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- Aug 21, 2009
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The purpose of this thread is to discuss the use of magnification when sharpening knives.
The sense of touch is probably most important attribute that we use when sharpening knives, however there is no denying the help our eyes lend us when we are trying to achieve a scary sharp edge.
In the past, I have used a jeweler's loop to check my edges and that worked relatively well. The problem with the loop is that the magnification is not that high, the lighting is always hard to figure out, and you have to hold the lens at the right height to get a clear image.
This last week I found something much better than a jeweler's loop IMHO.
It is called a "currency detection microscope." The one that I found was portable and only about twice the size of a jewelers loop. It was larger mainly because it had two pieces. A 60x microscope and a LED/ UV light that was attached by a shared pivot point.
All you have to do is turn the light on and press the lens up against the object that you want to magnify. This solves all the shortcomings I found with the jewelers loop. It magnifies at a higher level of 60x, it illuminates the object perfectly, and you don't have to adjust the distance of the lens to focus the object. The microscope is set to focus by pressing an object against it. It is totally idiot proof. If you only have a jeweler's loop, I recommend checking out one of these portable currency detection microscopes. :thumbup:
I am sure that Im not the first knifenut to use one of these. I am curious what everyone thinks about them, what you all prefer to use for magnification, etc.
Bonus points for electron microscopes and pictures.
Thanks in advance for your responses!
-Max
The sense of touch is probably most important attribute that we use when sharpening knives, however there is no denying the help our eyes lend us when we are trying to achieve a scary sharp edge.
In the past, I have used a jeweler's loop to check my edges and that worked relatively well. The problem with the loop is that the magnification is not that high, the lighting is always hard to figure out, and you have to hold the lens at the right height to get a clear image.
This last week I found something much better than a jeweler's loop IMHO.
It is called a "currency detection microscope." The one that I found was portable and only about twice the size of a jewelers loop. It was larger mainly because it had two pieces. A 60x microscope and a LED/ UV light that was attached by a shared pivot point.
All you have to do is turn the light on and press the lens up against the object that you want to magnify. This solves all the shortcomings I found with the jewelers loop. It magnifies at a higher level of 60x, it illuminates the object perfectly, and you don't have to adjust the distance of the lens to focus the object. The microscope is set to focus by pressing an object against it. It is totally idiot proof. If you only have a jeweler's loop, I recommend checking out one of these portable currency detection microscopes. :thumbup:
I am sure that Im not the first knifenut to use one of these. I am curious what everyone thinks about them, what you all prefer to use for magnification, etc.
Bonus points for electron microscopes and pictures.
Thanks in advance for your responses!
-Max
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