Recent posts

#21

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

Last post by Rossy66 - February 18, 2026, 02:55:51 PM

I found this video on a YouTuber I follow and found it really interesting. I think I will invest in one.

https://youtu.be/wBGcfj6-J7Q?si=9domZyoAHvqYgvQr

#22

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

Last post by Dan - February 18, 2026, 08:19:52 AM

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

John, as a native English speaker I have no idea what "weekly ass" is    
I imagine it is lost on Andy and others whose first language is not English.
I am slightly intrigued but not sure I really want to know at the same time   

Danny

#23

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

Last post by RickKrung - February 18, 2026, 01:40:44 AM

...snip...
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.
...snip...

That's a nice setup

Thanks.  In the world of digital camera scanning of negatives & slides, its relatively basic, but quite good enough for my needs.  Pipe stand, Manfroto Super Clamp, Benro 3-way geared tripod head, NISI focusing rail.  Even with all this, it is easy to have errant vibrations that can cause an image to be out of focus.  For instance, the floor in the room where it is, is not all that solid, and while my workbench is, even a little weight shift by me on the floor in front of it all can result in damaging vibrations.

Just to be clear, the image of the knife bevel was not shot with the digital camera. Rather it is what I see through the Kingmas hand microscope.  I don't have any images of knives taken with the digital camera because I just don't bother with it, the Kingmas is much easier and gives me the information I need.

If anyone is interested in more on close-up and macro photography, the absolute best references I've found are the two books by Lester Lefkowitz.  I have gotten rid of everything else. 

#24

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

Last post by Rossy66 - February 18, 2026, 12:31:50 AM

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.

That's a nice setup

#25

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. 

#26

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.

#27

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.

#28

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

#29

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)

#30

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