What magnifiers for sharpening

H

HotSteel

Joined
May 28, 2010
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466
I've seen some great photos here of knife edges as their owners progressively grind down the edge with finer and finer stones. The very best photos show how the rough striations become increasingly finer, right down to what appears to be a mirror finish.

What magnification and what kinds of magnifiers do you folks use to monitor the edges that closely ?
 
a grade-school magnifying glass already tells me where i missed out on scratches from fine to course sharpening. once i'm in the extra-fine range, a uniform mirror polish will aready suffice.

i can see the second and even third micro-bevels on a disposable razor using a 15x geologist's hand lens but i don't need it when sharpening my knives.
 
Try the veho 400 USB microscope...400x magnification and you can snap photos on your computer. Over at the wicked edge forums there is a lot of research going on using USB microscopes. And the best part is that they're only at round $50
 
The hardest part is lighting, if the camera does not provide correct lighting its a nightmare to take good pictures that actually show detail.

Another issue that becomes confusing is that the digital scopes giving a rating of 400x is really really pushing the limits of reality as far as magnification goes. In other words its probably not that good. Do some research on microscopes and you will find out why.

Besides those small issues I'd say for the price the veho is a good deal, next best thing starts at about $1500
 
Don't skimp. There's a huge difference between a good quality loupe and a cheapo - just like binoculars or telescopes. You're better off with a lower power quality optic, than a higher power cheap one. You'll pick out more detail with a good 8x than with a poor quality 15x. I'm very lucky as I occasionally get the old loupes at work when we buy new ones - every five years or so. Currently I use a 12x - with good lighting this is plenty.
 
razor-edge-knives said:
Try the veho 400 USB microscope...400x magnification and you can snap photos on your computer. Over at the wicked edge forums there is a lot of research going on using USB microscopes. And the best part is that they're only at round $50
Click to expand...

+1. One of the best investments I ever made.:thumbup::thumbup:
 
knifenut1013 said:
The hardest part is lighting, if the camera does not provide correct lighting its a nightmare to take good pictures that actually show detail.

Another issue that becomes confusing is that the digital scopes giving a rating of 400x is really really pushing the limits of reality as far as magnification goes. In other words its probably not that good. Do some research on microscopes and you will find out why.

Besides those small issues I'd say for the price the veho is a good deal, next best thing starts at about $1500
Click to expand...
yeah: you're right... when compared to a metallograph microscope you realize that it is not truly 400x, but still...
It is a good cheap way to look at the edges and see detail for the most part.
 
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