Thread: Scanning electron microscopy and straights.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Guys..that is at 2000x that's a pretty close-up view of teeeny tiny imperfections!

Yes, but why did such teeny tiny imperfections survive the stropping process?

Verhoeven got lots of cr*p around here for his claim that leather stropping didn't remove the burrs, with guys claiming that this proved he either (a) didn't know how to use an EM or (b) didn't know how to strop. Here we have another case where stropping (surface unknown) did not remove the burrs from the edge.

So are these really burrs left over from honing and surviving multiple shaves and stropping sessions, or are they actually caused by the stropping itself - e.g. are these caused by plastic flow of the steel against the strop?

Inquiring minds want to know...

I'm not sure if imperfections of that size would even fit my defintion of "burrs" though.

Maybe it is leather schmootz left on the edge after stropping?

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Maybe it is leather schmootz left on the edge after stropping?

Enough with the high-falutin' technical jargon already!

Big thanks for the post and pictures. I love the possibilities of what technology can do.

Fantastic learning device!

I am trying to decide which USB digital microscope would be best for looking at my honing skills.

Thanks again.

I don't know why i have to go against your pictures.
sorry to say this but if we sit down and think about what is your experiment it doesn't make a sense to me.( i really hope i am not rude)
Picture size 50x i understand and maybe 200x maximum(this is not good ether) behind this it is just nonsense.
500x means you are looking just 1 point? example " . " Now you are making that point 500 times bigger and seeing cutting edge of the blade?

i have seen cutting edge on 20x ,30x,60x 100x lastly 200x.
I choose 100 is the best option.
200 is so big it just flattens the chips makes straight line.
check it out you will see.
Again i cold be wrong but this is what i think?

Originally Posted by mparker762

AHA! you're just the guy we need!

You sir on the other hand would appear to be in a great position to rectify this situation, as well as resolve a great many long-standing debates on this forum as to exactly what if anything the various leather and canvas sides of the strop actually do and why razors get dull (or fail to get dull in the case of some members), and would receive the everlasting appreciation of your fellow shavers...

That would be interesting. I don't have a canvas strop though.

Originally Posted by mparker762

couple of quick follow-ups:

Did you strop on the canvas side or just the leather side?

What kind of canvas?

What kind of leather?

Cow leather

Originally Posted by matt321

Do you mean this edge has just been honed on a stone and also stropped? What was the finishing hone?

Also, did you strop linen and leather sides or just leather? I see some very flakey burring on the edge in the 2k photo that I would expect the linen to have burnished off.

Honed on a stone up to about 2000-2200 grit and then on a leather strop made for honing and then stropped on smooth leather. That picture is copyrighted you know

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

...Picture size 50x i understand and maybe 200x maximum(this is not good ether) behind this it is just nonsense.
500x means you are looking just 1 point? example " . " Now you are making that point 500 times bigger and seeing cutting edge of the blade?

I choose 100 is the best option.
200 is so big it just flattens the chips makes straight line.
check it out you will see.
Again i cold be wrong but this is what i think?

I'm not sure what you're getting at as your wording is not clear to me, but you are right, it is looking at one single point on the blade.

Let me answer what I think you are saying. I look at it at 2000x to see what level of sharpening I didn't do enough of. The grooves made in the honed face of the edge are about 3-4 microns. Now I know I can go back to a 2-3 micron grit and start from there to get rid of the scratches. I can scan up and down the blade and get a good Idea of the general condition. I am not limited to looking at just the one point. I don't have video hooked up, just a still-frame camera.

Works for me.

Great pics. I love seeing stuff like this even if I'm in no position to comment on it, lol. Thanks!

Tell you what I'll do ...... here is your mission if you choose to accept it ..... I will send you an extra strop I have with horse, latigo and linen. You can strop some razors on it and post before and after pics at whatever resolutions you like. PM your address if this is agreeable to you. Naturally the strop comes back to me when the experimentation is done.