Greeting's
I'm considering getting some S30v, but I am concerned about the logistics of grinding it. I am convinced that the expensive belts are best for any type of steel. However I don't want to just throw money at it and hope for the best. So with that in mind just what is the absolute best belt for grinding S30v? and what grits and how many belts (approximately) for profiling and bevel grindng a 9 to 11 inch oal blade from start to finish? I currently use 3M 963's and 977's for roughing and Norax for finishing.

Thanks, Jerry

Jerry, I believe you are already using the right belts; they are the same ones I use for S30V.

I use Norton Hoggers instead of the 3M's, but what you have will work. S30V will load them more than you're probably used to though. I run the Norax's pretty slow for best results.

Don, Jerry, Thanks for the prompt reply. Could you give me an Idea how many belts that I would use on an average 9 to 11 inch O.A.L. blade? I don't want to have to stop in the middle of grinding and order more belts. And at the prices I don't want to over stock them. The toughest steel that I have ground so far is D2 and a 933 just breezes through it ( several blades to 1 belt), what can I expect with S30v.

Thanks, Jerry

You'll probably get about half the yield in working S30V compared with D2. Rough guess...

I grind both D2 and S30V and the D2 is much easier to grind. Annealed D2 has a Brinnell hardness of ~210, while S30V is rated at Brinnell 255. I would estimate that I use 1.5 times the coarse belts and a higher ratio to finer grits for the S30V.
After hardening, they are both harder than the hobs of hell.