Thread: Magnification

To be able to magnify the edge of a razor i'm honing should have been one of the first things I looked into . Lately I've been having trouble with getting blades ready to shave. The Peter Hahn was the worst not to mention the C-Mon. Both are stainless. I do have a clip on 10X jewelers loop. you know the ones that clip on your glasses. well I use reading glasses of 2.0 mag. so together that makes 12 X. now I also have one of those head bands that have a mag. plate of 5.0 on it. now that makes 17X. Are you beginning to get a mental picture of what I look like while trying to look at the edge. as funny as all this sounds it worked. I noticed that on the 4/8 stainless I needed to go back to the 8 then 12 then 20 again. stropped and a much better shave. I don't know if I will go to the expense of a microscope or one of those things that plug into the computer to mag the edge but I am going to look for another way of looking at the edge closer. live and learn you know.

From what I have read in other posts stainless is harder to hone than carbon steel razors. I am sure someone will come with the answer you are looking for.

If you can manage, (I don't care for them, but I don't want to go as far a swhat you've mentioned above) a 40x or 60x jewelers loop with a light. There as little as $5 on the bay or zzon. They work well, but bother my eyes. Gets the job done.

1 nice loupe is worth a thousand pictures :<0)

Yep I invested in the loupe at 40 x in a Triplett lenses does a fine job , I can see all I need with it. Tc

I have a Fugifilm pro4X loupe and it is very nice, I use it every day, used to think I didn't need a microscope, and I don't for easy blades.
Then about a month ago I had a chance to trade for a Swift microscope w/ three objectives so now I have the ability to see the edge at 45X and 100x Mag, Wow what a difference it has made to my honing. I would highly recommend acquiring one, doesn't have to be all that expensive and at 100x I can really see what's in that edge.
I have had a series of VERY CHALLENGING razors come across my workbench as of late and I am certainly glad I had this piece of equipment, not only helped me to hone buy also to identify problems with the steel.
If you get a chance try getting a razor under one and see for yourself.

You don’t need to spend much, I recommend a 60X lighted loupe $2-5 or a Carson 60-100 micro max $ 10-15. Both are cheap, quick and easy to use, buy a couple, keep one where you shave.

USB scopes will give you a lot of detail, but are a real pain to use and will slow down your honing. They are great as a teaching aid, so you are all looking at the same thing at the same time or to take photos to document damage or compare stria, just not needed for every day honing. But you can buy them now for about $ 20-30

You want at least 40X and with lots of built in light.

I use what has been described as the Ferrari of loupes - a Belarus triplet made with optical glass lenses and a wide diameter to let lots of light in, so no illumination necessary. If you need more light a sunny day or a desk lamp are fine.

It is all I have ever used - on thousands of razors.

Regards,
Neil

IMO, loupes are most useful to see what's wrong the edge or bevel than what's right with it. Uber magnification creates more questions than it answers. That said, I use the Fujifilm Professional 4K loupe, I see what I need to see, nothing more, nothing less.

I always say that a 200x scope is essential for me. They are like $5 on Amazon. But I find that a loupe is simply not enough. Watch Utopian's vid in this post. The initial magnification that he shows is probably what you'd see through a loupe. Then he continues to zoom in and that's when reality begins to show itself.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ml#post1495327