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Determining touch-up time with pics

Howdy,

I was wondering if anyone had pictures of a razor that needed a touch-up on the stones. Can you see anything going on with the bevel? Or is it all edge action anyway (which doesn't translate in photos well)?

Just curious. And I like pictures of razor edges....

Thanks,

Raymond
 
The very edge of a properly sharpened razor lingers around a width of o.5µm
I personally have yet to come across a microscope capable of really showing what´s going on ;)

A loupe or normal microscope for home use will not show signs of wear good enough.
It will only show you "major" flaws, like a wire edge or microchips.

The dulling effect a razor experiences during use can be microchipping,
fold over egdes or a rounded edge due to too much stropping over time.
(taken from the major theories I´ve heard or come up with)

These little flaws will have no effect on the looks of the bevel.
The best way to tell if a razor needs a touch up is .... shave with it!
If it doesn´t shave perfectly it is not sharp. It´s that simple.

All the tests we run for sharp edges won´t tell you if the edge is good.
I call these tests "negative" tests.
They will tell you if an edge is faulty!
If it´s not faulty, i.e. you don´t see anything under the microscope,
that doesn´t mean it will shave just fine.

The shave is the ultimate test
 
I was wondering if anyone had pictures of a razor that needed a touch-up on the stones. Can you see anything going on with the bevel? Or is it all edge action anyway (which doesn't translate in photos well)?


You can see it in pics, but you need an electron microscope in front of the lens...

What a low-power optical microscope lets you see are major issues (chips, badly malformed bevel, etc), which is extremely useful but not a panacea.

There was a guy on SRP a year ago that worked in a lab with an electron microscope, and taught himself to hone with it. lucky b*st*rd :thumbup1:
 
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Bummer, I was hoping the detail with a x200 would be enough. I guess edges are more fickle than I thought! Thanks for all of the comments though!
 
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