So what can you get for $20? I wasn’t prepared to be overwhelmed with the results. I was prepared to start modifying the plastic housing to find the maximum zoomed focal point up inside the shroud.
For my test subject I used a penny, mostly because it had an interesting image at the center and it fit up inside the clear plastic collar. I did end up with a stack of pennies 5 high, about a 1/4 inch up inside the clear plastic. Lucky I kept playing around. I was so prepared to grind down the clear plastic shroud I almost missed the higher zoom focal point almost down at the far end…right where it should be! 
Here is my first test results, I will post more pics soon on actual knives and hope to show a variety of combo grinds as I go if possible.:
1st - Camera 3-4in above object
2nd - Low magnification at bottom of shroud
3rd - Minimum focal distance. 5 pennies stacked up inside shroud.
4th - Maximum zoom in focal distance back at bottom of shroud.
Its a rainy Saturday, so will try to get this setup into the Bat Cave(aka broom closet) for some real world pics of knife edges later today. Overall I am more then happy so far for the $20 spent and even more surprised that no modifications were needed to improve it. Hmmm, wonder what it would look like on a 50in TV? :whistle:
But it’s true that these very cheap scopes can show us a whole lot about our edges. My problem is that I need to take the knife out of the WEP and lie it down and use my up/down microscope stand to get the best x500 view of my edge. What I need, and haven’t found yet, is a tripod stand which will let me see the edge in situ.
