Show me the gear you use to see the edge of the knife

[Jimmy R Jørgensen]

Like the topic say

Show me the gear you use to see the edge of the knife

Do you use a magnifying glass or a microscope or just a good hawk eye look or what?

I use a lamp with a magnifying glass. It helps but not strong enough i think. and not even close to strong enough compared to some of the expamels shown here in forum

Something like this:

[Elden]

http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=1624.msg7091#top

   There may be more threads as well, Jimmy. Do a search for microscope.

[grepper]

Thanks Elden.  I forgot that I posted that.  Looks like I've lost some images when I canceled an account at an old hosting service.

Check out USB microscopes.  They range from about $30 and up.  I currently use:
http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Handheld-Digital-Microscope-Pro/dp/B00CMJ1I08

But there are a lot of them.  Google USB microscopes:
http://www.amscope.com/200x-2mp-8-led-zoom-usb-digital-microscope-endoscope-xp-vista-mac.html?gclid=CJbTuvbF18gCFRApaQodPUoKjQ

http://www.amscope.com/5x-500x-2mp-8-led-zoom-digital-usb-microscope-endoscope-xp-vista-7-8-mac.html?gclid=CIOYgerF18gCFYU9aQodazQGAA

Unless you spend a lot, they are all a little fussy and focusing is a pain especially at higher magnification.  But even the low end ones are fine for checking out the edge of a blade.

Ends up the stand is almost more important than the scope.  My stand is flimsy and it makes focusing problematic.  But it works well enough for occasional use.

[Jimmy R Jørgensen]

http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=1624.msg7091#top

   There may be more threads as well, Jimmy. Do a search for microscope.

Thanks.. but searcing isn't that hot when things you find is so old that links are dead.. i like to see the pictures that peaple posteded of the stuff in question. soo yeah

Asking for your tools from this century

[grepper]

Jimmy,

I had published the post linked to in Elden's helpful and friendly reply.  At some point I canceled an account with an online hosting service I didn't want to use anymore.  Apparently some of the pics I had linked to in that post were lost.  My Apologies.

The pics here:
http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=2376.msg11938#msg11938
http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=2371.msg11668#msg11668
were taken with this USB microscope:
http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Handheld-Digital-Microscope-Pro/dp/B00CMJ1I08

Here are some more examples of microscope magnification:
https://www.bodelin.com/proscope/gallery
https://www.microscopeworld.com/t-microscope_images.aspx
http://www.stealthcopter.com/blog/2010/09/photos-with-my-new-usb-microscope-20x-400x-1-3mp-digital-microscope/

Hope that helps.   Let me know if you have any questions.

Elden, thanks for searching around and finding that post.   I had forgotten I punted it out there! 

[Jimmy R Jørgensen]

Jimmy,

I had published the post linked to in Elden's helpful and friendly reply.  At some point I canceled an account with an online hosting service I didn't want to use anymore.  Apparently some of the pics I had linked to in that post were lost.  My Apologies.

The pics here:
http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=2376.msg11938#msg11938
http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=2371.msg11668#msg11668
were taken with this USB microscope:
http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Handheld-Digital-Microscope-Pro/dp/B00CMJ1I08

Here are some more examples of microscope magnification:
https://www.bodelin.com/proscope/gallery
https://www.microscopeworld.com/t-microscope_images.aspx
http://www.stealthcopter.com/blog/2010/09/photos-with-my-new-usb-microscope-20x-400x-1-3mp-digital-microscope/

Hope that helps.   Let me know if you have any questions.

Elden, thanks for searching around and finding that post.   I had forgotten I punted it out there! 

I have a microscope like the last link in mind. that would be good enouhg for this kind of use?.
http://www.dx.com/p/cs02-usb-powered-50x-500x-digital-microscope-black-silver-253532#.VioZ7PnhCHs

[Elden]

You are welcome, Mark. Sometimes my rememberer kicks in, but other times it becomes a forgetter!
Jimmy, I don't have one. I will let those who do have respond. I think Herman uses a dissecting scope with 40 power magnification. When I worked in a machine shop, we used an inspection scope which I think would have been similar to the dissecting scope. I don't remember its magnification range.

[grepper]

That should do – sort of.  Really inexpensive but it's extremely low resolution – only 640x480.  That's about .3 mp.  You would be better at about 2mp or at least 1mp.  The one that I use is 5mp, but 2mp or on the low side 1mp would suffice.

Also note the system requirements:
WIN XP/ VISTA; WIN 7 32-bit and 64-bit.  Does not support MAC if that is what you have.

I think you can get a 2mp one for only about $10 more.
http://www.dx.com/s/2mp+usb+microscope

Also, from the description, it is not clear to me that the magnification is optical.  It might be digital magnification, (Digital zoom: 5-stage).  You want optical.  Digital is nothing more than zooming in on an image like when you zoom in while viewing an image on your computer.  There may be software interpolation involved in digital zoom – basically data is added to the image by software wizardry to make it look better, but nonetheless digital zoom is not the same as true optical magnification.

[mark1]

Costs $4.99 and makes me look like a mad scientist!

[Jimmy R Jørgensen]

How many times does it magnify it? Mark1

[mark1]

How many times does it magnify it? Mark1

It has flip down lenses and the loupe, so it does 4 different mag levels. This is actually the first time I've looked up the max magnification and it looks pretty small, but in real life the 4.8x really feels like a lot.

1.8x, 2.3x, 3.7x, and 4.8x.

http://www.harborfreight.com/magnifier-head-strap-with-lights-38896.html

[Ken S]

These optical aids are very useful. However, let's not forget the humble thumb feeling a burr. I realize some knives do not raise much burr. that said, frequent feeling for the burr should become intuitive.

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

For those like me who don't always trust the thumb, wiping a rag across the edge in the same direction as you hone causes fibers to snag on the burr. These fibers are easy to see, especially with a magnifier.

[bobl]

I use a watchmakers eyepiece, nice and small and can carry in your apron. no electricity needed. some of the old stuff is best.
Bob The Knife Grinder