Thread: Edge Pics?

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but I just want to point out that looking at edges under magnification, needs to interpreted, just like any other test or probing method.
I'd like to present a link to a previous post of mine, where I presented 4 pictures of the exact same spot of an edge with the same equipment, only a different lighting angle.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...ent-light.html

On the same note, almost no optical microscope will show artifacts below approximately 1 micron, and you even need very decent optics to reach that level of optical resolution. Some high end 10X loupes show more detail than a cheap 100X device called "microscope". Not that those devices are inapt for honing purposes. It's just that most 200X pictures cannot reveal more detail than a decent 30X image, but because of the higher magnification, they show more space between those details, which makes any edge above 8K look really smooth.

And... (still not done with killing the party). No optical microsope is capable of showing the width of the bevel tip, which is the only thing that defines an edge's keenness. Scanning electron microscopes have the ability to do that. Anybody fancy one?
eBay.be: ISI-SS40 ELECTRON SCANNING MICROSCOPE (object 390030432521 eindtijd 16-feb-09 01:59:55 CET)

Please don't read this wrong: I really like to use magnification when I'm honing. But I have found out the hard way, that no scope will make your razor sharper. It is a useful aid, nearly as useful as my thumb when I perform the TPT.

Bart.

Originally Posted by Bart

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but I just want to point out that looking at edges under magnification, needs to interpreted, just like any other test or probing method.
I'd like to present a link to a previous post of mine, where I presented 4 pictures of the exact same spot of an edge with the same equipment, only a different lighting angle.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...ent-light.html

On the same note, almost no optical microscope will show artifacts below approximately 1 micron, and you even need very decent optics to reach that level of optical resolution. Some high end 10X loupes show more detail than a cheap 100X device called "microscope". Not that those devices are inapt for honing purposes. It's just that most 200X pictures cannot reveal more detail than a decent 30X image, but because of the higher magnification, they show more space between those details, which makes any edge above 8K look really smooth.

And... (still not done with killing the party). No optical microsope is capable of showing the width of the bevel tip, which is the only thing that defines an edge's keenness. Scanning electron microscopes have the ability to do that. Anybody fancy one?
eBay.be: ISI-SS40 ELECTRON SCANNING MICROSCOPE (object 390030432521 eindtijd 16-feb-09 01:59:55 CET)

Please don't read this wrong: I really like to use magnification when I'm honing. But I have found out the hard way, that no scope will make your razor sharper. It is a useful aid, nearly as useful as my thumb when I perform the TPT.

Bart.

Good points.

I do feel that a microscope in and of itself is not the best guide. But it does help you find out what is going on at the edge as you perform your "other" tests (TPT, HHT, whatever else...). Once you know what those feel like, and what the edge looks like when it feels that way, you no longer really need the scope.

If you are doing the regular tests, and they are not coming out with the results you expect, then a scope is a great way to actually find out what you may be missing.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Good points.

I do feel that a microscope in and of itself is not the best guide. But it does help you find out what is going on at the edge as you perform your "other" tests (TPT, HHT, whatever else...). Once you know what those feel like, and what the edge looks like when it feels that way, you no longer really need the scope.

If you are doing the regular tests, and they are not coming out with the results you expect, then a scope is a great way to actually find out what you may be missing.

+1 I like to start by looking at the edge. I'm only using 30X at present and just want to see if there are any chips or whatever that can't be seen with the naked eye. I look at the edge to make sure of my bevel once I have it set and then intermittently until the honing is finished. Helps me quite a bit. The high power images are interesting and I am glad they are there but I'm not concerned with that sort of thing in my own personal honing. Not yet anyway.