Thread: Microscope Examination

Originally Posted by uthed

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 camera

Greetings David,
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.

Originally Posted by Durf

I just posted some microscope photos under Durfee that show some interesting features of various blades; a blade damaged by misuse, an ebay special that will never be sharpenable due to widespread micropitting, a TI that has been over .5 micron paste a bunch of times, compared to one that was honed by a member and only stropped without paste since, and one of the club razors after its first honing. Next, I think I'll zoom in on my Norton hone and see what I can see.

Let me know if you'd like me to look at anything else. I took some very good measurements but you can't read them on the photos because of the resolution loss. The hair is about 75 microns = 3 mils thick.

Wow!

These pictures are really good! They tell a lot about the different conditions of the edge. What type of microscope and what magnification are you using?

Thanks!

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?

Originally Posted by dgstr8

...
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.

Originally Posted by Sticky

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.

Originally Posted by Durf

I just posted some microscope photos under Durfee that show some interesting features of various blades; a blade damaged by misuse, an ebay special that will never be sharpenable due to widespread micropitting, a TI that has been over .5 micron paste a bunch of times, compared to one that was honed by a member and only stropped without paste since, and one of the club razors after its first honing. Next, I think I'll zoom in on my Norton hone and see what I can see.

Let me know if you'd like me to look at anything else. I took some very good measurements but you can't read them on the photos because of the resolution loss. The hair is about 75 microns = 3 mils thick.

How do I find these photos and view them? Thanks for the help...a bit computer impaired.
Dave

Originally Posted by a-cut-above

How do I find these photos and view them? Thanks for the help...a bit computer impaired.
Dave

If you want to find the photos mentioned click on the original poster's screen name and select "find all posts or threads started by" . Alternatively you can check out these photos in the SRP Wiki here and here.