Quote from: John_B on May 14, 2026, 09:15:16 PMHere is an interesting video on the family of inexpensive Chinese microscopes. I think he unfairly compares them to a digital camera system and lens that costs several thousand dollars. I own a DSLR with Macro lens and lighting that I can tether to my computer using Adobe software. It works great but it is not practical for a person sharpening multiple knives or trying to run a small business. If you make your money as a content creator it may be a different story.
I like to use a Bausch & Lomb loupe for edge inspection. Cutting a thermal receipt and feeling for resistance changes gives me a pretty good indication if I got the burr removed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K8CtSgXREk
That is an interesting video. I'd be interested in hearing why you think it was an unfair comparison. I also own and use a DSLR/macro lens/lighting/tethering/focus stacking in post-processing tools. I agree it is not practical for someone doing "production" sharpening in real time, however, it could be quite useful for that same person examining edges/burrs during a process of figuring out effective deburring methods that would then get up into practice for the production sharpening process. Even, so, I do not anticipate doing this, mainly because I have an adequate alternative, the Kingmas 60X hand microsope. I also think the video reasonably and accurate demonstrates that the cheap USB cameras really do not deliver on their magnification claims.
As mentioned in a prior post (above), way back, I explored high-end ($1000+) USB cameras that would do in-camera focus stacking, but still found them too fiddly and not worth it compared to the 60x hand microscope. I also think the video acknowledges that the cheap USB cameras can be used, up to a point, to examine edges, but the much cheaper hand loupes are a more reasonable method.