I bought a Digital Blue QX5, but it leaves a lot to be desired. What make and model is being used themost these days???
Thanks,
Lee
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I bought a Digital Blue QX5, but it leaves a lot to be desired. What make and model is being used themost these days???
Thanks,
Lee
I'm with you Lee. I bought one and it works "OK", but I think I will buy one with beter optics, etc. Uthed has some cool scopes and is very knowledgeable, but he has not posted in a while. Try searching his old posts.
I've got the $10 radio shack for now...more imprtant things to invest in at the moment!
RT
I use a $5 30X handheld microscope with a built in light. It does everything
I want except connect to a computer. The brand name is Micronta.
This is the one I have too. Seems to do the trick for being able to see nicks and imperfections. It takes a while to get used to the reversed image thing, but hey, doesn't everything in this hobby?? :shrug:Quote:
Originally Posted by rtaylor61
It was easier to learn than "cross-shaving". I can't use my left hand for anything except clicking a mouse!Quote:
Originally Posted by cudahogs
RT
For a quick check I use a Zeiss handlens which has 34x. Its good to see any nicks in the blade but for detail I have a Nikon Stereo Microscope which only maxes out at about 80x but provides detail in spades. Its probably overkill for razor observations and I wouldn't spend that much for one but I've had it for 30 years having used it in my rockhounding days.
I also use the $10 Radio Shack special. I can see the imperfections in the edge, that's all I'm interested in. Keep fresh batteries in it though, they go down gradually and you don't notice until you have a headache. .....Jeff
I have one of those ebay Stereo S/ST Microscopes with 20x 40x 80x lenses. It is very nice, but not always the bottom line on a shavable edge. It is nice to see what we talk about in here although personally the 200x doesn't tell me much for day to day. Probably because I am not as technically oriented or educated as alot of our members. I didn't even buy this Microscope until I had already honed about 3,000 razors. I still believe that you can see most of what you need with a simple magnifying glass and testing the razor shaving. They are fun though, although I probably haven't used mine more than a couple dozen times in the past two years. Like so many innovations we have seen over the last 5 years, there is much debate here. I am glad I have one though. Lynn
I have a QX5 and the radioshack. I mostly use the radioshack. I was hoping to use the QX5 for some studies, but its resolution is just not good enough.
I really wanted to see the microserrations and how they change when you work on a razor. It looks to like it would probably take 1000x with good resolution to do that. I can still learn a lot with the QX5, and I like that I can take and store pictures to study later. The focusing and lighting issues are a challenge.
I've definitely found a connection between keenness and edge smoothness at 100x. The keen edges are always smooth, but the smooth edges are not always keen. I suspect there's something going on with the microserrations that I can't see at the resolutions and magnifications available.
I have just watched episode (No. 32) of Mythbusters on the Discovery channel, and they were putting the myth of the pyramides on test. Tory puts his face on the line for this myth by shaving each day with two razors - one kept in a pyramid, and one kept out of the pyramid. He shaves the right side of his face with the pyramid razor, and the left side with the other. Ofcourse, at the end, they were both dull the same amount, and they viewed the razors under electrone microscope with (IIRC) 12000 power. The pics were awesome, showing details I have never seen before. The edges looked like they were made from dry grass(?) bunched together...
Probably just needed to be stropped...lol. Where is my spare honing pyramid anyway?
Thanks Joe, you always present interesting, pertinent points.
Do you think the QX5 would be good enough to show a wire edge, nicks to the edge, two bevels on an edge, rust craters on a bevel and the differences in scratch patterns between a 1000,4000,8000 and 12000 grit hone?
In other words, if we want to put together a file for the newb's showing these items will the QX5 do the job?
Thanks,:)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Lerch
It should be good enough to show everything but the different scratch patterns. You'll need to play with the focus and lighting, though.Quote:
Originally Posted by randydance062449
The QX5 shows a scale in which 200 microns occupy about 1.5", so 20 microns occupies about 1/8". 4K is 6 microns and 8K is 3 microns so you can see that the spacings are getting into a range where you won't see a difference. Since your photos would be even smaller I don't think there's much of a chance of getting useful results with 200x. If you had good resolution you could blow it up, but QX5 really doesn't.
On the other hand if your bevel is about .5mm, it would occupy 2-3 inches in a full screen photo, so you have plenty of magnification to illustrate the edge effects you mentioned.
Thanks Joe!:)