Thread: What microscope is good for fixing damaged edges?

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

Originally Posted by RickyBeeroun222

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 that
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..

Originally Posted by mainaman

I use one like that
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.

Thanks for the tip 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.