Thread: Blade edge

When you're looking down the edge of a str8 with good magnification and light, you'll see lots of interesting things that will inform your honing. The rainbows are indeed diffraction patterns and those are spots that are bent a bit or for some reason un-honed. Anything "different" is an indicator of more honing and stropping. What you want to see is tiny striations all going the same way with no chips, red light areas, rainbows, etc. You might also try a radio shack illuminated microscope as it will give 60x - 100x magnification with light from above the blade. Place it flat on the razor as you would a hone and go from the heel of the blade out to the toe on both sides. You'll be amazed at what you see. One thing you'll notice is the difference between a "factory edge" and a "shave ready" edge.

Howard