Printable View
All this talk of fixing a damaged blade has me thinking
What microscope is good to use for this work
I am interested in learning to restore Straight Razors
Mostly for my own experience not for resale
I have a Henckels 4/8 with a small chip in the blade
I would like to make it my fist restore project
Thanks in advance for any advice or tips
Rick
It really depends how much you want to see. A $5 loupe would give you good idea of the major microchips, though if you want to see the difference between edges honed with 8000 and12 grit hones you'll need a microscope with high quality optics.
BTW, I am splitting your question in its own thread since it's off topic.
Sorry about that Gugi
It was a bit off topic
Thanks for pointing it out
I would like to see the bevel clearly
Also need enough magnification to check for pitting and swiss cheese problems
Especially on the shaving edge
I use one like thatQuote:
Originally Posted by RickyBeeroun222
Amazon.com: SE Illuminated Pocket Microscope 30X: Toys & Games
it allows me to see everything that is going on on the bevels and is enough to do work with it.
If I had the option to get a real microscope with quality optics I'd do so in a heartbeat.
Harbor Freight sells the loupes for around $5 (like Gugi said)... That what i use at my honing station to make sure my bevel is smooth.. I would start with that first. I thought I needed a microscope too, until I pulled one of those loupes out..
Thanks for the tip MainamanQuote:
Originally Posted by mainaman
With just a little luck I can find a similar item to that in Australia
Shipping delays at this time are horrendous
6 to 8 weeks for the last 3 things ordered from O/S sellers
Orders were from Europe, Canada, and USA
My only contribution to this thread is that if you are going to use a loupe, the lighted variety work best (at least for me). I have two loupes and the one with the build-in light gets used 99.99% of the time. Also, don't be fooled into thinking you need an expensive loupe. Guess which one of my two loupes cost me the most money? You guessed it -- the one that stays in the drawer most of the time.
Hi Ricky,
I got one from eBay for $0.01 + $7 (odd) shipping from China.
The first one got lost in the post but the replacement they sent works fine for me.
It's a 60x with both white and blue LEDs - just PM me if you would like to borrow it for a while.
Geoff
For 13$ you can get a cheap and very effective scope from radioshack, it has a zoom feature of up to 100x magnification and will show you everthing you need to know.
If there's a jeweller's supply house in Australia, they'll have a 10x triplet "diamond loupe". It won't be cheap, but it will have a fairly flat field, and no "color fringeing".
Like this one:
Bausch & Lomb 10x & 20x Hastings Triplets | National Jeweler's Supplies
or this one:
NJS Hex Hastings Triplet Loupe 21mm 10X | National Jeweler's Supplies
Charles
PS -- A 10x loupe will _not_ show the scratches left by an 8K stone on the bevel. But for checking for "swiss cheese", pitting, chips, etc, it's perfectly adequate.
I've had the same question for a while now - loupe or scope. I'm headed to RadioShack today to see what options they have. I know they have a pocket magnifier like Mainaman shared a link to, but I know everyone talks about their $15 microscope as well. There's a USB lighted microscope on Buy.com for ~$35 that is supposed to be good for this type of use as well.
I think, if I had my time over, I'd go for a 30x lighted loupe - only because it shows more of the edge and you don't need to touch it on the blade
I make do with a good light source and a 10X loupe.
I have a 60x with white and blue light that shows me things so small I'm not sure they even matter. Cost me $2.50 AUD inc freight from China off eBay. I also have a two stage 5x + 5x loupe I ... acquired back in primary school that works pretty well.
Thanks for the kind offer GeoffQuote:
Originally Posted by Havachat45
I would like to give you a call to arrange it
and naturally a meet and greet as well
Are you available in the next few days
I have a few days off work until Friday night
PM me if you like or ring me
Cheers for now
Rick
i have one of the radioshak 60-100x scopes.... it works well... but... you have to be careful or you can damage the edge while looking at it.... and it shows you WAYYY close ups of the edge... maybe too close....
I have a 7.5X el cheapo for the checking up on 'bigger' chips, uneven bevels, pitting and the likes. I can do most of it by eye though, I use this mainly for checking if I saw it right, which I usually do. For edge comparison and close inspection I use a 60-100X handheld microscope with LED-light. I picked it up for around €14, so about $19. Works like a charm, although it took me about 15 minutes to figure out it gave me a mirrored image :p.
But yes, like Paco664 said, these are extreme close-ups for close edge inspection, anything from 5x-30x should be all you really need. It's not rocket science, it's honing.