I Purchased a $13 Microscope from Amazon

Well, the little fella arrived this afternoon (Carson MicroBrite), and first thing I did was check out one of my blade edges. It really isn’t too difficult to focus, but of course the backwards upside-down thing will take some adjusting. I was able to focus down and see some very fine scratches on the bevel, but they’re so uniform I’m assuming they’re the results of sharpening (hasn’t been used since last sharpened). But I didn’t see anything else that resembled a burr or any kind of damage or irregularities. In fact even under magnification the edge looked pretty damn straight from one end to the other. I mean zero defects at about 100x. Granted this particular knife has never been used heavily, but still, it’s not exactly world-class hardware (an old Estwing fixer), and I’m pretty new at this, so I find it hard to believe I did that good a job with a couple of hand sharpening tools and no angle guides. Not that I’m disappointed - the knife slices paper easily (like my cheap-azz Chinese OTF absolutely doesn’t), and it was very cool examining the edge under magnification. Maybe I need to put that shitty Atomic under the microscope next.

So the question is, what exactly am I looking at/looking for? Will a more heavily used blade show more discernible imperfections that I should be looking to smooth out?
 
as a gadgeteer, I was happy to see this topic. I immediately said to myself "I'll get one!". I then saw the picture, and realized it's been sitting on a shelf in my office exam room for years, unused. funny thing is the pleasure in knowing I didn't need to buy it was offset by the disappoinment in not being ABLE to buy it, if that makes sense.

. . . toys.
 
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Danny Linguini said:
Well, the little fella arrived this afternoon (Carson MicroBrite), and first thing I did was check out one of my blade edges. It really isn’t too difficult to focus, but of course the backwards upside-down thing will take some adjusting. I was able to focus down and see some very fine scratches on the bevel, but they’re so uniform I’m assuming they’re the results of sharpening (hasn’t been used since last sharpened). But I didn’t see anything else that resembled a burr or any kind of damage or irregularities. In fact even under magnification the edge looked pretty damn straight from one end to the other. I mean zero defects at about 100x. Granted this particular knife has never been used heavily, but still, it’s not exactly world-class hardware (an old Estwing fixer), and I’m pretty new at this, so I find it hard to believe I did that good a job with a couple of hand sharpening tools and no angle guides. Not that I’m disappointed - the knife slices paper easily (like my cheap-azz Chinese OTF absolutely doesn’t), and it was very cool examining the edge under magnification. Maybe I need to put that shitty Atomic under the microscope next.

So the question is, what exactly am I looking at/looking for? Will a more heavily used blade show more discernible imperfections that I should be looking to smooth out?
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The way I use mine is by resting the device on the blade with the light on the microscope on. As the light shines down the bevel any imperfections will reflect light back. The light won't reflect back on a perfect slope.

If I create a burr with a heavy grit stone I dont even need the microscope part just the light to see it. You should easily be able to feel it too. When you move to fine grits or the strop thats when the microscope is useful because it's tuff to see that tiny wire burr with your naked eye.

You'll have to mess around with it and other lights in the room can affect it. Also, you should note if your knife wasn't properly apexed you may think it's sharp under the microscope but in reality it isn't.

I'm no pro and this thing was only $13. So take it for what you will but, it made a significant difference in my sharpening.
 
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