Thread: Microscope for Honing

Here's what I use



It's 20 to 250 power with a 4x zoom.
It has adjustable led lights.
It has become a very valuable tool for me when honing.
I love being able to use the built in screen that gives a beautiful image of a razors edge. The wireless mobility while working is a big plus too.
It will capture and store images and can be plugged into the computer if you want to go "full screen."
I got it on EBay under electronic microscopes from some place in China that had it on sale for a little under a hundred bucks.
For me...money very well spent!

Pete <:-}

If you look around on ebay, I picked up an 50-800 power 2 megapixel scope for 7.00 after I discovered that the scope was advertised as 5MP. Sometimes a guy has to bitch, false advertising gets me HOT!!
Warning: with any chinese product buyer beware and be extra cautious.

I also found the 45 and 60 power tiny lighted scopes with watch batteries really eat batteries fast and buying at the local stores is about 5$ each, NOT economical at all.

I have a few magnifying options now. I started with a 30x Jeweler's loupe. Decided I needed more magnification than that and got a 60x loupe like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Toch-Illuminat...eler%27s+loupe

Then I decided I wanted a higher powered scope and got a 200x pocket microscope with a cell phone camera adapter. Honestly, the 200x one is fun to play with and allows me to take pictures with my cell phone camera, but when I'm actually sharpening a razor and that is my only focus I default to the 60x loupe. You don't meed more magnification than that, in fact 200 is a bit too much in my opinion. And the small size means I can bring it with me to the honing table and put it right to the blade when I need a check rather than moving to an entire different station like you probably would with a microscope. Being able to upload a picture is nice, but not entirely necessary. I might go as far as to say you'll probably learn faster by looking and doing than by taking a picture, making a post, then waiting for further instructions. Especially now that more and more threads are popping up with photos of magnified blade edges and where to go from this point or that. If someone's already done the legwork, there's no reason not to save yourself some time/effort and benefit from it!

Thanks everybody for all your help it's greatly appreciated

Visual observation with the use of magnification is good. Google student microscopes. 100x mag works best IMHO with a good separate light source. It’s not complicated, the more you use it, the better you become. This is another good reason to attend your local meetings (scroll down to work bench area). http://straightrazorpalace.com/get-t...i-meet-28.html

Especially for new persons that are starting out. It takes about 5 mins to acquaint someone with what a Chosera 1K bevel set edge should look like. A proper 4K and 8K edge are easy to identify as well. It can get a little tricky from there and only patience and practice help. That’s the fun part, don’t deprive yourself. That’s the whole point of wet shaving.
Mike

I use a USB one from Amazon, a DB Power 20-300x. Works fine on my Mac. It has a low and high power really, and not a variable range. I fine the low good for most work on bevel setting, and blades with large bevels. The high is nice for looking closely at the edge, checking stria, or blades with a small bevel. It cost $80, and I've used it here a lot, posting progress on my work. I didn't have much luck with a cheap lighted loupe. I like viewing on the computer, even though it takes longer. I also organize by razor, and hone stage, so I can compare progress, as well.