Title pretty much says it. I've been going through the archives looking at magnified pics and I'm wondering what you use to look at your blades. I did see Seraphim mention he used a research microscope, but what setups do you have at home?
What do you use to magnify?
- Thread starter Emmett
- Start date
I mostly use the Radio Shack 60x-100x handheld microscope when honing. It was $11 when I got mine, but I'm not sure if they still sell them. I also have a 200x USB microscope that I mostly use when taking pictures of edges. The software that comes with it basically turns your screen into the eyepiece, and lets you take shots which are saved as if they are camera photos.
bel omo 20x & 10x. 10x is all thats needed tbh. But the optics are fantastic.
I have a 15x two piece loupe attached to my safety glasses for when I am doing modifications, polishing and what have you.
I have a radioshack 30x microscope, and a 20x folding loupe.
The 20x gets used most often, as it is the easiest, and has the best view.
I have a radioshack 30x microscope, and a 20x folding loupe.
The 20x gets used most often, as it is the easiest, and has the best view.
i use a cheap loupe, it says 40x but is about 15x. Its not great, but it does the trick.
Normally, I don't use anything. I don't want to take all the mystery out of honing. If something is required, I'll use a cheap loupe.
+1
And it's a royal pain IMO to have to keep going back to look at things under a loupe or what have you. I only use magnification when I've screwed up and the results are not acceptable.
I honed my first blade with a 10x/20x loupe and a 60-100x rat shack pocket scope (so they still sold them as of 5-6 months ago). Then I did a few more blades without any magnification until I hit one that seemed to hone up fine, but shaved rough. Lo and behold, I had missed a tiny chip in the edge that needed some time at 320 grit to remove
.I still maintain the loupe is mostly unnecessary though. The TPT would have told me all I needed to know had I actually understood what I was feeling for during the test. Though now that I know, it's all golden
.
I only own one for curiosity purposes. I used it for a few razors, just to see for myself what the edge looks like. Havent touched it since. IMO looking into the magnifying glass just makes things more complicated, and can often be misleading if you are using it as a honing test.
Its only useful for checking for edge damage, edge straightness, whether your edge is touching the stone along the entire length, alternative to the marker test, help with the marker test, microchipping... Things of that nature. Its not a sharpness test by any means.
I bring it along when I hit antique stores to check for damage.
It's amazing the thing's you can see, swiss cheese, hairline cracks, wavy edges.
It's saved me from purchasing some messed up blades.
For actual honing or taking pictures? I don't hone, but I've talked a bit with a couple of honers. It seems like the best setup would be different for honing and taking pictures.
For honing, a flip-down visor (2-6X) and a handheld 10-30X loupe or portable microscope seem most practical, since you need something you can use with minimal fuss and time. While I don't know for sure since I don't hone, I suspect I'd want both of these.
For a closer look and taking pictures, you need to move away from the stone to a fixed scope on a stable stand. A 20-100X stereo scope is good for seeing the blade in 3d. With a monocular scope, it's hard to tell a deep scratch from a minor one because lighting can be very difficult. It's much easier to distinguish in stereo. You also see angles correctly in stereo. Unfortunatlely, you can't easily take pictures in stereo. For really good pictures, a non-stereo scope up to 400X is probably better. Stereo doesn't work above about 90X. Optical microscopes don't really work above about 400X, especially with reflected light, which is the only possibility with metal.
I got my scope for electronics work, and only looked at blades because I already had it. It's a Meiji stereo zoom model with a camera port. If you want to go this route, and don't need to take great pictures, I suggest forgoing the zoom feature and camera port and saving a bundle. You can still attach a camera to the eyepiece, but it's unstable with certain cameras, so you can end up with blurry images. There are other better brands for stereo scopes, but I chose Meiji because they're good quality, excellent value for the money, and are still manufactured so I can easily buy parts. That last part has been a big help.
What I've found with taking pictures of blades is that lighting becomes extremely important and difficult above about 50X. While I've been looking into alternatives, my scope isn't really set up for this kind of experimenting--I don't have a stand with a stage and what nots--and it can be expensive. It also doesn't help at all with electronics, so I'm not too motivated to pursue the options.
Here's a few places I've found useful to learn more about microscopes, in no particular order.
http://www.couger.com/microscope/links/gclinks.html
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/index.html
http://www.modernmicroscopy.com/main.asp
http://www.microscopyu.com/articles/optics/index.html
Hey, if you've gone through the archives, do you still have the links? It would be great to have a list of links to all of the pictures.
For honing, a flip-down visor (2-6X) and a handheld 10-30X loupe or portable microscope seem most practical, since you need something you can use with minimal fuss and time. While I don't know for sure since I don't hone, I suspect I'd want both of these.
For a closer look and taking pictures, you need to move away from the stone to a fixed scope on a stable stand. A 20-100X stereo scope is good for seeing the blade in 3d. With a monocular scope, it's hard to tell a deep scratch from a minor one because lighting can be very difficult. It's much easier to distinguish in stereo. You also see angles correctly in stereo. Unfortunatlely, you can't easily take pictures in stereo. For really good pictures, a non-stereo scope up to 400X is probably better. Stereo doesn't work above about 90X. Optical microscopes don't really work above about 400X, especially with reflected light, which is the only possibility with metal.
I got my scope for electronics work, and only looked at blades because I already had it. It's a Meiji stereo zoom model with a camera port. If you want to go this route, and don't need to take great pictures, I suggest forgoing the zoom feature and camera port and saving a bundle. You can still attach a camera to the eyepiece, but it's unstable with certain cameras, so you can end up with blurry images. There are other better brands for stereo scopes, but I chose Meiji because they're good quality, excellent value for the money, and are still manufactured so I can easily buy parts. That last part has been a big help.
What I've found with taking pictures of blades is that lighting becomes extremely important and difficult above about 50X. While I've been looking into alternatives, my scope isn't really set up for this kind of experimenting--I don't have a stand with a stage and what nots--and it can be expensive. It also doesn't help at all with electronics, so I'm not too motivated to pursue the options.
Here's a few places I've found useful to learn more about microscopes, in no particular order.
http://www.couger.com/microscope/links/gclinks.html
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/index.html
http://www.modernmicroscopy.com/main.asp
http://www.microscopyu.com/articles/optics/index.html
Hey, if you've gone through the archives, do you still have the links? It would be great to have a list of links to all of the pictures.
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