavy 10. Very similar machines! What is the spindle bore on yours
@@Aleeknives Awesome man! Those south bends are a better machine for sure. It's 3/4'' on mine.
I have always made it a practice to NEVER hit the "Like" button when a UA-camr asks me to in a video. It's tacky, I'm not easily coerced, and let's face it, most crappy videos don't warrant one.
I've now swayed from my policy on several of your videos Aaron. And on the ones I didn't, I'd already felt compelled to hit like button on my own due to the insurmountable amount of free knowledge I've scored from you. I was doing everything wrong. I wish I could hit the button a few more times for ya. Hell, that's the least I could do.
You are a Maker of Makers.
Thanks a shit ton for helping make me a way better one!
You are appreciated...God Bless.🔪
I took a break from hand sanding and this popped up. Hell yeah!
Funny how that happens!👍 thanks man!
Great video, I love these belts! They last a long time but do need to be cleaned every now and then by just soaking in soapy water overnight. Don't know how I lived without em
Thank you for all the great info. I just got my AMK horizontal grinders
Dude, you're energy is infectious! I love it. This video REALLY helped me understand a lot about grinding and great idea on banging out 7 blades. I was planning on making 7-9 blades and this gave me an idea on how to accomplish it. Great job, great video.
Thank you Carlos! Cheers buddy
I'm not looking to play Daniel LaRusso with all that "Show Me, Sand the Floor, Danielson!" nonsense, so thanks for showing me an alternative way to train my muscles. I can now easily clean up my scratches while doing the splits! between 2 moving semi-trucks!
Alee Knives Saves Lives!!
🥋
I am in the middle of hand sanding a knife now and let me tell you I'm having a tough time getting what I want. I am looking for a different solution.
I sure would like a sander as you have but they are pricey so I'm stuck hand sanding.
Thanks for the video, you do a great job. as always stay safe my friend.
Steve, I hand sanded for years and still do! This finish is great but I get bored with it fast. It also doesn't give me high end results. When it comes to Damascus or any knife with a hamon you have to sand through the grits for good results! I made a video about a hand sanding tool that really helps with hand fatigue! Also make sure to use lots of water on your sand paper to flood the surface and your paper will cut longer and not load up. Using water is a highly debated subject but I prefer it!
@@Aleeknives I just watched the video you were talking about. jig with golf balls what a great idea. I will certainly give it a try
Sweet!
Great UA-cam video I learned something entertaining really really nice. I can’t wait to see you sellers table somebody’s office that’s finished. Thank you. I appreciate your work.
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
I also use these belts, and love them. I like sanding handles, but find sanding the blades bores me to tears. Also love your idea of when you think your done, have a nights sleep and then revisit. Really enjoy your videos
Man I appreciate that Duffer fishing! Cheers
I use the 3M belts as well. Hand sanding is just more work that I don't need... I don't sell them at any rate, so just as happy with the 3M belts. I have been sanding to 180 then running the belts, guess that is one more step I won't need going forward... Thanks for the video... I subbed and liked... Take care...
Totally agree with you! Thanks for joining us on the channel!
Love your tutorials and videos. You explain things in a way I can easily understand... I also love the knives you make... very pleasing to the eye. Thanks for your help on my new journey of knife making...
Scotch brite belts are awesome.they give beautiful results
Yes they do! Thank you
Omg the the bird cracked me up, “that’s what I think about that”. Hahaha
You have inspired me to re visit my set of belts, great work.
Great job and I'm improving as I'm finally getting myself UA-cam University educated. I'm a BlackSmith Hobbyist and only helping friends and family and 71 so I don't want a job just having fun and helping a few folks. I'm going with the gun blue hopefully it's holding up for less rust.
Thanks
Cold blue helps out but not much. Now hot salt blue will definitely help!
@@Aleeknives I'll check it out thanks
Hey there! For me, most hated part of my job was hand sanding. While watching first 4 minutes of your video I ordered 1 set of belts(coarse, medium and fine) from my local vendor. I'll let you know about the results. Thanks for the tips and the video...
You are welcome!
Just got my first couple of these and wow they are awsome
Great video and tips. I have all three of the actual Scotch brite belts, I use them a lot throughout the course of most of my builds.
One thing I do on the flats, is finish with a 600/800 grit Norax, that keep the crisps lines.
Excellent idea! I will try that next!
That fine grit conditioning belt left a really nice finish! Great job! 🤔👍
Love them. I use them on every knife...
I tried these belts on my 2x42 after I watch this video and was amazed with the results
The cool part is I've used the same three belts for over a year now!
Same here i was amazed at the longevity, I also noticed a huge boost in performance by spraying them down thoroughly with WD-40 before I get started
What speed is best for running them?
I just discovered your channel. I love how you're packing the video with little tips, and you're giving real instructions on techniques. Thanks!
Thank you Anthony!
I really appreciate the detail in these videos. It makes it much easier to learn and replicate technique on my own knives.
That is fantastic! Glad to have you here on the channel!
I have been paying attention to this kind of abrasive belt, but I haven't tried it yet. Your video helped me solve many problems. I am going to use sandpaper to polish to 400 mesh, and then use gray sanding tape for surface treatment. Don't know how the effect is
Seems good! Give it a try
I learned much today. Thank you , I will be watching all your vids.
Thanks James!
Glad to have you!
I’ve found finishing on a plain cork belt with chrome ox compound after the fine belt works really nicely to give a bit of a polish.
Thats a neat idea for sure!
Love the videos. Thanks for the content. I'm just getting started and every bit of info helps.
Love all your knife tutorial videos, watched them all tonight Thanks cant w8 for more
Oh wow! Thank you! I am editing a whole new series right now, first video launches this Sunday! It will be a step by step guide to making a Nordic style puukko knife!
Amazing work and great details. Definitely going to get a set of these.
This is great! Thanks for sharing this, I appreciate your sense of humor, gained a new follow today! I'm ordering some belts like these asap!! Cheers!
Thank you! I love it!
Great video. Love these belts! I know you were going for no hand sanding here but like you mentioned, I find it better to do the flats up to 800 or higher then just hit the bevels with the conditioning belt. It gives a great matte blade finish that way. 👍
I can't normally get away with a finish like this because I use damascus or differentially harden or have a hamon line. All of tho$e require a full sanding regiment to bring out the figure in the steel!
Yup, same here but on lower end knives it works well. Sometimes I have friend’s kids over making knives and it’s great for that too. 👍
Jumping in here. Great video. Tyrell you mentioned hand sanding flats.. I'd agree that should keep the crisp lines in. Do you use the conditioning belts on the bevels first and then work the flats after or vice versa? Thanks
You have to go in that order. If you sand the flats first when you do the bevels the little fibers on the conditioning belts mare the flats
@@anthonyluc389 I only use the conditioning belts on full flat grinds like chef knives. I never personally use them on knives with bevel transitions because they wash out the lines.
These are great belts, wouldn't be without them :) Those blades look kewl after that.
I agree! Thank you
I HATE hand sanding! I’ve been meaning to get some of these belts for a while now. Maybe I should now :)
Go for it! Especially now that you have a 2x72! They last for a long time
Thanks for sharing such precise information
Hi,
Thanks for the allways very good YT-Video....I use the same kit with 4 unit with polish.....because I have only 2h the week knive making...
Thanks Udo from Germany
Your welcome! Thanks for watching!
Hi, great informations on your video!!!
I´ve tried to use these belts in many different ways and what I´ve observed is that the medium and fine belts put more scratches than taking them from the blade. After p120 zirconia, I´m using Hermes Mercurit, compact grain. These belts are amazing because they are thick, and don´t scratches the blade like normal fine grains. I use p240, p400 and p600, than Trizact A16, the finish is quite perfect and no more hand sanding...
This is excellent advise! I will try that! Thank you
I've been wanting to try some Trizact belts but I'm a little confused on the belt progression ie coarser grits to finer. Do you have a complete belt progression list? I mean is a A16 equal to a 400 grit and so on. I want to get it right because there're expensive. I've been wanting to try these Scotch Brite also.
@@ozzyfranf I start with p60, p120 (try what´s the best for you, ceramic or zyrconia) and than go to Mercurit p240, 400 and 600. At this point the finish is great, a superfine scotch do a light polish. To a mirror finish, Trizact A30 (p800), A16 (p1200) and A6 (p2500). And for me the transition between 60, 120 and 240 are the weekest points, you can´t take away scratches from a coarse grind with a fine belt...I usually paint the blade with blue ink Pilot
@@dom_raphaelo I use ceramic & zyrconia and then aluminum oxide up tp 400 grit and if I don't etch I hand sand. Sometimes I'll hand sand up to 1000 grit then etch. I wanted to try something different. Thanks for the help.
That is pretty much my progression also!
Great video dude! Very informative 👏👌👍! Also like that you still scrutinized your work and marked with the pen.
Thank you Bruce! We are all human😁
Nice job😀
Thank you!
You can use structured abrasives to keep the lines crisp. They do really well
Awesome chad! Like what? Trizact
@@Aleeknives Yes. I use 2 different grits, I think one is x65 can't remember the other
Great video, thanks!
I purchased some of those today, What grit did you go to just before using the the course surface condition belt? Regards Tim
Great content. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
You are very welcome!
Thanks for the upload!!
Thank you!
I’m sold thanks
I took the tip of my thumb off 2 months ago doing exactly what you said not to do. Lesson hard learned!
Oh no! Sorry to hear about that. Glad it was just the tip!
Great tips buddy ❤! Thanks
Don't forget to make the "Aggressive Bee" hilt, right? Also thanks for your explanation about shaping steel. Sanding is everything. Good luck with. Health to your hands.👍👏🙌😃
Thank you!
I hope if you have time you will demonstrate the use of buffing compounds. Can they be used after the conditioning belts?
Great idea! I can do that
Thanks for sharing. Learned lot from your work 😊🙏
isn't it a bit harsh to go directly from 120 grit to conditioning belts? Wonder what results you would get if you for example went to a trizac A100 or a bit higher grit before. Regards from Denmark.
I actually have done a ton of experiments with different grit finishes and you are correct it provides a little more consistent finish by moving to higher grit belts first and you spend less time on the surface conditioning belts!.
What grit do you grind to before you go to the red belt, also have you ever used “ belt grease “, it reduces the cut of the belt because it fills the pores of the belt, but it reduces the temperature when grinding after heat treatment. Thanks
No I have not used belt grease before
Great tutorial, what speed to you run the belts at please?
I have a variable speed controller and run the belts at about 50% speed, hope that helps. I will say run the belts at the speed that you feel comfortable and just make sure that you're not overheating the metal!
Get some good tunes playing, and hand sanding can be therapeutic.
One day I’ll get myself a 2x72!
Great job, Airin!
🇬🇧🤜🏻⚡️🤛🏻🇺🇸
Knife 3 started today!
You get a couple 500 blades in and good music helps but doesn't make your hands feel any better! Man that last knife you made was gorgeous!
Aleeknives
Thanks buddy! It’s my favourite so far!
I uploaded it to my channel!
🇬🇧🤜🏻⚡️🤛🏻🇺🇸
Love it!
Great video ! I can't find some for my 2x48, I have to search more.
What is the best between trizact and scotchbrite to get a uniform finish ?
Good question! I really don't have much time behind the trizact belts!
@@Aleeknives oh... I was hopping you could help me choose 😂
I use cheap zirconium belts, they are a slight upgrade from the AO belts. I didn't fall in love with the ceramic belts
My highest expense in the shop is definitely belts man
@@Aleeknives I'll have to give a try to everything I guess
1 question sir, is it same between surface conditioning belts & nonwoven belt?
These surface conditioning belts are made from Scotch-Brite material they are different from all other belts
If a person opted to hand sand the upper part of the side of the blade would that redefine the grind line ? Also I notice that you have a. Slanted plunge line and grind downward instead of horizontally level, that is at a downward slant , does that help to prevent gouging of the blade at the 2 inch point?
hi what speed do you run the belts on for each belt? Thanks
Dto be honest, I am doing it by feel.
Any trouble with these cutting into your plunge lines?
You definitely have to be careful around the plunges. They can get washed out quick
how do you finish your blades before heat treating? With these belts or do you sand them to a specific grit?
I leave my blades thick before heat treat! So I only take them to 36grit before heat treat then finish grind afterwards. If there is any slight warping you usually have enough meat left to grind it straight!
what grit were the blades at before going to the conditioning belts?
I finished up with 120 grit aluminum oxide belt before moving into the surface conditioning belts
hi like to see how you put handles on thoes tangs please thank you walt
I am planning on it! Thanks Walt!
I agree, I can't feature in my mind how you're going to find that pre-drilled hole once you get a solid handle glued on that Tang. Can't wait to see this.
Super easy! I am glad your interested! I have posted a video on how to fit up, glue and shape a hidden tang handle in the make a knife from ground zero build series!
After the fine go to a sunmax m16 or A series tri belts then if you really want a decent satin hit it with a leather belt it will polish the high parts of the scratches leaving a almost hand satin look
I had never heard of the Sunmax! Thank you
I had one of the blue ones split long ways down the center, then half of it snagged the gut hook (it was far away from the belt, but when it broke it threw it off the tracking wheels, and then completely off the machine).
It sounded like the apocalypse was going on in my shop. I’m not 100% on what caused it but my life flashed before my eyes. I just knew I had some shrapnel in me and I was going to die but my PPE saved my ass.
Please 100%
So it would also make sense to use these belts first and hand sand to a finer grit later to save time?
I don't think so. These give a particular finish that is different from a fine hand rubbed finish.
@@Aleeknives okay thanks for the answer
I had the same disappointing results when I tried using the surface conditioning belt. I still use it with kitchen knives, though, since there's no plunge line or grind line.
Since I made the video I have realized that if I take the grinds up to 400 before moving on to the conditioning belts
@@Aleeknives Another solution you might try is to temporarily glue a piece of leather to your platen, then grind to 400 grit. You can get really smooth grind lines that way without the facets, and you can keep your crisp grind lines. You still might have to hand sand the flats, though.
That is a great idea! I personally hand sand almost everything because I like to do either Damascus or a hamon. Or even just an acid etch and all those require a fine finish first
Hello, grand sensei! Working on my second not-just-for-practice piece and I am having some trouble sanding out grind marks at the plunge line without blurring or even ruining the crispness of the line. Could a 1k grit (my finish sanding will be to 1k) belt be used to grind out these marks at the plunge, or am I gonna have to go up from 80 grit (the original rough grind grit) to 125, 220, etc? In other words, can I “jump” to 1,000, or am I asking for trouble? Thanks
That's a good question, I find it is better to move through your grits rather than to make a huge jump to a much higher Grit. The problem is higher grits tend to create a lot more heat
@@Aleeknives thanks! that's what I suspected. Nothing good (results wise) ever comes about quickly, lol
So true!
I have just ordered some belts.... I don't mind hand sanding...but for me it just pushes up the cost and then the price... I am constantly trying to get the best product out at the bestprice out that I can... It's not easy during these times and if this can save two hours on a bush knife.....that's a win.
Yes I totally agree that there is a solid place for these belts! Thanks for watching!
What “grit” would you say those surface conditioning belts are? I noticed you used 120 grit for the initial bevel. Have you gone higher like 220 or even 400 on the 2x72?
The conditioning belts are rated for course, medium and soft. They a feel pretty grippy. I have also tried going up to 220 before moving into the conditioning belts. I didn't see any advantage though
What speed do you run your belts at with Scotchbright belts? Do you use any grease, oil, or buffing compounds with these belts?
Thanks :)
All different speeds and I haven't used any other compounds on these belts
Try throwing a 3M Trizac belt into your mix, It makes a big difference.
What steel are those knives made from?
They where either 1095 or 1084. Sorry don't remember for sure
I saw a video where someone used WD40 as a lubricant on these belts. I haven’t tried it yet, have you? If so, thoughts on the merits of doing that?
I haven't tried it either
👍👍👍👍
🔥🔥👊🔥🔥thank you!
Im very new to knife making and i got tricked into spending 100 bucks on low carbon steel at a supplier close to me, now i cant harden my blades. I was curious if you have a recommendation on a good honest steel supplier that will ship steel?
New jersey steel baron 💯 %
I don't like hand sanding and I tore up my fine nonwoven belts so I definitely need to buy more.
Give these a whirl man
Great stuff... I noticed in another vid where you cleaned up the plunge a bit in a rather unorthodox way holding the knife almost perpendicular to the belt...Sorry, I dont recall which vid as I've been on a viewing spree of your vids of late. I'd never seen that and I'm curious about trying it. I didnt notice you doing that with these conditioning belts though. Any particular reason why? Seems these belts would be more conducive to that manner of clean up.
These belts don't track accurately on the edge of the platen so the are not consistent. My sanding belts work at cleaning the plunges up, make sure your belt doesn't run over the edge of the platen because it could potentially dig a rutt and that would suck bad!
I think I heard correctly but you seriously just made the jump from 125 grit to the surface conditioning belts and got that nice of a finish?
Yes I did! But I used 3 different conditioning belts. It washed out all the crisp lines and plunges but could be acceptable if that is what your going for.
@@Aleeknives Sounds like the perfect solution for big full flat grinds on working knives to me!
For sure!
Thank u
Very welcome! Thanking you!🔥🔥👊🔥🔥
I've just started using the belts . Love them. Going to order more.
I need to try a cork belt next
@@Aleeknives do a video on it
Will do!
You really need a magnet for the handle finishing.
Can you please offer some additional advice?
Man, it can't be that easy.
Sometimes I do make it look easy but what I can't capture in a video is the other 6 hours time spent on the machines 🤣🤣
You seem to put a lot pressure on the blade, or does it just look like that?
Some times I do apply a lot of pressure, watching to not over heat at the same time..
Bonjour où peut-on trouver ces bande s'il vous plaît
Je les ai achetés à des abrasifs Pheonix
Peut-on avoir une adresse je vous prie complète merci
i heard using wd40 on these belts helps them run smooth .....never tried myself though
I would be scared to put oil on such an expensive belt! What if you don't like it?
@@Aleeknives i really don't know , surely it can't hurt ,you do rub metal against them haha . maybe don't try that anyway ....
I would try it out after the belts had some good use out of them but then I don't know if that would be a good test either!
@@Aleeknives yeah might be worth a try , nothing to lose on a worn out belt.
Wd40 on these belts works great, been doing it for a couple of years with no issue.
Waiting on my first 2×72, definitely getting surface conditioning belts. Hand sanding sucks.
I actually prefer the results of a good hand sanded blade but these definitely have their place in knife making!
Your amazing, love the videos. Are you on Facebook
Yes I am, I am Airin Lee on facebook!
@@Aleeknives just found you.....
Phoenix Abrasives are cheapest source for these.
Hahah, watching this while sanding 10 N690 chef knives....
That is a lot of hard sanding!
These will get you to a really nice fine satin but if you're looking to get a genuine mirror finish they aren't gonna cut it.
If you use a different method please tell me about it!
Lame
Lame
Brown is course and red is medium, no?
These came from Phoenix abrasives blue, brown, and red in that order
@@Aleeknives Can you share a link to a website that lists red as course and brown as medium? Now I'm confused. I've used 3M conditioning belts for years and have never heard of brown being anything else other than course. Not trying to argue or prove some weird point or anything, just trying to be helpful if I possibly can. Thanks for the awesome and incredibly informative videos!
You are correct, I am confused😉 I just checked pheonix. I will amend the video asap. Thank you sir!
would addihg a compound to thoes belts,help?? thanks walt
I generally do start adding compound to my belts when they start aging however it does create more heat
How long do these belts last you :D Do you still like to use them?
16:42 haha!
Your are the only one who caught that!
Scotch-Brite belts work if you work with shitty steels, like AEB-L but they simply don't work on steels like M390, K390, Vanadis 8, 10V, etc.Just a waste of time and money on these high vanadium steels...
Correct
Get this man a sandwich!
No joke man😂🤣😂 been skinny for 40 years already maybe I will be blessed and never have a gut hanging over my belt!
I don't get it. First I saw an episode that reinforced my opinion that nothing beats a good handsanding, because knife making is not about being fast and lazy, now I see you telling people to use surface conditioning belts. ?
I not telling people to use them but merely showing them what their place in the shop is. I actually never use these belts on blades anymore but I do like them for fittings
A 20 min video isn’t a quick one. 😂
🤣😂 so true for in a world of 3 minute videos! Incredibly hard to teach effectively in that time. A lot of my vids are 45 minutes going into great detail, looking back I guess I thought this one was quick and to the point🤣😂 I hear ya bro!
hahahhha...