Anyone up for that
Fineness of what? Scratches?
Scratches don't mean anything.
good idea, don't think it would be too demanding, mild steel is so soft.That would be great to see.
Or define the exact rules/procedure (type of steel, geometry, progression etc.) as well as results presentation method, and collect results from various contributors...
I've got some stones and wish to contribute, but to get comparable results we need to have very precise rules
Thinking of the quality of the mirror polish, which the majority of the stones we use do. And could be easily shown by photo. Also a way to grade the variation in natural stones.
Anyone up for that
Yes the apex is more important, but everyone always wants to see the scratch pattern, you know how that goes... It's relevant for things like large knife bevels anyway. Not so much for a razor.
This scope has brightfield, darkfield, polarization and DIC, so it will be interesting. All are reflected light or EPI - so the illumination goes through the objective lens itself. That should make for pretty uniform and repeatable lighting. I am just going to do it for my own enjoyment but I'll share for anyone who might be interested.
For apex examination I have actually gotten some pretty decent results with a regular old biological microscope using built-in bottom illumination, backlighting the apex and providing a very clear view of the silhouette of the edge, like the attached. It is a little finicky to get the adjustment of condenser position and aperture just right, but works quite well.
View attachment 1301983