scotchbrite vs cork?

K

KenH

Well-Known Member
Hello all - been reading a bit about scotchbrite belts. They sound really useful. I use a cork belt and it works pretty good. From reading it seems like both cork and scotchbrite belts are used much for the same thing - to remove the final grind marks from sanding belt to provide a nice matt finish to the blade.

My question: Which works best - cork or scotchbrite? When using scotchbrite belt, what grit would be your final sanding belt - 220 grit? 400 grit?

AND - of the Medium, Very Fine and Super Fine grades are required. I normally hand sand a blade to 800 grit for a decent matt finish. Would the Medium (maroon) scotchbrite be good as a base for 800 grit hand sanding? I'm thinking to order the medium (maroon) and very fine (blue) belts to try.

Thank to all for any comments.

Ken H>
 
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I'd like to hear what people have to say on this as well. I have medium and fine scotchbrite belts myself, and I personally am not all that impressed. I am probably not using them properly based on the rave reviews some people give. If that's the case, I'd love to learn what I'm doing wrong. They do "dull" the grind marks in the blade, but they also seem to add their own scratches. While they do improve the finish, I have never come close with scotchbrite belts to what I would consider a decent hand finish.

I bought a cork belt for exactly this reason, but have not yet used it.
 
John, here's what I get with cork loaded with a green buffing compound. The sanding belt was a Gator A65 (280 grit) then followed with the cork belt. No hand sanding at all - just fresh off cork belt.

Cork_Finish.jpg
 
I have only used scotchbrite belts with my old 1x42 and cork with my 2x72 but prefer the finish of the cork seems to give a more crisp aperence then the scotxh does for me the cotch looks a bit more dull. Here is one of my favorites with a 400 grit cork belt finish, prior to the cork I used a 320 j flex.
70a8c2cd1754280d79307a71dc518c70.jpg


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Preston - Those look Good! That's fresh off the cork with no hand sanding? Looking good..... BTW, you really do "need" to at least mention what wood is used on those handles. :)
 
I use cork in 150 to 600 to sharpen edges on a wet 2x72 machine. Scotchbrite is best for matt finishes. If you finish at 400 on a green gator belt and remove all previous scratch patterns you can go right to the scotchbrite belt to put a matt finish on. The technique got started when people didn't want to do any hand sanding and just wanted to finish on their belt machine.
I use the technique on cheaper knives but if the knife is more valuable I don't think you can get away from hand sanding. This is just me though.

Fred
 
Thanks for input Fred - a question here, does the scotchbrite reduce hand sanding any? OR - once all the previous scratches have been removed by the 400 grit gator (360 = A45?) hand sanding isn't a real problem anyway.
 
KenH said:
Thanks for input Fred - a question here, does the scotchbrite reduce hand sanding any? OR - once all the previous scratches have been removed by the 400 grit gator (360 = A45?) hand sanding isn't a real problem anyway.
Click to expand...

Hi Ken,

I don't do any hand sanding if I'm going to do a scotchbrite finish. Once its touched with a hand sanding block, the work begins. If you don't touch the 400 or even a 600 belt finish the scotch bright looks great. I will sometimes hand sand the ricasso an the top edge of the bevel, if its a full flat grind, but leave the bevels alone and do the scotchbrite finish there. I think the contrast is very natural looking and, to me, adds a professional look to the blade.

Fred
 
Fred - that sounds good. I think I'll order a scotchbrite belt - perhaps the maroon medium grit.... or do you think I should get the blue very fine grit?
 
I would recommend the fine to very fine, the maroon medium grit is actually aggressive enough you can remove material with it. If you intend on hand sanding after I wouldn't bother with a scotchbrite. If I am going to hand sand I finish with a cork, if I am leaving a machine finish, I'll likely finish with the scotchbrite. With a scotchbrite you are much more likely to wash out your grind lines and it is near impossible to avoid unwanted "scratches" if you have any flat above the bevel.
One thing I have noticed, the scothbrites seem to run cooler than the corks or normal belts. I used this to my advantage thinning down the edges on a couple round knives I made last year.

Chris
 
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