Magnification Devices
- This topic has 13 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 12/29/2016 at 8:54 am by
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I’m interested in this as well. Hopefully those in the know will chime in.
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There have been many posts on this forum about optical devices in all price ranges. It really comes down to what you would like to do with the images the device produces. For some, they just want to see the edge for verification on scratch removal as they move from stone to stone. Others, want to use it check for damage at the end of the blade edge before and after sharpening. Still others are having difficulty seeing the details “in general” and just need a “boost” of magnification to help. While people like me and few other “nuts
” on the forum went “crazy
” and wanted to see
everything. I wanted the ability to produce, save, and capture amazing images/photos and Video for publication on my website and for collaboration with others.I will post some of the other posts written by forum members below including my own. These will give you some ideas and keep you busy for awhile. I like the cheap USB option the best. You can find them on Amazon within your budget.
- Jewelers Loupe or USB Microscope
- Ever wanted to measure and view the edge profile of a knife?
- Extended depth of Field (Image Stacking)
Enjoy!
Eddie Kinlen
M1rror Edge Sharpening Service, LLC
+1(682)777-1622I will post some of the other posts written by forum members below including my own. These will give you some ideas and keep you busy for awhile. I like the cheap USB option the best. You can find them on Amazon within your budget.
- Jewelers Loupe or USB Microscope
- Ever wanted to measure and view the edge profile of a knife?
- Extended depth of Field (Image Stacking)
Enjoy!
Thanks. Interesting, informative reading. I started this thread in an effort to put information under one roof and to assist myself and others in deciding whether or not to go down this road.
I’ve always been utility minded and a properly honed 1500# grit edge certainly gets the job done. While I keep knives and guns clean and maintained, I buy them to cut and shoot. They all have to work for a living and aren’t the least bit babyied.
At this point, a USB scope in the $60.00 range will more than meet my needs.
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I keep forgetting about this. Next to my Digital USB microscope, I love this little 60x magnifier. Because it so small, however, I keep losing it. But the clarity, ease of use, and price ($8.00) are outstanding! (Click here for Amazon)
Eddie Kinlen
M1rror Edge Sharpening Service, LLC
+1(682)777-16224 users thanked author for this post.
At 600x or more magnification you need a true microscope, however, at 400x you can see just about anything you need to see on a knife edge. This is what I have (Radical India $295 Amazon). For image capture, I use a Dino-lite Eye-Piece Camera (Click here). As you can see, the microscope only has one eye-piece. This was perfect for me as I intended to only use a USB camera to view objects on my computer, however, some may wish to have two eye pieces for eye relief while looking through the microscope and not use a USB camera. A “metallurgical” microscope is not the same as a “biological” microscope. A metallurgical microscope allows you to see optically enhanced images of “solid objects” that visible light will not pass through. Here is a video I created earlier this year 2016 which shows some of the objective lens capabilities (View Through the Microscope). Through the same online company (Radical India), I purchased a Dry 100x lens. I am not sure this is needed as Clay uses the Oil lens very well with his microscope. It is just a little messy to use as you must “lube up” the object you plan to view and then make contact with the Oil 100x objective lens to see the object under observation on the stage. I spoke with the vendor (Radical India) last week through e-mail and they also offer a polarized filter for this microscope. This allows one to enhance the image and reduces some of the reflection off of metal objects or other highly reflective objects like the edge of a knife blade. This metallurgical microscope was the least expensive package on the internet at the time and still available at the time of this post. I must have browsed for hours looking for it
. All-in-all, it is a great deal if you are looking to see the smallest of details on a knife edge and do not want to spend $1000.00 (Or More). The quality of my scope is pretty good considering the cost. It is made of a heavy cast metal and all the mechanical parts are solid. I have tried just about everything to come to this conclusion (I have loupe’s of many different magnifications 10x,20x,30x, Cheap and Expensive USB scopes, Pockets Microscope from Carson and Magnifying glasses). Each device has a different purpose, but to see the “edge of the edge” well, you need something more powerful like this scope. WARNING; It’s not easy to use as every movement counts at this magnification. The light poses challenges as our edges are highly reflective. Getting the perfect angle to view the best details is also difficult. Hopefully, this post will help someone else save some time and money or give them a better idea of what they are getting into
.Eddie Kinlen
M1rror Edge Sharpening Service, LLC
+1(682)777-16221 user thanked author for this post.
I can’t post any new photos at the moment as I have sent this microscope home to Texas and I am in the Middle East. I am starting to ship my “stuff” home as I plan to leave in May 2017. My original posts on the subject were months ago, however, you can see what the difference is in my video using a polarization filter and a cheap USB Microscope (Click Here). “Polarization” or polarizing filters just reduce the glare, kind of like the effect seen in polarized sunglasses (Click here for more info (NERD WARNING). A filter like this also increases something called saturation (Brighter colors, deeper black tones). In my observation of Knife edges, polarizing filters allow the observer to see the ridges of the scratches, valleys of dents, and rolled edges easier under magnification. The “glare” normally makes the detail difficult to see under magnification. By reducing it, you get better images. I also have found that changing the image capture quality to “Black and White colors only ” or monochrome helps as well. This just gives you more options to take a good photo or video and is probably not needed by most people, however, if it interests you, give it a shot!
Eddie Kinlen
M1rror Edge Sharpening Service, LLC
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I have no experience with the WiFi microscopes but I do use other WiFi (dashcam and 360 degrees) cameras with my phone and that works well.
I do use one of those cheap USB microscopes with my phone, using a cheap OTG adapter so if your phone supports OTG which most newer phones do, that might be an option for you as well.
The OTG adapters are less than 1 USD for 3 on eBay and that inlcudes shipping.
-Frans
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