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USB microscope is a game-changer.

Most inexpensive USB scopes are nowhere near the claimed magnification.
Even at true 100x magnification the bevel should be 1/3 -1/2 of the image. WAY larger than the images posted.
Images above looks size wise equivalent to my 15X loupe (true mag.) bevel to razor relationship
True 100x is what I use. If any defect is barley visible at that mag it will shave very well - no doubt.
Good magnification will aid you greatly in honing and it will surprise and frustrate you at the beginning.

Good luck
 
A couple of my razors that provide fantastic shaves look like crap under a USB microscope. There is definitely a level of diminishing returns in edge refinement as far as the resulting shave goes. They (USB scopes) are good tools, just try not to get too carried away.
Yeah, a good profile isn't a guarantee of a good shave. An 8k DMT edge is probably about the most perfect profile you could imagine, and it's certainly not a good shave. Even a 1.2k DMT profile is stunningly good. A combination of multiple angles on the edge is necessary to really get a feel for how an edge will shave just from look under a microscope, and that can be very difficult without a scope MADE for inspecting large 3d objects like tool edges, or one which was heavily modified to facilitate that.
But what a scope CAN do with a very simple (perpendicular to the bevel plane) view is:

Show you pitting/chipping in the edge.
Show you pitting in the bevel just behind the edge and demonstrate its depth (shallow pitting and deep pitting look different under mag), making you aware of what WILL be a microchip in the near future.
Show you areas of the blade not making the same contact as the rest more thoroughly and quickly than any other method.
Show you hone/water residue on the blade if you aren't cleaning it properly after honing... which may damage the edge.

I could probably think of a few more... suffice it to say, a good scope is very useful.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
Yeah, a good profile isn't a guarantee of a good shave. An 8k DMT edge is probably about the most perfect profile you could imagine, and it's certainly not a good shave. Even a 1.2k DMT profile is stunningly good. A combination of multiple angles on the edge is necessary to really get a feel for how an edge will shave just from look under a microscope, and that can be very difficult without a scope MADE for inspecting large 3d objects like tool edges, or one which was heavily modified to facilitate that.
But what a scope CAN do with a very simple (perpendicular to the bevel plane) view is:

Show you pitting/chipping in the edge.
Show you pitting in the bevel just behind the edge and demonstrate its depth (shallow pitting and deep pitting look different under mag), making you aware of what WILL be a microchip in the near future.
Show you areas of the blade not making the same contact as the rest more thoroughly and quickly than any other method.
Show you hone/water residue on the blade if you aren't cleaning it properly after honing... which may damage the edge.

I could probably think of a few more... suffice it to say, a good scope is very useful.
Plus, if you glue a flashlight to it and swallow it you can look at the inside of your bellybutton!
 
My understanding is that the low resolution digital scopes actually fill in missing data, which would tend to hide anomalies.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
I don't say it because people don't like hearing it... but 99% of the "shave ready" razors I've encountered have had micro-pitting on the edge that was large enough to significantly impact the shave.

Which microscope are you using, sir?

I've been reading off and on about the various USB scopes for a year or two, and have not figured it out at all. As far as I can tell, most all of them, and all the scopes in my price range, have good reviews by people who don't know much about them, and terrible reviews by computer engineers, scientists, and serious professional and hobby users. I'm only interested in finding a good one for looking at razor edges, but it's got to work with my Macbook Pro.

Please excuse my rambling through this topic...

Almost all of the so called shave ready razors which have come my way were not shave ready at all. Very early in my honing journey I figured out that the razors I honed were significantly sharper than most of the razors I'd bought shave ready (and some of these "shave ready" edges were from vendors with decent reputations; others were from eBay vendors including one eBay vendor people say can hone well). Anyway...

My sharpest razors back then did not have edges which would be acceptable to me now. My honing has improved markedly. Not that it can't continue to improve of course.

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In terms of magnification I've been using for a while straight up loupes (optical only) of various sorts with powers up to perhaps 60X.

My.loupe.lighted.jpg


One that I like pretty much (pictured above) was recently suggested to me by a member. It was inexpensive. One of its advantages is its lights. I imagine the similar and more expensive triplet mentioned earlier in this thread is better optical quality, but I've not used it, and it lacks illumination if that matters to you.

Previously I'd used several handheld cheap USB "microscopes" but not liked any of them. Most are a huge pain in the neck to operate. Worse, they're more trouble than they're worth. If I understand it correctly, and I think I do, these are not true microscopes, but are high-magnification video cameras. Imaging is processed from the video stream, not like a photograph. The magnification is to a degree digitally enhanced rather than true optical magnification (please correct me if that's wrong or explain it more clearly).

Here's a link to a review of the OP's device.

Here's a link to another review of several different devices (some mentioned in this thread I think), and a link to the current Celestron models offered on Amazon. I'm not promoting any brand here, but just posting information I'm coming across as I explore this topic. This is a link to Celestron's models on the company website; the prices are much higher than Amazon; some models are sold only on the company website; it's up to date I think.

I always read the reviews especially including negative reviews.

5mp_.jpg


I like the idea of a really solid stand which makes this device appealing, but I'm just learning and browsing at this point, so...this review, linked, concerns me particularly the lack of software support of the mac (guess what I use). This negative review is particularly troubling to me. This scope costs a lot more than the device mentioned by the OP but it may be for me with my mac a much worse choice. The stand is appealing until one reads the negative reviews.

Here's an Amazon editor's review of several devices including the ones mentioned already.

I'm still looking...I don't want to buy another piece of junk. In some respects I'd prefer a stereo microscope (for its depth perception advantages), but they seem to be low magnification. In many respects I prefer clarity over magnification, but I also appreciate the point made by SliceofLife concerning high magnification's advantages.

This might be an item worth buying - it's just a stand, and maybe a good one - the Amazon reviews of it are terribly jumbled. Some people are reviewing the stand and others are reviewing a scope not included with the stand. Shame on Amazon for mixing things up; they do this a lot. I have not determined which scopes fit in this stand. It's just an idea.

Obviously there are much better stands. If you want to look at some of them, have your checkbook handy. This link also shows the upper end scopes in one brand. Some are way way way beyond my purse and what I suspect I need, but do I really know what I need?

upload_2019-6-29_14-41-26.jpeg


Why do I need a scope anyway?

The only test of an edge's sharpness available to me is the shave test. The other tests have not decided yet to make themselves available to me (the HHT and such escape me). A really good view of the edge would be of great help to me. The inexpensive digital scopes I've tried are in my view of them useless pieces of junk. The inexpensive and moderately priced optical-only loupes I've used have been far more easy to use and far more useful, but their magnification is low compared to some true microscopes.

Touting any product is not my thing (unless I really know what I'm talking about and even then not so much), but this review site seems better than most. They're comparing some seriously expensive scopes with the scope mentioned by the OP. Check out where his $35 scope ranks. Add a more stable $20 stand if it turns out to be needed and it looks even better.

What scopes are better and why?

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
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All USB "microscopes" are some sort of video camera and a lens set-up, usually a zoom lens to vary the magnification. To a large extent, price determines quality, as is always true in optics. Cheap ones will have plastic lenses in plastic barrels with medium grade sensor chips, expensive ones probably have glass lenses in high quality barrels and better sensors.

They are very useful within their limitations -- don't use "interpolated" high resolutions, you want pure optical resolution, not "invented" images that are often much higher contrast and saturation than the actual image, and "upsampled" data will result in either missing data or artifacts where defects appear but are not real (or vice versa, edge defects get "blended" with clean edge and the microchips vanish).

Most important is a very rigid and stable stand, it's impossible to see anything if the image is dancing around all the time. For proper edge examination you need a proper rotating stage, and you aren't going to see something like that for less than a couple grand, if you can find one outside a scanning electron microscope. The cheap stands that come with very inexpensive scopes are almost useless, they are too flexible and require enormous effort to rack up and down, resulting in vibration and difficulty in focusing.

All that said, even a fairly minimal USB microscope can tell you a lot about your honing once you figure out a way to hold the camera and blade motionless at the correct angle and distance.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
In material I linked in my earlier post I found a good video review of the OP's scope.


In this video he compares it with another more expensive scope. Worth my time it was.

I'm also putting a link to this Amazon review because the reviewer talks some about how to use this with his mac computer. There are on Amazon some reviews worth reading including one by a knife guy.
 
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Nice work on the edge, I thought about getting a USB microscope a few years back but just never did it and doubt I will, guess I’m kinda old school and set the bevel using my thumbnail and tomato and then just watch the water and go by how it shaves, I’m sure I could learn a thing or two by using one though.
 
Cheap microscopes are useable, but they often have issues that need to be worked around. I have that Celestron scope with stand pictured above, and it's not great, but it can produce useful images - if the operator isn't a total neophyte to microscope use and technique. (As is often so, this seems to be the case in the linked negative review. I am able to use the mentioned calibration and measuring software just fine on my own scope. The image capture resolution is selectable from 1MP to 5MP - if that particular fellow was getting pixelated images it was either his own fault or he got two defective units in a row - not likely).

My own scope captures images at about 240x when viewed on my computer monitor pixel for pixel, but it has been modified by increasing the distance between the lens and sensor. This gives a higher magnification but causes loss of lower end magnification - fine by me. Sample image:

20190630_122036.jpg
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
I bought the OP's scope. I did a heck of a lot of homework before pulling the trigger on it.

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Also bought this $20 stand as an upgrade; it includes a little case to hold the scope (to keep it clean, etc). This stand has good reviews including reviews which say it works well with the Plugable USB 2.0 Digital Microscope.

We'll see how I like it. Should all be here before the July 4th holiday.

Thanks to the OP for telling me about this device (well, actually I knew about it, so...) in a way that convinced me it was worth really looking into.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
First part has arrived.

7-2-19.Plugable.USB.Scope.480.JPG


Stand (an aftermarket stand ordered separately and mention earlier) arrives tomorrow I think.

We'll see how this works and whether it helps me.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
First part has arrived.

View attachment 995598

Stand (an aftermarket stand ordered separately and mention earlier) arrives tomorrow I think.

We'll see how this works and whether it helps me.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Nice!! I hope it works out well for you. And you might actually find that you like the flexible-arm stand better. Getting a good picture ends up being about angling the light so that it hits the bevel just right and lights it up. Most of my best shots, so far, have been at a 30-45 degree angle off from the verical.

Here are a few I took last night:
1k
1k.jpg

3k
3k.jpg

5k
5k.jpg

12k (forgot to take a picture of 8k)
12k.jpg
 
Nice!! I hope it works out well for you. And you might actually find that you like the flexible-arm stand better. Getting a good picture ends up being about angling the light so that it hits the bevel just right and lights it up. Most of my best shots, so far, have been at a 30-45 degree angle off from the verical.

Here are a few I took last night:
1k
View attachment 995634
3k
View attachment 995635
5k
View attachment 995636
12k (forgot to take a picture of 8k)
View attachment 995637


Try a dark background for a better contrast, also try to get more of the actual edge.
Bevel does not tell the whole truth.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Nice!! I hope it works out well for you. And you might actually find that you like the flexible-arm stand better. Getting a good picture ends up being about angling the light so that it hits the bevel just right and lights it up. Most of my best shots, so far, have been at a 30-45 degree angle off from the verical.

Here are a few I took last night:
1k
View attachment 995634
3k
View attachment 995635
5k
View attachment 995636
12k (forgot to take a picture of 8k)
View attachment 995637

So, those photos are as you go through a progression, right? Nice pictures.

Have you tried the higher magnification?

I agree about the stands. I really don't know that I'll like over the other, but I aim to have both options and do some tests. I know the light makes a huge difference. One of the reasons I bought this item was its light seemed much better than most. Diffuse. Bright. Adjustable.
 
So, those photos are as you go through a progression, right? Nice pictures.

Have you tried the higher magnification?

I agree about the stands. I really don't know that I'll like over the other, but I aim to have both options and do some tests. I know the light makes a huge difference. One of the reasons I bought this item was its light seemed much better than most. Diffuse. Bright. Adjustable.

I was actually expecting it to have some adjustable zoom feature, but it doesn't (at least not in the way I thought). The level of magnification seems to be based on how close you put the lense to what you're looking at, and (probably also) the size of your monitor. The normal magnification seems to be about 50x.

The stand that comes with it has a grid of 3/16" squares. When I zoom in on one of those squares (at about the closest level I would ever use to look at my razor), this is what I get:
normal_zoom.jpg


That turns out to be 9" on my monitor. So 3/16" divided into that means a magnification of 48x

The way you access the highest magnification (250x) is by putting the lense totally flat against the object youre looking at, and adjusting past the ~50x focus to the far end of its range... Then it comes into focus, for a second time, at a much higher magnification. Here's the same grid again at the maximum focus:

maz_zoom.jpg


And here's George Washington's eye from a $1 bill.

gw_eye.jpg


But I don't actually find the higher magnification to be any use for sharpening my razor... for three reasons:

1) Its awkward to hit that magnification for an object that's not flat.
2) The light is so variable that you can literally look at the same edge from three angles, and get three different impresssions of what you're looking at.
3) It's just too much information. You're gonna see imperfections that are just way beyond the scope of whether or not you've honed the razor well. And you're gonna go insane trying to buff out things that are either impossible to buff out, or that won't even show up the same way again under slightly different lighting conditions.

For me, this thing just functions basically as a loupe that I don't have to hold in my hands, or strain my eyes through.
 
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Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
I was actually expecting it to have some adjustable zoom feature, but it doesn't...For me, this thing just functions basically as a loupe that I don't have to hold in my hands, or strain my eyes through.

I bought it knowing most of what you said here. If all it does is function as a loupe and allow me to improve my edges in the way you improved yours in the OP that will be useful to me.

But...

I will also be on the lookout for a very good USB adjustable zoom scope which works on my mac, isn't screwy, and isn't expensive. Not that I am terribly hopeful.

One of the gentlemen commenting suggested leaving the magnification and set up as you had it in the OP and learning to make that work for you.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
The trick to getting what you need from a scope is to experiment with the light at different angles (if adjustable) to get the best possible image of the edge - not the bevel. Sometimes the light that it comes with does not help as much.
I use a small desk lamp placed next to the scope to give the best light for an image image.
Create some way of always placing the razor in the jig the same way then move the jig sideways to see the entire edge.
Try a black piece of paper on the grid paper you use now or any dark color, you will get better images.
With a razor opened 90 degrees the edge stays off the substrate a tiny bit and it is a constant (pretty much) for that razor just slide the unit along.
On my microscope table I adhered a larger piece of black acrylic that holds the entire razor and can slide it (the razor) along to view anywhere on the edge.
Its worth it.
 
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