Thread: DSLR and reversed lens: high-magnification pichures of edges honed on naturals

Shameless plug: the technique of using DSLR and reversed lens for taking high magnification pictures is described in this brand new wiki topic that yours truly put together recently:

DSLR And Reversed Lens As Microscope - Straight Razor Place Wiki

All pictures displayed here in this thread are of much higher resolution (a.k.a. with even higher magnification) in that wiki topic.

I used an old beaten Solingen razor for this experiment (it has a logo of bee hive on it). I wanted to show how progression of naturals looks like in pictures taken with a DSLR with reversed lens. This first post shows coarser naturals only - an aoto, a washita stone (I am guessing it is a washita but I may be wrong) and a Belgian coticule with slurry. I do not use microscopes when honing, I usually trust the way edges reflect light or use a 28mm reversed lens as a magnifier for troublemakers.

Disclaimer: this is not a honing guide! The aim of the experiment was to take pictures of the edge, not to make it shave ready!

Let's start with the hones:

This is aoto surface with a toxic vein and wear pits: (my sample is of poor quality unfortunately)


Surface of the washita stone: (with a soap bubble attached)


Coticule:



Here is what the edge looked like before the experiment began:


This is what a couple dozens of laps on aoto did to it. Notice those ugly chips that can be attributed to toxic inclusions in the stone:


I tried to use the aoto slurry on a hard stone, the People's hone of indeterminate grit a.k.a. the C12K. Here is the result after a couple of dozens of laps. The chips began to disappear:


Then I switched to the Washita (?). It was apparently used with oil in the past. I cleaned it a bit and I use it with detergent. The edge is definitely smoother and the scratch pattern is finer than of the aoto.


...to be continued in the next post...

The last hone featured in this progression is a Belgian coticule with thick slurry. I think I have one from the le petit blanche layer, a very pale one with dotted pattern and blue streaks visible in its narrow sides. It is my favorite stone. As you can see, it polished the edge quite well.



Due to a minor injury (beware detergent on hones, it makes everything very slick) I had to interrupt the experiment. The next steps will be BBW, coticule w/water only and a Charnley forest. Stay tuned and visit the wiki page to see the full resolution pictures.

DSLR And Reversed Lens As Microscope - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Good stuff!

Excellent, consistant photos. Same lighting, same blade angle, same spot on the razor. That is everything I would (think of to ask) for in shots of a razor's edge. I salute you. Now show us what every hone you have does to that razor.

Side note: what razor is it? I hear steel type may make a difference...

Hello friends,

Here is another dose of pictures from a DSLR camera with reversed lens. The razor in pictures is an old Solingen blade in nice bone scales, unfortunately there is no manufacturer name on it. There is a symbol of a beehive on the tang though. It can take a nice sharp edge as you can see in the pictures below.

Again, the pictures below are resized to fit in the screen. Full resolution pictures can be found here: DSLR And Reversed Lens As Microscope - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Let's get to business. This is what the edge looked like after several dozens of laps on BBW with slurry. We are getting into a territory of fairly good sharpness and less apparent differences in scratches or teeth.




Now back to the coticule, this time with water only. As you can see, the edge looks quite a bit smoother than after the BBW:



There are not many stones left in my little collection, but I value the following one a lot. It is a pretty 9.5x2.25'' Charnley forest of deep green color with red/brown features. I did several dozens of laps on it with water and detergent. At this moment, focusing became quite difficult because there are not many visible teeth left in the edge. The bevel is covered with very fine scratch pattern that can (IMHO) be compared to what the Japanese call kasumi.





Here are pictures of hones used in this progression:

BBW:


Coticule with swarf after several dozens of laps:


And a slightly noisy picture of the Charnley forest



I hope you enjoyed this thread, it was fun for me! I am thinking about taking some more pictures, like effects of CrO2, newspaper, linen and strop. Let me know if you are interested.

the bbw is just crazy looking. Really cool, all of them. what is the magnification?

I guess you have a reason for shooting so low; what is it?

Originally Posted by kevint

the bbw is just crazy looking. Really cool, all of them. what is the magnification?

I guess you have a reason for shooting so low; what is it?

Look at the wiki page to see the magnification. If you look at the picture of my setup there and imagine the hones standing on their narrow sides in front of the camera, you will get an answer to your question.

Originally Posted by sparq

Look at the wiki page to see the magnification. If you look at the picture of my setup there and imagine the hones standing on their narrow sides in front of the camera, you will get an answer to your question.

In other words: "never you mind"

It's not that I am that lazy but I have limited access to cognitive functions. If I overload the system with information I know I will never use; such as dslr reverse lens techniques i will never master the compound dovetail. as you say: All pictures displayed here in this thread are of much higher resolution (a.k.a. with even higher magnification) in that wiki topic."

Sparq, that is easily one of the best written Wiki articles we have. Many thanks for your contribution!

Regards,
Robin

I believe the beehive logo is from Daniel Peres.
Edit:After checking the wiki,The logo I'm thinking of looks more like a barrel with spigot than a beehive.

Here's the one:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwiki/index.php/Fileperes3.jpg