Thread: Solving a Mystery

Now we're getting somewhere... There's definitely good steel here (in terms of lack of pitting, not necessarily hardness or brittleness).

The edge is still more crumbly than a typical razor.

Originally Posted by HNSB

Now we're getting somewhere... There's definitely good steel here (in terms of lack of pitting, not necessarily hardness or brittleness).

The edge is still more crumbly than a typical razor.

Don't know if they're pic artefacts but seems to be a few small pits to right of centre. Corrosion does seem to have compromised the steel.
I just finished an old Bismarck like this & half expect to go back to the stones after the shave test.

I'm with Oz. It does look like corrosion penetrating the grain lattice. I gotta get a better microscope.

That swiss cheese stuff will kill ya, but it looks reasonably clean now, hopefully no more pits will pop out as you go up the grits.

BTW I like the way the OP asked for new honers and ended up with the pros. Ya just couldnt resist could you!?

Heh. When I posted the OP, I expected this to be simpler than it turned out.
I think I'm going to do more threads like this - I like the way it's evolved.

Mike: can you elaborate on "grain lattice"?

Stepped up a grit, and the edge is really chippy:


I cropped this one a little tighter - it's about 80x.

Noteworthy: The edge at this point will cut arm hair effortlessly.


I think the slightly dark areas near the edge are the remnant hollows of large pits that are mostly gone...

Time to go back down a grit and remove a little more steel.

I've had a few PMs asking about my microscope setup.

What I'm using is overkill for just taking pictures of blades.
I have this stereo microscope: Sharp Stereo Microscope 20X-40X-80X and I have a lens adapter to hook a camera up to one of the eyepieces. A stereo microscope is nice because it lets you see the edge in 3D.
Even with the camera attachment, I still use a tripod to hold the camera in position. This keeps the camera in position so the pictures aren't rotated, and provides more stability for the slow shutter speed.




The more economical option: There are several USB microscopes in the under $30 range, and they do a pretty good job of getting pics of the edge. If you go that route, it's best to come up with some kind of rig to hold the razor, and some fixed lighting to get consistent results.

Congratulations both for the pictures and microscope. I too like checking my razor's bevel through a microscope and I am using one allowing up to 1280x magnification.
It could be I am a little paranoid about this, but, to me, at least 200x, even better 400x, is more useful for inspecting a bevel, in particular the very edge of a bevel.
However, very good job and very good pictures!

I've used microscopes up to 1000x; For me, the stereo microscope is more useful - even with the lower magnification.

I guess you are right as I cannot tell myself: I have never had a stereo microscope!