Sharpening under magnification

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mikeltee
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Sharpening under magnification

Post by mikeltee »

I am having trouble detecting a burr. My fingers aren't that sensitive. Its probably from packing bowls all these years and smashing hot cherries down. Regardless, I have a $40 usb microscope and a $140 Celestron USB 5mp microscope and they are both highly inadequate at sighting a burr. I refuse to pay $700-$1200 for the proper dinolite. I also have a nice Swift 350T Compound Britefield Microscope to study critters in my reef rank. I'd like to utilize this. I need to light the stage. I plan to use a 4x objective and 25x eyepiece so I have maximum depth of field. I'll also try 10x-10x.

Has anyone been successful lighting the mechanical stage on a compound microscope? I'd buy a cheap stereo microscope if the price was right.
jmcnelly85
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Re: Sharpening under magnification

Post by jmcnelly85 »

You can rub a q tip or cotton ball on an edge and check for frays and fragments to see if any burr will snag without magnification. I own a loupe but don’t use magnification often, keep using your fingers and develop that skill. Use the bottom of lighter to smash the cherry and your fingers might not die. Fwiw, I have cook hands and my fingers have probably been burned more than most and can still pick up a 5k burr.
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Jeff B
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Re: Sharpening under magnification

Post by Jeff B »

Probably need to raise a better burr too if you're having that much trouble detecting it even with the magnification you already have.
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Miles
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Re: Sharpening under magnification

Post by Miles »

This is good topic. Assuming you’re using a 500-2000 grit stone, Jeff b suggestion of raising a “better burr” is probably the best recommendation. If you go beyond a burr you’ll get something called a “wire edge” and there is no doubt you’ll feel that. It’s like the edge is folded over itself.

I hadn’t thought of the cotton ball or q-tip but that’s good suggestion too. Beyond touch, my kitchen towels snag a bit when I’m drying to feel for burr.

I’ve been messing around with 400-500 grit stones to set my edge and it’s pretty cool. It just seems like my 1k is sharper or something. Burr detection with one of these grits should be detectable even with the most callused fingers.

Im a bit of newbie and my sharpening journey is < 2 yrs old. A lot of my mistakes are still fresh- missing the edge, too much pressure, wire edge, wobbles and uneven sharpening. I hear ya on the problem feeling a burr. Just keep at it and you’ll have little break thrus.
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