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#11

General Tormek Questions / Re: Microscope to check burr r...

Last post by RickKrung - February 17, 2026, 11:16:39 PM

I know it might be a bit of a pain but I am wondering how a tethered image from my 25MP Nikon D750 would look on my HD monitor. 25MP allows me to zoom in on details without loss of image quality. I have a nice macro lens that would work well.

One word of caution with the inexpensive USB microscopes is that most are not compatible with your phone last time I looked at them.

Might work, but a lot of bother to set up and occupy space, unless its already set up near your sharpening station.  It may also depend on what you are hoping to do, such as moving the knife bevel along to get a view of more than just a small portion.  I tried looking a knife bevel, but found at that magnification, it was difficult to keep the bevel in the picture - tiny movements are magnified along with the object. 

I have a setup for scanning (copying/digitizing) negatives, slides and prints using a Nikon D780 and a either a Nikkor 60mm or 105mm Macro lens.  Takes great photos, but I would much rather be using the hand microscope I posted about earlier.

Image below shows what I can see and it is easy to travel along the whole length to see what the condition is.  There is a trick/learned process for maintaining focus that involves keeping the clear plastic base in contact with the knife the whole time and tipping the hand microscope to vary the focus point.  Takes up about the space of a cigarette lighter on the workbench. 

#12

Knife Sharpening / Re: How to achieve less than 1...

Last post by John_B - February 17, 2026, 09:13:53 PM

Thermal receipts and weekly ass printed on thin newsprint paper are also good indicators.

Some also use cigarette papers to measure sharpness.

#13

General Tormek Questions / Re: Microscope to check burr r...

Last post by John_B - February 17, 2026, 09:07:54 PM

I know it might be a bit of a pain but I am wondering how a tethered image from my 25MP Nikon D750 would look on my HD monitor. 25MP allows me to zoom in on details without loss of image quality. I have a nice macro lens that would work well.

One word of caution with the inexpensive USB microscopes is that most are not compatible with your phone last time I looked at them.

#14

General Tormek Questions / Re: Microscope to check burr r...

Last post by RickKrung - February 17, 2026, 05:07:49 PM

This has come up a few times in the past.  I tried several USB cameras and still went back to the Kingmas 60X hand microscope.  I have several around my shop for different things that I do.

If you do go with the USB type, I agree with Royale, get one with remote control of focus and magnification, as at high magnification, the slightest vibrations wreak havoc on the projected image. I've learned this recently as I explore the world of close-up and macro photography with digital cameras.

One very informative previous post, by grepper, provides good information.

A feature to look for in a USB camera is the ability to do in-camera focus stacking.  This is very useful for increasing the depth of focus, as at high magnification, the depth of focus of single shots is very narrow and gets more narrow with greater magnification.  A couple of posts regarding focus stacking,

Modified SVM-45 for adjustable offset

Sharpening a Ceramic Knife

#15

General Tormek Questions / Re: Microscope to check burr r...

Last post by Royale - February 17, 2026, 04:31:17 PM

Based on the digital microscope that I use, I'd recommend going for something where the focus/zoom buttons are not on the camera itself. Some models have a wireless remote control, and some have the remote wired.

Bottomline, if you magnify high enough, tiny movements like tapping the buttons on the camera unit creates a heck of a lot of wobble.

Built it lighting on flexible arms are a bonus too. I made a ramp (aka knife holder) using MDF squares glued onto door stoppers, with magnets attached, just to make the knife secondary bevel parallel to the lens, making focus a lot better (at higher magnifications)

#16

General Tormek Questions / Microscope to check burr remov...

Last post by Rossy66 - February 17, 2026, 01:01:23 PM

I currently use some cheap headset style loupes to check that my finished edge is perfect as my old eyes don't work as good as they used to but I have noticed a few YouTubers I follow use microscopes with monitors and I have to say, the image looks great. I was wondering if anyone else uses them and what model do they use as the selection available is huge.

Thanks

#17

Gardening Tools / Re: Approach to sharpening law...

Last post by Rossy66 - February 17, 2026, 12:10:42 PM

I also have researched about balancing the lawnmower after sharpening and there are a number of balancers (I have already ordered one) that helps you balance the blade during the sharpening process. An unbalanced blade can and over time, will damage the shaft and bearings over time so balancing is very important.

#18

Knife Sharpening / Re: Dc-250 - Df-250 - Sg-250?

Last post by Swemek - February 17, 2026, 11:24:34 AM

One overlooked solution is to make the final pass or two with your DF-250 with VERY light pressure. This is demonstrated in the online class covering the T2, but can be applied to any Tormek. This is very fast, not involving any wheel changing. It is also very cost efficient, as no extra expense is involved. It gently transfers the initial honing from the leather wheel to the grinding wheel.

Ken

Thats interesting, since I read somewhere that a quick light pressure pass on df-250 would minimize the burr. Maybe it was one of your posts in fact. It's a part of my routine however.

I think many users worry unnecessarily about consuming the SG-250. When I have knives that need more material removed I do not hesitate in using the coarse side of the grading stone. I also in the camp that trues the stone fairly often rather than letting it go and removing a lot of material less often. Unless you are using a dial indicator to measure runout it is often hard to detect an out of round condition.

When chasing the sharpest edge I personally look at whose knife it is that I am sharpening. It is not too difficult to obtain an edge that is better than almost every out of the box knife. This can be achieved with the SG-250 and leather wheel. For my knives and a couple of customers I will use a second leather wheel with 1µ diamonds. I also look at the time required to change wheels to a progressively finer grit when doing multiple knives when few appreciate the knifes sharpness beyond out of the box.

Since I got the diamond wheels I have found new use of the SG-wheels. But when I only had the original wheels. I also trued sg-250 often and many times to make sg-250 aggressive and to remove steel as quick as possible. I sharpen a bit of axes for people, sometimes I true before and after.

So it makes sense, I do have two SG-250 one that I true often and I got a very good deal on two diamond wheels and then I had already invested in a new SG-250, which I now use as final step.

Many times DE-250 (grit 600) is the final step

The DE is 1000 grit.

Is there any practical or theoretical pros with using diamond (or CBN) as the last step of sharpening super steel's like m390, rather than traditional aluminium oxide stone?

Your abrasive needs to be harder (MOHS) than your steel or you will simply glaze your wheel. This is the process whereby the sharpening process rounds over your grit and leaves it blunt, thus making the wheel less effective and deforming rather than scratching the steel. I am assuming that you are dressing the SG otherwise you are leaving it glazed and not working efficiently.

I meant DF-250. I do not own EF-250.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. But do you mean that aluminum oxide won't cut mentioned steels? Thats not my experience. In this case, and since I have no way to measure the results, like Bess device, it is easy to see that that Sg-250 which never been dressed other the finest grit possible get gives the bevel a very different finish, rather than using DF-250 as the final stone. What I don't know is if the SG-250 as described actually makes the knife sharper or gives it better edge retention.

My philosophy is to use just enough steps and as few passes as possible, thinking to many passes and steps grit-wise also can lead to errors that gives a worse result.


Maybe I am missing something or using wrong terms in my fist post.

This thread a bit splitting hairs, since the results I get DC and DF-250 with any steel I have sharpen this far gives me fantastic results and on very short time.

#19

Knife Sharpening / Re: How to achieve less than 1...

Last post by Andy - February 17, 2026, 08:36:55 AM

Thanks, Dan.
I don't have access to the photo on that site.

#20

Gardening Tools / Re: Approach to sharpening law...

Last post by Royale - February 17, 2026, 05:09:51 AM

I think something to consider when sharpening things designed to spin, is the balance of it.

I've never sharpened lawnmower blades before, but I have sharpened a giant 35cm deli meat slicer blade. I was very mindful to keep the sharpening as even as possible around the entire circumference, and waiting on any complaints/feedback from the customer.