Thread: Can you see a wire edge with the naked eye?

Hello Everyone TGIF,
I have been attemping to hone one of my razors.
Of course I do not want to over hone it,but if the edge becomes over honed , can you see the wire edge with your naked eye.
TIA ,Thanks Fred

Sometimes. It helps to use the reflection off of a point light source (like a LED flashlight, the sun, or a reasonably distant incandescent bulb). A wire edge will give a kind of dashed reflection.

I find that I'm usually able to see how an edge is progressing without a microscope. A point light source, like mparker said, is essential. Angle the blade this way and that. A shave-ready blade won't have a bright line along the edge. The edge sort of just ends.

It is possible to have a microscopic wire edge, though, which is where the shave test comes in.

Josh

Also, an edge can be overhoned without having a wire edge. The wire edge is just the later stage of overhoning.

Originally Posted by mparker762

Also, an edge can be overhoned without having a wire edge. The wire edge is just the later stage of overhoning.

Oh no - here comes the voodoo ---- get the sacrificial chickens out.



Justin

I don't think its really the wire edge you are seeing but rather the effect it causes as it reflects light.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I don't think its really the wire edge you are seeing but rather the effect it causes as it reflects light.

Isn't this true for all visible objects?

I'm not sure what it is I'm seeing, exactly, but by looking at the edge I can usually tell how it will do on the hanging hair test, and later on the shave test.

It did take me a while to get to this point, though, and I don't know that I would have learned how to do this without a microscope.

I vote for the microscope when you're starting out. It'll point out a lot of things you didn't know about your edge.

Josh

Originally Posted by mparker762

Isn't this true for all visible objects?

Well, not really. You know when you look up into the sky your not really see the stars as they are now but as they were a long time ago depending on their distance. Some probably don't exist but you can see em now. Its not the wire edge you're seeing but the effect it produces if you get my drift.

YOu can see an over honed edge without magnification most of the time. It usually looks like a line running in the middle of the edge ______ or a staple like line - - - - -.

Lynn