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Abrasives and belt grinding in a working knife shop

Abrasives

Grinding and Sharpening 80CrV2: Belt Recommendations & Technique

Belt recommendations, grit progression, and sharpening tips for grinding 80CrV2 on a 2x72 belt grinder. Free guide from Torus CNC's ForgeBrain.

1 min readWritten by Rich LinvilleFree to read

80CrV2 is one of the easiest steels in this database to grind and forge, sharing the same forgiving character as simple carbon steels like 1084. Its small vanadium addition helps refine the grain without adding any meaningful demand on belts or abrasives.

Rough-ground knife blank with three handle holes and plain bevels on a worn wood bench, a hand file behind it

Belt Selection

Standard aluminum oxide, zirconia, or ceramic belts all work well on 80CrV2. There is no need for premium abrasives on this steel; whatever you already have on hand will handle it fine.

Three plain abrasive belts, brown, blue-green and maroon, standing as open loops on a wooden shop shelf

Grit Progression

StageGrit
Profiling / heavy stock removal36-50
Bevel refinement80
Pre-finish120
Finish grinding220

Technique

Standard technique applies well: moderate belt speed, light controlled passes, and a coolant mister or frequent water dips to protect the temper. This steel is very forgiving of grinding technique, making it a good choice for makers still building their skills.

Gloved hand holds a gray knife blank by the tang, blade lowered into a galvanized water pail on a dark shop bench

Sharpening

80CrV2 sharpens easily with standard sharpening stones. It does not require diamond or CBN abrasives, and takes a keen edge without much difficulty.

Gloved support hand holds a plain knife blade flat on a wet gray bench stone in a wooden tray while the other hand grips the handle

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