Veho USB Microscope and Microchips

Today I received in the mail a USB microscope that I'd ordered for my kids. I know some folks here have used the QX3 and QX5. This is a Veho, which goes up to 200x. There's a 400x model, but I figured I'll start here. If the kids are up for it, I will sell the 200x for a slight loss and move to the 400x.

Naturally, the first thing I did after hooking it up was check an antique store Robeson for microchips. I'd already spied one on my $10 radio shack micro, but figured I'd try a screen capture. Here it is, at roughly 150x. I blurred it a little when I pressed the screen capture button, but this will do to make the point. (The stuff on the left are pores in the wood on my old desk.)

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...nMicrochip.jpg

Will check on this after I receive a Naniwa stone from SRD.

The Veho ran $80 shipped from J&R. Arrived in two days. Has photo capture and video capture. Not something I'd recommend just for examining razors (the radio shack model works, though you have to squint a bit), but it does seem like a pretty cool gizmo for the kids.

That is pretty cool! Could you post a link for the scope?

Thanks!

Here was the link:

Veho VMS-001 200x 1.3 Megapixel Digital USB Microscope in Digital Microscopes at JR.com

They sell a 400x, but I could not find one sold in the U.S. that comes with a stand. At the higher mags, you really do need the stand to keep the image steady. If someone finds a 400x model with a stand, let me know.

I installed it on Windows XP without any problems. Mac Users evidently have had issues with the drivers. Not sure where that stands.

i have exact usb microscope but names are different .My questions are what makes you think magnification is 150 in that picture?
Second i am having a little difficulty to find out what part of the blade you have taking the picture. thank you

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Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

i have exact usb microscope but names are different .My questions are what makes you think magnification is 150 in that picture?
Second i am having a little difficulty to find out what part of the blade you have taking the picture. thank you

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The software has a slide bar for the zoom, with 200x at the time. I think the slide bar here was 3/4. I don't really know the exact mag, that's why I said roughly.

I am not sure I understand the second question.

how to find that software?
i mean picture is from bevel or from the edge?

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Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

how to find that software?
i mean picture is from bevel or from the edge?

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The software comes with the microscope; it works directly with the driver for the scope.

The chip is on the shaving edge of the razor.

Yesterday I received from SRD my Naniwa 1,000 grit hone. This weekend I will take a few passes and see what happens. This is a Robeson Shure Edge razor, so it's good steel. Picked it up for $11 at an antique store, so it's suitable for practicing honing.

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Originally Posted by Basset

The software comes with the microscope; it works directly with the driver for the scope.

The chip is on the shaving edge of the razor.

Yesterday I received from SRD my Naniwa 1,000 grit hone. This weekend I will take a few passes and see what happens. This is a Robeson Shure Edge razor, so it's good steel. Picked it up for $11 at an antique store, so it's suitable for practicing honing.

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I would love to see the before/after pics!

Does the 200x come with the stand?

Today I honed out the microchips. This edge was extremely dull, and it was taking ages for the Naniwa 1000 to make progress. So I pulled out my DMT8c (325 grit) and made a few dozen passes. Then returned to the 1000 for another 20 or so passes. I am wondering if I blundered there in my impatience? Going down to 325k?

The chips are gone. And if I angle the blade a bit, I can shave hair off my arm. Now I have to sit tight and wait for my Nani 5k and 8k to arrive from SRD. I have a 12k, but going from 1k to 12k is way too big a jump.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...tMicrochip.jpg

Well done! Looks like a great start.

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Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Well done! Looks like a great start.

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Well, thanks. I am just unsure what level of sharpness I am supposed to detect before I move on from the 1k bevel to my next stone, the Naniwa 5k.

Am I supposed be able to pop hairs by skimming across my forearm? Because I am clearly not there. With blade at about 30 degrees and slight pressure, I can shave the hairs of forearm off at the skin. The thumbnail test is free of jaggies, and there's definitely a cutting in, rather than a glide across the top sensation. Thumbpad . . . well, it doesn't have the sticking sensation. Feels keener than before, but I don't feel a real risk of cutting in.

That's definitely progress from where the razor was before, but I am not sure whether more passes on the 1k are warranted, or I should move up to my next stone, which is the 5k, and then go 8k, then 12k

Don't know and I don't think I need to know.

Have faith in each grit and just give it time to do its job. If the razor fails to get sharper at any stage then go back down a step.

Its like climbing a ladder.

Use your arm hair to judge sharpness.

Just move up in grit, work the stone, then move up again.

You can always mix up the stones a little too, Its not too big a deal.

Thats a good scope, thanks for the link!.:)

Regarding the honing...... removing a nick/chip from the edge takes a lot of work. FWIW I start with a 1000 grit sandpaper
and use 25-50 laps and see if there is noticeable progress. If not then I drop back down to a ~400 grit intil the nick is almost gone, then I go back to the 1000 grit until I can no longer see the nick with a scope. For me the 400-1000 grit is for removing nicks, old oxidized steel and get a cutting edge that passes the TNT. From that point on I do not go back to the 1000 grit.

From what you have written it is now time to move to the 5K. This is where you will finalize the shape of the bevel.

When your done with the 5K it will feel noticeably different than the 1K edge no matter what test you use. When looking at the bevel under the scope the scratch pattern will be the same for the full width and length of the bevel. The bevel will be one color, if there are 2 colors, one along the very edge and another along the top part of the bevel, then you have 2 angles and you need to continue honing until there is only one color, indicating just one bevel angle.

Then it is time to move to the 8K. Your goal here is to replace all the 4K scratch pattern with the 8K pattern. That may take 5-25 laps depending on a variety of factors. It just takes whatever it takes. Check the edge frequently but I do not use the TNT at the 8K level, it tends to dull the edge, and test shave whenever you feel it might be ready.
Most likely it will shave you but not as well as you would like. From there it is time for conservative pyramids to dial in the edge that you want.

BTW, the scratches you see at the top of the bevel are most likely from the DMT 325.

Hope this help,:)

Ok, so my Naniwa 5k and 8k arrived from SRD the other day. After lapping, I set the Shure Edge to the 5k and did 50+ laps. I'm not that eexperienced at the thumb pad test, so I've been looking to pop arm or leg hairs. Not really happening. Reliably shaves hair if angled to the skin.

Here's the bevel on both sides (I should've cleaned the blade better).

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...hureEdge5k.jpg

Do I stay with the 5k until I can reliably pop hairs? Or go up to the 8k and then do a pyramid?

The pic on the top right shows the scratch pattern the best.
That pattern looks to be a combination of the 5K scratches and the coarser 1K scratches. FWIW I would stay on the 5K until all the scratches looks uniform in the depth and width.
Then move on to the 8K.

Use the TPT frequently. You need to learn how it changes with the change in the edge. Put very simply, you will run out of arm/leg hair very fast.:)

Nice pics!

Thanks, but a bit too late to save me from silly bald patches on my forearms and one of my calves.

I will hit the 5k again tomorrow. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Basset

Today I received in the mail a USB microscope that I'd ordered for my kids. I know some folks here have used the QX3 and QX5. This is a Veho, which goes up to 200x. There's a 400x model, but I figured I'll start here. If the kids are up for it, I will sell the 200x for a slight loss and move to the 400x.

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Not bad for such a cheap scope! I've seen lots of people taking pics of plane blades with a QX5 and they do an amazing job at lower powers too.

Here's a shot of a single edged razor blade showing the rough side of the blade (bottom of image) and the 3 bevels. This version is probably too compressed to read the boxes but the main bevel is about 346 microns wide, the secondary bevel is about 245 leaving the micro bevel to be about 90 microns wide. (metallurgical scope using the 5x objective. and usb eyepiece camera) Amazing how jagged (and how dirty) everything is at a micro scale:eek:

http://members.cox.net/yuzuha1/bevelsrb.jpg

Looking great! Even bevel sans chips now. Can't wait to see the magnified final pictures...that Robeseon will shave better than it ever did for a previous owner, for sure. Thanks for the pictures.