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hey guys WNC GOATER so i am glade you like the grinder...i have one of the poly wheels from usa knife maker also but its 10 inch and its serrated not smooth but its works great for me...but i haven't used a rubber one. i only use a 1/2in small wheel yeh other sizes might be a lil more convenient and quicker to get the right size finger notch but with a lil finesse you can do it with a 1/2 in. that being said if i only had the funds for one i would get small wheels before big. as far as belts if you look back at my old post (or maybe book would be a better word for it lol) page 9 and 10 ray suggested belts and he was spot on of what to get to start with...with out a doubt VSM ceramic is the way to go as far as the lower grits for profiling and starting bevels trugrit has 2 of these in every grit one is i guess the standard and one is a "step up" or + model...i just get the standard i tried both and didnt notice much difference maybe a lil but not enough to justify the extra cost same as the norton blaze they are good they last a little bit longer and keep the steel a little bit cooler but i dont think its worth the extra money. 120 and 220 i use norton blue fire (or maybe ill splurge with a couple norton ceramic) same thing they are the best for the money i have found now starting 400 i used hermes..alot of this is trial and error for example if your doing a curvy handle it is harder with a stiff belt like the VSM and easier with a hermes j weight or klingsspor j flex. another example is say your going to polish a blade and as you get up in the higher grits like 1200 2000 now say you use a 3m micron belt that belt is very very thin and flat so if your grind has any little spots that are not 110% flat you will see it it shows up right away now the blue DEERFOS belts are kinda fuzzy on the back and it gives it a little cushion so it will polish the whole blade and you wont see those spots.....as far as what i call "specialty" belts (the more expensive one) 3m trizact GATORS are great for moving up in the grits (NOT doing the initial grind) and they last forever, 3m trizact NON GATORS seem to last a little longer than a regular belt but i have found that they cut very sharp i guess hard to explain the steel looks very bright and it erases the scratch marks from the previous grit pritty quick. i use a 800 grit cork polishing belt sometimes...it doesnt really do MUCH different than a regular belt but once you break them in on scrap metal (MUST be done) they last a long time.....norton norax are good to they last long similar to the regular trizact its hard to say wich would be better depends on what you doing and i have found in one grit norton may be better in one grit 3m in another. also the scotch brite belts work good to i have 3 fine medium and coarse ....if you took all 3 out of the box and did a comparison on the finish it leaves they all look the same but if you break the in like you would with a cork belt and just run it with a piece of scrap pushed into it for 5 mins then the kinda come into there own....as i said alot of this is trial and error but i am trying to give you some info to start with if you got any questions let me know belts are one thing i think i got pritty much figured out i have used most of what tru grit has not all but almost
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