USB Microscope as an aid in sharpening on your WEP

[tcmeyer]

I just posted this video on Youtube to demonstrate how I use my USB ‘scope to monitor my progress in the sharpening process.

A couple of points that weren’t made in the video
:
My Celestron lets you capture images with a on-screen button using your mouse, or with a button located in the camera’s cable. That same pod contains a potentiometer to control the LED brightness.

The display monitor shows the full width of the image, but crops the top and bottom to display the widescreen image. If you save a captured image, that image will be the full 4-wide X 3-high format.

The image you see in the video shows an area 8mm wide by about 4.5mm high at about 50X power. If you select widescreen mode, the image is enlarged to about 60X power, and the area grows vertically to 6mm.

If the blade is fairly long and there is a very small defect at a particular point, I will usually mark the side of the blade with a Sharpie to guide me directly to the defect without having to search for it.

The software that comes with these cameras also lets you save videos. I have used this where I wanted to show the owner what the damage was before and after. Scans up and down the edges on both sides are really an eye-opener for the owners (customers) as the motion help them to understand what they’re looking at. I’ve supplied video files to owners via e-mail or on a thumb drive. I think they like to show it off to their buddies. I like the fact that it shows them how bad their hand-sharpening skills are.

I’ve found that the usability of any given camera depends largely on the precision of the thumbwheel magnification or focus mechanism. A loose fit between the lens and the helical cam or between the thumbwheel and the housing will make it hard to find exact focus, or allow the focus to drift. The Celestron has a tight construction. At first I found it annoying; now I appreciate it. All of the cameras I’ve played with have VERY shallow depth of field. The higher the magnification, the shallower the depth of field. The less depth of field, the harder it is to visualize the object you are looking at.

There was some loss of resolution when Youtube processed the 720p video. I recommend going to full screen.

[Montana Edge]

Hey – I bought my Celestron awhile back because of your endorsement. Your endorsement and your remarks were spot-on and I thank you for that. For this magnification and construction – the Celestron seems like a fantastic value and the price point was right where I needed it. I’ve never compared it to another scope like you have, but I’ll just trust you and stay with my Celestron until maybe someday I decide to go bigger on magnification. For now this is a really great scope and software and fits the bill nicely. Thanks again.

[Josh]

Thanks for the pointers Tom!

I think celestron is a step up from dino lite myself…

[Aaron kimpton]

MIne is a bit different, it is a stereo microscope with USB camera in one eye piece. It allows for 10x,20x,40x,80x magnification. The microscope also comes with software for the cammera. It can measure distance between points, lines drawn. Etc. It has a few image editing options, decent batch processing options. The down side is that you have to remove the knife from the WE to photograph the it. That is why I use a small magnification 60-100x lighted loupe for when the knife is mounted in the WE.

[CliffCurry]

Thanks Tom for taking the time to do such a video. I’m sure people will find it a valuable tool as did I. The thing you said that struck me was something about so much wasted time… Either by having to backtrack and redo or by possible sitting there overdoing areas that are ok.

Even after doing this a fair little bit I was shocked to once “see” a whisper thin edge of sharpie marker on the apex that was totally being missed as I progressed… Noone likes that feeling. Grrrr :angry:

[Manny]

I was wondering if they make a USB microscope for a ipad? I guess you would need to download a app I looked around with no luck. Anyone know of anything that might work? If would be great for me to lug around. Thanks

[tcmeyer]

Don’t know about the microscope, but I’ve got one of those thermal imaging cameras that plugs into the USB mini port on my Android.

I’ve seen some pretty impressive photos taken by guys here on the forum with their i-phones.

[CliffCurry]

I thought I was being all innovative by taking my $5 pocket microscope and rubber banding it to my smartphone…. Then I saw they are actually selling snap on phone cases with the pocket scope pre-glued to the back side. Hahaha

It actually worked good enough for inspection with the variable zoom and auto focus built into the camera. Hard but not impossible to snap clear shots, just hold still and brace if can. I prefer the one with focus knob on the side, this style here is focused by adjusting the tube length and if you push it to hard against the blade it goes out of focus easy.

Similar to this:

Attachments:

• brando-60x-microscope.jpeg

[Josh]

Dude that is sweet Cliff!

Man, so how about I experienced first hand the “time saving” issue last night… I had reground this hinderer after acid etching stonewashing it and then he wanted a mirror edge. Well as you can see it is a nice thin, well cutting edge (if you are going to do a full mirror edge make it right lol) at 16 dps. Well after I got all done and it was passing HHT3 I ended up seeing one little chip that i didn’t get to the bottom of during the destress phase!! had to go all the way back through the progression 🙁 fortunately it only took about 15 min or so; because the edge is so thin it doesn’t take much time.

[Zamfir]

Swiffer!!!

Ingenious!!

Great Video I done learned stuff.. Thanks Buddy!

[Montana Edge]

Here’s another $10.00 currency magnifier that clips onto a smartphone rather than the case like Cliff’s photo. It breaks down into a little case. Handy to keep close by when on the move… This one sits in my truck for a quick look at knives here and there. I run a smartphone app called Magnifier, but it works just fine through the stock camera too.

Attachments:

• mag2.jpg
• mag1.jpg
• mag3.jpg

[tcmeyer]

That little black pouch that comes with the $2.81 currency magnifier? My 73-yr-old wife wanted to know if I kept condoms in it. Geez, I hope she was joking.

[Zamfir]

Maybe….maybe not! Kitchen pass Tom. :silly:

[Manny]

Ok guys did some more digging and found this https://www.bodelin.com/proscope/proscope-mobile. Opinions would be appreciated as it’s a bit expensive,let me know what you guys think. I’m just Worried of the quality of image compared to the USB connection.

[tcmeyer]

I watched the video & was really impressed with how easily he was able to focus. The forward end of the camera, which holds the lens, is changeable for higher magnifications. It has the 5MP sensor and all, but is only compatible with Apple stuff, which is a non-starter for me. Buy an Apple laptop to use only as a USB driver? Maybe there are some oldies out there available for cheap.

Found it available for $240 on Amazon. Don’t know what replacement lens’s cost. They go up to 1000X.

[Author]

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