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Abrasives and belt grinding in a working knife shop

Abrasives

Grinding and Sharpening Elmax: Belt Recommendations & Technique

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

1 min readWritten by Rich LinvilleFree to read

Elmax sits in the moderately demanding middle tier of powder-metallurgy stainless steels, tougher and easier to work than harder-edged steels like CPM S30V or CPM 20CV, but still noticeably more belt-hungry than a simple stainless like AEB-L. Its fine, round carbide structure is part of why Bohler markets it as one of the easier premium steels to sharpen.

Partly ground drop-point knife blank on a dark felt bench pad, bright flat bevel, rough unground tang with a hole

Belt Selection

Ceramic belts are the recommended choice for stock removal, the same general guidance that applies to most CPM and third-party premium PM stainless steels. Elmax does not chew through belts as fast as CPM 20CV or CPM S30V, but expect more wear than with simpler steels.

Fresh abrasive belt strip arched over a small steel block with both ends flat on a dark steel bench

Grit Progression

StageGrit
Profiling / heavy stock removal50
Bevel refinement60
Pre-finish80
Finish grinding120

Technique

Run higher belt speed with light, controlled passes, and keep a belt eraser handy to dress the belt as it loads. A coolant mister helps preserve the temper and extends belt life, especially during the profiling and bevel stages where the most material comes off.

Overhead view of a plain tan belt eraser beside a red-brown abrasive strip with a gray metal-loaded patch

Sharpening

Elmax’s fine, round carbide structure makes it one of the more sharpenable premium powder-metallurgy steels for its performance class. Diamond or CBN abrasives are still recommended for the most efficient results once the steel is fully hardened, but Elmax responds more readily to standard fine stones than harder-edged steels like CPM 20CV.

Hands sharpening a knife on a wet stone in a wooden holder, fingertips on the blade flat, water bowl nearby

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