USB Microscope Recommendation

[les winter]

I'd like to examine my blades, for a bit, to see how I'm doing with my sharpening. I'm hoping some others here do this and can recommend an inexpensive USB microscope. There are so many out there I don't know where to start.

And please: this isn't the beginning of another sharpening thread (although I do enjoy reading them). Just a 'scope recommendation request.

thank you,
Les

[Eric Brown]

I'd like to examine my blades, for a bit, to see how I'm doing with my sharpening. I'm hoping some others here do this and can recommend an inexpensive USB microscope. There are so many out there I don't know where to start.

And please: this isn't the beginning of another sharpening thread (although I do enjoy reading them). Just a 'scope recommendation request.

thank you,
Les

Les, I can't help you select a USB microscope, but I'm thinking you are taking sharpening too seriously. There is really sharp, sharp enough, and a little dull. All will work. I think you will find that a polished surface will scratch the first time you use it, Really sharp also may not last long. You may spend all your time sharpening and not getting anything done. What people forget is that trees bring minerals up from the ground, into the wood. These minerals are abrasive. It will even be different within the same tree. Depends on where the roots are. I would suggest you don't look so close. Just make it sharp enough that it works.

[Rafael Herrera]

I bought one some time ago for about $25 on Amazon. At that price all seem to be made at the same factory, so there's not really a brand that stands out.

What is a good alternative is a jeweller's eye piece. I provides enough magnification to examine an edge on a routine kind of way.

[Frederick Skelly]

What is a good alternative is a jeweller's eye piece. I provides enough magnification to examine an edge on a routine kind of way.

+1. I too, use a jeweler’s loupe.

[Jim Koepke]

Usually testing in paper will indicate any areas that need more work. If the edge is slid across the edge of the paper as it is cutting, the tiny nicks or flat spots on the edge will catch the paper.

Even a small 10X magnifier will reveal a thin line of reflected light where there is a flat along the edge.

jtk

[Chuck Hill]

If you get the USB microscope, get a cheap stand for it too. It is not easy to focus and hold steady by hand.

Or you can skip the visual and go to cutting pressure:
https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Edge-On-Up-C286.aspx?gclid=Cj0KCQiA7bucBhCeARIsAIOwr-_5WrBOeIR3TRQpSfGnGYMqNG5Wsa4Z-bKDJm1pnr4mDRtZz34LfwgaAhoDEALw_wcB

[les winter]

Thanks Eric. Not over thinking, just trying to have a little fun.

[les winter]

Thanks Jim. In my previous life in forensics, the microscope was a good friend. My eyes don't work well with a hand held magnifier.

[Allan Dozier]

Well, I learned something today. I'd never heard of a USB microscope so googled it. Pretty cool invention and quite cheap. I will probably continue to use my circline magnifier but when I have more time I might order one and learn how to use it.

[Rafael Herrera]

They're a sort of usb camera. You need a laptop, tablet or smartphone to view the images. The applications out there are pretty basic and some are frankly really bad.

The image quality is decent enough to see details that are not visible with the naked eye. A stropped edge might look mirror like, but w the usb microscope it will look full of scratches.

Getting an image steady and in focus is also a bit of a challenge with these devices, since they come with a plastic mount and when you adjust the focus wheel, it moves. They need a more sturdy mount to be made to make the observations quickly.

[Jimmy Harris]

Just get the cheapest you can find. It's not something you'll use more than a handful of times, as they're not easy to set up. Plus you'll quickly realize that a microscope isn't much good for checking the sharpness of a blade. Some might look pretty ragged, but in actuality, be really sharp and make clean cuts. And others might look like they're polished to a high sheen with a crisp edge, but still not cut so well. All a microscope will tell you is what kind of metal your blade is made of and how high of a grit you polished the blade to. After you've used the blade, you can see how much is rounding over or chipping off, but's information that using the blade can tell you.

They're fun to use, but really, they're not that useful outside of a curiosity.

[scott lipscomb]

I have used the magnifier function on my iPhone to good effect. Use a block or something as a stand.

[Dave Zellers]

I have used the magnifier function on my iPhone to good effect. Use a block or something as a stand.

BOOM! No need to get loopy.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Loopers untie !

[Mike Henderson]

I bought two of those cheap USB microscopes at different times. They did not work well. The color was way off and the PC app was primitive and hard to use. As far as I was concerned, they were useless. I did have a stand for both of them and the stand is needed.

They were made in China, if I recall correctly. I would like to find a decent one that doesn't cost hundreds of dollars.

Mike

[les winter]

Well, we're on the same trail, Mike.

[Rafael Herrera]

You can't expect much for $25. Bad apps and shaky mounts are not an obstacle to get a useful picture.

It takes some fiddling to get the object under the microscope in focus and the light just right to see the desired details. Once one gets the hang of it, it doesn't take long.

This being metal and reflective does not lend itself to being easy to photograph, but it's not impossible. Whether you're photographing the bevel side or the flat side, it also takes different fiddling to get something useful.

I found some of the pictures I took with mine. I placed a ruler for reference and scale (which I think are the 1/64" marks) in a couple of pictures. I don't remember what I was looking at, but besides the scale and the burr on one of the pictures, these are just sharp edges. It's kind of cool to see the edges up close, but without a plan for what to do with these images there is not much one can benefit from them.

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[Alan Rutherford]

I have both a USB microscope and a jeweler's loupe (14x) and agree that the microscope is overkill for sharpening while the magnifier is very useful. Also a lot more convenient. I haven't used the microscope in a while but for the $100 or so it cost, I think it's great. Mine has a viewing screen or will connect to the PC. It has a stand. It will focus from very close to farther away than the height of the stand, which means you can just hold it over something for an enlarged view. Power goes down as the distance goes up. I gave them to some teenage relatives for Christmas and they were a big hit.

[Rafael Herrera]

Here's another tip. If convenience store reading glasses work for you, getting a pair with 2X or so magnification is useful to check your progress while sharpening. Also, in combination with a jeweler's loupe, you get an extra boost.

[David Carroll]

We have a nice, but older USB microscope at work, that I have commandeered to look at edges that I was sharpening. It was okay. It's pretty high resolution, but the image quality isn't great, despite it being a pretty good one. The reason I bought it was that you can take a photo of whatever you are looking at, which comes in very handy.

I saw today that LV was selling an inexpensive pocket microscope for roughly the price of a round of domestic beer for you and a buddy. It's not USB, just analog, but it is lit with LEDS and given the price point, I might take a chance on that.

I recently bought one of those Optivisors. I now use it all the time! It helps with saw filing, dovetailing, and lot's more. The one I got had a lamp attachment, but the lamp is low power, and not particularly useful, not for me at least. So I would skip that and just set up task lighting.

Now that I'm in my 60s, I find that good lighting, and magnification are a necessity.

DC

[Frederick Skelly]

Lee Valley was advertising this one today: https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/home/office/magnifiers/64257-pocket-microscope?item=45K1612&utm_campaign=469406_Feb27-stafffavorites-All-StevesStaffFavourite-45K1612PocketMicroscope-US&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Lee+Valley&dm_i=6EER%2CA272%2C12Q3MX%2C1G0CH%2C1

[Tom M King]

I never even look at the edge.

[Jim Koepke]

Lee Valley was advertising this one today: https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/home/office/magnifiers/64257-pocket-microscope?item=45K1612&utm_campaign=469406_Feb27-stafffavorites-All-StevesStaffFavourite-45K1612PocketMicroscope-US&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Lee+Valley&dm_i=6EER%2CA272%2C12Q3MX%2C1G0CH%2C1

Only one problem:

516179

If that is September of 2024, that is six months away.

jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

Only one problem:

516179

If that is September of 2024, that is six months away.

jtk

Yeah, looks like I missed that Jim. Dang strange they were advertising it in this week’s email, when it isn’t available for months. Dunno.

[Mike Henderson]

Only one problem:

516179

If that is September of 2024, that is six months away.

jtk

The first batch probably sold out.

Mike

[Bob Jones 5443]

I can’t seem to copy the Amazon link with my iPad, but this little gem has worked well for me when I want to “have a little fun” at the sharpening table:

Carson MicroBrite Plus 60x-120x LED Lighted Pocket Microscope for Kids and Adults, STEM Educational Mini Microscope (MM-300)


In stock, $14.99.

You can’t take photos with it, but how important is that?

[Cameron Wood]

I have an old-school 40x pocket microscope that I use to look at edges occasionally- the size of a stubby ball point pen.

The image is upside down so awkward to use.

[William Fretwell]

I have a good jewellers loupe (10x), a stereo microscope (10-70 times) and of course a microscope. The jewellers loupe is very useful for teaching yourself how to remove burrs etc. The 3D image of the stereoscope is pure luxury at 40x. No squinting, every detail in view.
I would not bother with a USB anything. A good loupe will reveal so much with no hassle.

[Mike Henderson]

The reason for the USB microscope is to take pictures of the subject. Can't do that with a loupe.

Mike