I once got a QX3 cheap and I just couldn't get it to work right. Not having a stand is inconvenient too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by azjoe
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I once got a QX3 cheap and I just couldn't get it to work right. Not having a stand is inconvenient too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by azjoe
After reading the wealth of information in this thread and doing much research on the net, I believe I found a Stereo Trinocular Microscope (20X-40X-80X) that would work well for me. I plan on purchasing it this week unless I find a better deal. Do any of the specs look wonky?
Features :
• High Resolution with Great Flatness and Contrast.
• Trinocular Head with Super Widefield Eyepieces and Photographic/Video
Capability.
• Both Ocular-Tubes with Adjustable Diopter.
• 20X, 40X & 80X Magnifications.
• Long Working Distance.
• Full Metal Stand Construction.
• Epi-Illuminator and Built-in Transmitted Illumination System with Adjustable Brightness.
• CE Approval Electric Apparatus.
• Manufactured under ISO 9001 Quality Control Standard.
• Excellent Five (5) Year Manufacturer Warranty.
Specifications :
• Head: 45 degree inclined 360 degree swiveling trinocular.
• Eyepiece: super widefield WHO10X/20MM & WH20X/12MM.
• Objectives: 2X & 4X.
• Diopter Adjustment: +/- 5dp.
• Interpupillary Distance: 2-3/16" - 2-15/16" (55-75mm).
• Working Distance: 4" (100mm).
• Stage Plates: a frosted glass objective plate and a white/black plastic
plate with diameter: 4" (100mm).
• Illumination: 12V/15W halogen lamps.
• Accessories: a dust cover, paired eye-caps and clips. Camera & attachment not included.
Rik,
I'll put off my trip to Radio Shack until you give us an update!
Randy
This sounds great. I especially like the epi illumination and halogen lamp. That alone should make focussing easy.
I needed something with more magnification. I seem to be noticing effects that didn't show up at 60x but did at 100x, and correcting them seems to make a big difference. I may even benefit from 200x, and I know that being able to save a picture will make a big difference.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Lerch
Have a URL?
Randy Tuttle
Here you go. They have quite a few models to choose from.
Quote:
Originally Posted by randydance062449
A more affordable 20x-40x-80x stereo microscope is also available from the company listed in the previous post. You can use a CCD camera on one of the eye pieces. A barlow lens can be purchased that would increase the magnification either 1.5x or 2.0x
This is the route I've chosen to go. I will plan on adding a high res camera next month. You can find the info here. A unit with a lower resolution camera is also available here.
Does this have all the bells and whistles of my previous post? Probably not. Will I miss them, I highly doubt it.
Thanks!
Randy Tuttle
Thanks, Rik! A CCD camera is on my list. Check out, also, a technoligical throwback of ordinary optics ..... the Scopetronix Maxview Plus which I have with an adapter for my aging Canon digital cameraQuote:
Originally Posted by Rik
You guys are looking at some really fancy stuff unless you have some other needs. In any case, I'm expecting to see some great pictures posted. I'll start as soon as I receive my USB.
Greetings David,Quote:
Originally Posted by uthed
I would venture to guess optics in the Scopetronix are superior. Nice system.
I just received my QX5. The setup is pretty easy and its nice to
look at the screen instead of down on the scope. The software
auto contrast and auto luminosity is pretty nice too (I use it
under GNU/Linux, I don't know if the Windows software is any
good).
I haven't received the razor I ordered from Billysblades.com , I
look forward to compare it to the one I already have. I have
problems with the light reflecting too much on the shinny parts.
Is there anything that can be done? I find it a bit hard to move
the blade and to stay on focus at 200x but it is pretty easy to
use at 60x.
Here is why shaving a hidden part of your legs not such a good
test
http://ygingras.net/images/hairs-200x.jpg
Or maybe is it that I have a tougher beard than I expected after
all.
This may seem overly simple and maybe common knowledge, but for a newby honer like me I think it was a major discovery and help in my honing... If you take a magic marker and draw the blade lightly over the tip of the marker and then run the blade over a fine (say 8K) hone for a few strokes, when you look under the loupe or scope you will immediatly be able to see if there are any places where the hone is not touching the extreme point of the edge. If that's the case, I it indicates to me that the edge needs more work on a coarser hone before you carry on with this stone (or you are going to spend al your time polishing the side of the edge without ever sharpening it). Yes/no?
Sorta' yes, sorta' no... If you think it would take way too many strokes on the fine hone you're currently on, then going coarser is indicated. If you think you can stay on the fine hone and remove the marker all the way to the edge (in a reasonable time), then I'd stay on the finer one. Some fine hones need quite a few strokes to get where they're going. It's your judgement call, which is one thing that makes sharpening so much fun. Many of us use the marker trick.
Although Sticky's method work just fine, I personally take a somewhat different approach.
Whenever I find that the bevel is not fully extending all the way to the very edge, I take corrective action on a hone, dedicated for that job, before I do anything else. For a long time, my hone of choise for that was a DMT-E, but since a few months I nearly always use a fast Coticule with slurry for that (which rivals the speed of my DMT-E 1200 mesh). Whenever I find that 15 minutes of honing does not correct the problem, I jump to a yet faster hone (the DMT-F 600 mesh). Either way, If you achieve a good bevel early in the honing progression, that takes the number one reason for unsuccesful honing out of the equation.
The magic marker test (MMT) is a very good method for checking the state of the bevel, and whether your honing stroke succesfully deals with the entire edge. In the former case, the marker is not removed form the "edge side" of the bevel. In the latter case, the marker is not removed along the entire blade.
Bart.
I have a 60-100x from ThinkGeek.com, very similar to the radioshack one. It has been very helpful for me to watch how the hone scratches change. since the razor I'm working with has quite a bit of pitting it also helps me monitor the status of those pits as they are ground.
having the magnification is very helpful for honing, but I am unable to see any changes as I strop, which I wish I could as the HHT is so very hard to duplicate with any kind of accuracy. maybe some of you guys have consistent hair, but mine is so cut, dyed and fried that its a really annoying to not know if it means anything, and yet coll enough to keep trying for.
Thanks for all of the help so far!
Wow ! What a blast from the past this thread is. Great to read Lynn on magnification. When I get a 'new' razor whether truly new or an ebay special I look at it under the 30x microscope to see the condition of the edge and what I may have in store for me. I do a TPT and see if it has any keenness. If not I do a TNT to see how dull it is.
My next move is the marker. I do a few passes flat and determine if I am going to have to use a rolling x, or heel leading at an angle or a regular x pattern. Once I know that I wipe the excess ,marker off and hone. The condition of the edge determines where in the grit progression I start.
QX5
spyderco ultra fine hone and strop a beard hair on the blade
sorry that i could not get a shot of the full bevle but hey at 200x you cant get a lot in the pic
BTW this is my house razor
http://www.harnerknives.com/wp-conte...ir-x200x-2.jpg
I picked up the radioshack special today. had a lot of trouble figuring out how to keep the blade flat and not moving and how to maneuver with the plastic guard on the microscope.
This thread just keeps on giving.
So gents, I am looking for something inexpensive, but better than the $10 Radioshack version. Under $50 is good. I was looking at some of those eye loupes from Bausch & Lomb, but what Lynn said about them makes me rethink that route (they're pretty expensive). Any suggestions? I think 40x or 60x would suffice for my purposes. For now...
I have 30x and 200x USB scope and I have a 10X BelOMO eye loupe.
The BelOMO is about $30 on Amazon.com and is equivalent in quality to the B&L or Nikon scopes that cost an arm and a leg.
I find I can see all I need with the 10X loupe.
The conclusion I have come to is that whilst the magnification is interesting, it still doesn't tell me if the razor is going to give a comfortable shave. I think my thumb does a better job. When the edge feels sticky sharp it always gives a good shave and I only ever feel that sticky feeling after stropping.
Being a pro tattoo artist I have to check needles for defects in the points. I have eye loupes in 14, 20 and 30X. I also have an old B&L stereo microscope in 30x. I find 30 very good for checking edges for damage when I first get them and for the progress I am making in setting a bevel or in general honing.
For anyone thinking of buying one...
You can use a lens from a SLR camera as a loupe. Hold it as if it was pointing at you to take a photo and put the object you want to look at on the other (film) side. The lens optics are designed to work this way so you get a very clear image.
You can probably buy 50mm f/1.8 manual focus lenses for next to nothing on ebay now. And of course you don't need them to be fully functional, as long as the glass is good.
Kaptain Zero turned me on to Widget Supply here.