Anybody ever play with a microtome sharpener?

[Harry Jensen]

Gents-
Had the good fortune(?) this past weekend of finding a microtome sharpener at a yard sale.
This particular beast has a 6" X 3/4" glass wheel, micrometer adjustable table....just need to fabricate clamps to hold the blade in place.
Anyone ever play with one, and if so, what type of slurry mix do these things take?

TIA,
Harry Jensen

 

[tim wagendorp]

hy,

We have one of these machines at our institute (I work in a foretry research centre). I'll have a look at the products (i know they use 2 different polishing pastes) and will let you know what brands they use. Maybe you can find these products at online shops with scientific instruments ie http://www.coleparmer.com

See you,

tim

 

[Dexter Ewing]

At the medical school where I work, we have tons of these, any lab that has a microtome has one of these sharpening machines. The majority of the ones here involve a glass plate that is the actual sharpening stone per se. The blade is clamped in a fixture that is driven by a motor. Basically, the fixture moves the blade over the glass in a circular pattern for a while and then automatically flips it over to repeat the same on the other side. Pretty neat to watch one run. And yes, there is some sort of paste/slurry used in the process.

 

[Harry Jensen]

The one I got is like a wet grinding wheel...has a trough for the slurry, and the table runs perpindicular to the edge of the wheel..6" glass wheel about 3/4" thick....
Harry

Originally posted by Dexter Ewing
At the medical school where I work, we have tons of these, any lab that has a microtome has one of these sharpening machines. The majority of the ones here involve a glass plate that is the actual sharpening stone per se. The blade is clamped in a fixture that is driven by a motor. Basically, the fixture moves the blade over the glass in a circular pattern for a while and then automatically flips it over to repeat the same on the other side. Pretty neat to watch one run. And yes, there is some sort of paste/slurry used in the process.