Post your coolest microscope images

[eKretz]

So I noticed in the threads where microscope images are posted there always seem to be a lot of appreciative comments, thought it would be nice to have a thread for those who appreciate seeing edge micrographs. I'll start things off with this image of a Feather AC Pro straight razor blade I took yesterday. The damaged section is about 230μ (0.009") wide. And Todd, I already expect to be shown up by you, lol.

Edit to add: Good point, my microscope is an Olympus Vanox AHMT. The image was taken using DIC, or differential interference contrast. Optical magnification is about 480x but the image was cropped a bit.

 

[Mister Coffee]

Great pic.

I'd like to know what microscopes you're using, as well. I just bought a mini microscope on Amazon for $11.00, and I'm shocked — shocked, I tell you — to find that it's a piece of crap.

 

[Diemaker]

Ooooooohhh, that certainly gives me microscope envy!

 

[Mister Coffee]

E eKretz I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that that costs more than $11.00.

 

[eKretz]

E eKretz I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that that costs more than $11.00.

Yes, a little bit. I don't know what the average selling price is these days, but when new it was well into the $2x,xxx range at least, certainly. It's an oldie now though, from the late 80's or early 90's. Also weighs over 100 pounds. It's a beast.

 

[cudgee]

Great idea for a thread. Looking at edges under magnification is a great way to learn.

 

[cudgee]

Great pic.

I'd like to know what microscopes you're using, as well. I just bought a mini microscope on Amazon for $11.00, and I'm shocked — shocked, I tell you — to find that it's a piece of crap.

I do not know what you purchased, but i got a hand held one off the big river site for $20 and it is fantastic. Message me if you are interested.

 

[Mister Coffee]

I do not know what you purchased, but i got a hand held one off the big river site for $20 and it is fantastic. Message me if you are interested.

I'll feature my microscope in my next "new knife" thread. Stay tuned.

eKretz's picture is truly amazing. This is going to be a fun thread.

 

[sickpuppy1]

Yeah, that really makes my jewelers loupe look like a booger,,,,

 

[cudgee]

Yeah, that really makes my jewelers loupe look like a booger,,,,

 

[000Robert]

I think that this is the coolest photo that I have taken so far - and it wasn't easy. I took it with my AmScope. It is the Index and Pawl Jewels on the Index Wheel of a Bulova Accutron 2182 wrist watch movement.

 

[eKretz]

Here is another, this is at 500x, slightly cropped again to square things up. This is just one of my beater knives used for miscellaneous tasks at the workbench. It's a Victorinox Swiss Army knife, freehand sharpened to I don't remember what. Would have been stropped afterward, probably on chromium oxide.

Wide shot

Little tighter

 

[cudgee]

Here is another, this is at 500x, slightly cropped again to square things up. This is just one of my beater knives used for miscellaneous tasks at the workbench. It's a Victorinox Swiss Army knife, freehamd sharpened to I don't remember what. Would have been stropped afterward, probably on chromium oxide.

Wide shot

Little tighter

Great shot.

 

[eKretz]

I think that this is the coolest photo that I have taken so far - and it wasn't easy. I took it with my AmScope. It is the Index and Pawl Jewels on the Index Wheel of a Bulova Accutron 2182 wrist watch movement.

View attachment 1627502

Have you ever seen a jewel under polarized light? They glow! I'll try to remember to get a shot of one and add it.

 

[eKretz]

So here are a quick few shots of an old watch that has been sitting around gathering dust. (Forewarning, it's filthy!) This will demo a few different lighting techniques. Missed focus on a couple of these but you get the idea. The polarized one shows the glow I was taking about. These are 50x.

Brightfield

Brightfield Polarized

Darkfield

DIC

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

These images below were by far the most useful and informative for me personally, when I first looked at them. I've posted these before here - they're pics of a burr (wire edge, foil edge) I worked up with some heavy grinding on a medium Spyderco bench stone while sharpening a Victorinox paring knife. I did all this pretty deliberately to illustrate to myself my perception of how certain low-alloy stainless steels are prone to burring on ceramic hones. It confirmed in the pics what I'd suspected - that this combination of steel vs. ceramic can generate some very fine, flimsy and tenaciously ductile burrs, which can be difficult to remove by stropping alone. In the highest-magnification image, some of the green compound-tinted cork I used to strop the blade can be seen scattered along and adjacent to the blade's edge. Still didn't work all the burr off, stropping that way. And the highest-mag image also shows the 'crumpled' appearance of what I view as a definitive picture of a so-called 'foil edge'. That alone was an eye-popping epiphany for me, in apparently seeing how the term 'foil edge' might've been coined.

 

[000Robert]

Have you ever seen a jewel under polarized light? They glow! I'll try to remember to get a shot of one and add it.

No. That would be great - can't wait to see it.

 

[cudgee]

These images below were by far the most useful and informative for me personally, when I first looked at them. I've posted these before here - they're pics of a burr (wire edge, foil edge) I worked up with some heavy grinding on a medium Spyderco bench stone while sharpening a Victorinox paring knife. I did all this pretty deliberately to illustrate to myself my perception of how certain low-alloy stainless steels are prone to burring on ceramic hones. It confirmed in the pics what I'd suspected - that this combination of steel vs. ceramic can generate some very fine, flimsy and tenaciously ductile burrs, which can be difficult to remove by stropping alone. In the highest-magnification image, some of the green compound-tinted cork I used to strop the blade can be seen scattered along and adjacent to the blade's edge. Still didn't work all the burr off, stropping that way. And the highest-mag image also shows the 'crumpled' appearance of what I view as a definitive picture of a so-called 'foil edge'. That alone was an eye-popping epiphany for me, in apparently seeing how the term 'foil edge' might've been coined.

Great shots and perfect examples of what i call a wire edge which appears to sit on top of the bevel edge, these can be really difficult to remove.

 

[eKretz]

Good shots OWE! Here's another example.

 

[cudgee]

Good shots OWE! Here's another example.

Another great example.