Pocket microscopes... Incredible, pain

[SparkyLB]

..I use it to look for problems, so that I can correlate with what I feel on the stones, and what I see under light, lower magnification, etc. Unlike others in this thread, I have found a strong correlation between the shave and the presence of problems I can only see under the microscope. I admit I am unusually tuned-in to the tactile feel of the shave, so every little bit of improvement matters to me.

I've not read that before. Thank you, @Herrenberg . Any tool in the bag is useful.

 

[rbscebu]

Don't know. In some cases, sure.

Here's an example: I got a new Koraat, and the shave was very good, but not quite where I thought it could be. I saw nothing with my eye, or a loupe, to tell me why. But when I put it edge-on under the microscope, I saw that there was not quite an apex on 1/3 of the edge. Almost, but not quite. Knowing just what the problem was, and where, made it very easy to fix.
....

For an incomplete apex, I can now find it my eye in good sunlight. Hasn't failed me.

 

[Bowmaker]

I went down the microscope rabbit hole but I didn't stay there for very long. Fun to see but not enough to hold my attention and I got bored pretty quick.

Maybe they help some guys I don't know. They are by no means necessity though, not even close.

I use a loop on occasion, mostly to look for damage or corrosion on used razors.

 

[Titleist]

If an electron microscope could tell me how my shave is going to be, I'd save up for one. Ignorance is bliss? Just shave with the darn thing?

There is nothing wrong with using them. However, when I had one years ago I spent more time looking through the microscope and honing than I did shaving. And it wasn't for me because instead of shaving with the razors, I was in pursuit of the "perfect edge" and I allowed perfect to get in the way of good enough. And the funny thing is, after getting rid of the microscope my shaves with my edges didn't degrade in fact, they have gotten much, much better.

I suppose I can be armed to the teeth with any number of implements and toys but I'll buy them if and when I need them.

You "need" a loupe at the very minimum in my opinion. Aside from the 14 months that I kept that USB microscope, all I have ever "needed" was a loupe and my face. Your experiences are going to be different from others here. And that is what makes honing discussions so interesting and at times a tad bit contentious.

 

[Doc226]

All I use is this

https://www.amazon.com/KINGMAS-Jewelers-Magnifying-Illuminated-Magnifier/dp/B00KMSE100/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3EYR7H1NUK3BP&keywords=30%2B60%2Bloupe&qid=1650333230&sprefix=30%2B60%2Bloupe%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-6&th=1

And cherry tomatoes.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I don't routinely use a microscope when honing. If I have a reason to do so, I can take pics with a couple of 100x USB cheapie scopes, or with my regular stand-up laboratory type microscope and a USB eyepiece that works well up to 400x. After a couple days of fiddling I did manage to take a couple of pics at 2000x FWIW which actually isn't much. At that level of optical magnification things start getting weird. Lots of strange refraction things going on. VERY shallow depth of field. Getting an object in focus as well as properly lit is very frustrating. Mostly I did it just because I had the tools that were supposed to be up to the task. Over 400x is wasted effort and 100x with good lighting and careful focus can make for some stunning pics that are good for demonstrating what actually goes on at a razor's edge and on the bevel face. Mostly though, for just honing, a 10x Belomo Triplet works absolutely brilliantly. Talking non-contact, wide field. Okay so the loupe doesn't take pics. That's okay for "just" honing. You could of course secure your loupe over your phone camera lens with a rubber band or some electrical tape. There are some dandy clamp-on microscopes that work well for this, too. And at fullest magnification, my Note 3 phones (I have four) take pretty good pics. About 10x I am guessing.

The old Mk I eyeball, combined with a very bright pinpoint of light, can discern very small defects in an edge, with a little practice. If I am in a hurry I only use the loupe at the 12k or 1µ stage. Eyeball for bevel set to there, and no need for visual when using the balsa as it is just polishing an already very good edge.

And the Carsons? I have two, the gray one and the little orange keychain one. I haven't used either in at least a year. They will be handy for something, I am sure, but the PITA to benefit ratio is too high for me to routinely use them when honing.

 

[APBinNCA]

Well the microscope just payed for itself. I got some new razors and they looked great! Took out the microscope and finally got it somewhat stable. Other than 2 razors having bad apexes(easy fix), I found the tiniest little orange dot. You know what that is and it was only the size of a pin tip. I don't even want to think about the consequences of getting cut with rust on the blade, enough to make me quit shaving frankly. This thing is definitely getting used.

 

[rbscebu]

Well the microscope just payed for itself. I got some new razors and they looked great! Took out the microscope and finally got it somewhat stable. Other than 2 razors having bad apexes(easy fix), I found the tiniest little orange dot. You know what that is and it was only the size of a pin tip. I don't even want to think about the consequences of getting cut with rust on the blade, enough to make me quit shaving frankly. This thing is definitely getting used.

Iron oxide (rust) is actually a needed mineral for a healthy human. It's not the rust that will harm you, it is some of the microbes that can get into your blood that can do you damage. Microbes don't need rust to get into your blood.

If you are that worried about infections from microbes, best that you don't shave (or eat).

 

[APBinNCA]

I have read the accounts of the unfortunate of history and their ending is not a pretty one. However, for some reason I think I have the cart before the horse and didn't realise it until now. Infections used to happen because of lack of sterilisation. So even a stainless blade that isn't kept clean can cause the same problem. But I still remember there is something more to it with rust...

Good thing I just bought and sterilised two stainless razors, now I can sleep at night! /JK

 

[Slash McCoy]

Well the microscope just payed for itself. I got some new razors and they looked great! Took out the microscope and finally got it somewhat stable. Other than 2 razors having bad apexes(easy fix), I found the tiniest little orange dot. You know what that is and it was only the size of a pin tip. I don't even want to think about the consequences of getting cut with rust on the blade, enough to make me quit shaving frankly. This thing is definitely getting used.

That's a joke, right?

 

[Bowmaker]

I can't count the number of times I have been poked or cut by rusty steel. It's always a good idea to keep up on tetanus shots and don't just rub some dirt on it or wash the wound in the nearest creek and the chances of a full recovery are quite good.

 

[JPO]

Definitely agree! Among my few hobbies is amateur watchmaking/repair, so I have several loupes that are held to my eye with a wrap-around wire affair. I also have a couple of Triplet 10X loupes that belonged to my dad. That's the highest magnification I've seen. Not from personal experience, but from reading the accounts of others' experiences; it seems that fine resolution afforded by near-microscopic glimpses of a blade do not necessarily correlate to the quality of the shave.

So far (and I don't have much experience), my very best shaves came from a blade that does not pass the HHT and FOTF test. In fact, the last stage of the process on Tomo yields such a polish that the edge appears soft, hazy, and at the risk of sounding like a schizophrenic: like an inflatable toy.

As said by @rbscebu sometimes the key is knowing less (counterintuitive as it sounds). If an electron microscope could tell me how my shave is going to be, I'd save up for one. Ignorance is bliss? Just shave with the darn thing?

I ask sincerely and not as a wisecracker; in general, can anyone tell the quality of a shave by looking at the blade at + 100x resolution? Is there a correlation?

In my ignorance, I have so far learned that if I follow the routine taught to me by my mentor, my blade is SHARP. I suppose I can be armed to the teeth with any number of implements and toys but I'll buy them if and when I need them.

"I ask sincerely and not as a wisecracker; in general, can anyone tell the quality of a shave by looking at the blade at + 100x resolution? Is there a correlation?"

I can say with about 90% certainty by looking at a micrograph from my dinolite 950x microscope (even at the lowest setting) how the edge will shave. For the last 5-10 percent i need to shave test the edge to know for sure.
At 100x or lower i would not have a clue how well it the edge shaves, but it would tell me all i needed to know about my ground work.
The microscope have thought me allot about what is happening at each grit level with different stones. I usually don't use the microscope that much any more. All i use for most of my honing is my 100x loupe.

For me it was quite interesting to see how refined and straight the edge was at an 8k level, and how little time i needed to spend on the last finishing stone. I was spending way to much time on the finishing stone then i needed.
Now i know, so there is no need to use the microscope every time. A loupe will not show you this.
Reading tactile feedback is important, but it is useful to actually corelate it to what is happening at the edge and bevel.
Once you have dialed in your progression, you/I rely less on magnification. I only hone my own blades, but if i did it commercially i would not be able to test shave every blade. In this case it would make more sense to use the scope more as a QC.

"In my ignorance, I have so far learned that if I follow the routine taught to me by my mentor, my blade is SHARP. I suppose I can be armed to the teeth with any number of implements and toys but I'll buy them if and when I need them."
You will probably not need a microscope if the only goal is to get your blades shaving sharp and you have good help.

 

[SparkyLB]

Thanks, @JPO !

 

[Slash McCoy]

Iron oxide (rust) is actually a needed mineral for a healthy human. It's not the rust that will harm you, it is some of the microbes that can get into your blood that can do you damage. Microbes don't need rust to get into your blood.

If you are that worried about infections from microbes, best that you don't shave (or eat).

I keep a Barbicide jar, and Barbicide is an industry standard razor disinfectant. But before I did, if I was going to shave with a new-to-me razor, I just doused it with a little Clubman. I don't think any germs can survive being doused with The Club. Anyway, I have never had a shaving cut get infected. Any rust on the edge is gonna get honed off as a matter of course, anyway. Plus, a spot of rust isn't necessarily an incubator for germs. Rust is just rust. Iron oxide. The same chemical substance that some guys put on their strops.

New, in the pack DE blades, throwaways, and carts aren't sterile, either. Don't be afraid, guys, but it's true.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

That rust myth just won't die, will it? I assume it originated from the fact that the conditions conducive to rust formation are also conducive to bacteria growth.

 

[rideon66]

All I use are these. Can even take a pic using phone held up to the bigger one with light. Wanting to see anything finer would be more just testing stones to see scratch patterns up close and how fast they can be removed.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

"I ask sincerely and not as a wisecracker; in general, can anyone tell the quality of a shave by looking at the blade at + 100x resolution? Is there a correlation?"

Yes,

If you understand, what you are looking at.

And “that”, is the point…

 

[Bowmaker]

I have some stones that don't look all that great and are really comfortable edges and others that look pretty good and are uncomfortable. Perhaps with more magnification I could see why?

For instance my coticules and Glanrafon don't look all that great and are nice shaves. My Llyn Idwal looks really good and is not comfortable.

 

[APBinNCA]

That rust myth just won't die, will it? I assume it originated from the fact that the conditions conducive to rust formation are also conducive to bacteria growth.

I just got three new to me razors in the mail from different parts of the world. Sprayed them 100% ethyl, spent some time on stones and put them on my face. They are still filthy and I am worried about the rust.

I also happen to have giardia, so my own sense of safety is skewed the wrong way to start with...
mmm, delicious fast moving creek water!

 

[Phoenixkh]

I just got three new to me razors in the mail from different parts of the world. Sprayed them 100% ethyl, spent some time on stones and put them on my face. They are still filthy and I am worried about the rust.

I also happen to have giardia, so my own sense of safety is skewed the wrong way to start with...
mmm, delicious fast moving creek water!

I know a bunch of people are getting on you for that... but I'll bet they aren't out there stepping on rusty nails to prove their point.