Wire Edge Prevention

[SteveG]

How do you orient the microscope; i.e., do you change the angle on that as well, or keep it fixed (and if fixed, then above the edge or to one side)?

I clamp the handle of the knife in a vice and orient the blade almost flat with the apex slightly tilted up by maybe a couple of degrees.  Then focus the scope and don't touch the knife after that. 

If you move the flashlight around in a 360° circle around the blade, from high to low, close to farther away it becomes obvious that lighting is extremely important.  Try putting a diffuser over the light so that the light causes less direct reflection.  Even holding a tissue over the lens will work.  Try different combinations of top light from the microscope and side light from the flashlight.  Try lighting directly opposing the apex of the blade to highlight the burr or flat with the blade from spine to edge to reflect the burr if it s bent to one side.  Experimentation is the key to understanding how lighting effects the image.

Different steels and grinds require different lighting approaches.  I sweat the lighting every time I take an image.  It's always sort of pain in the butt with cheap USB scopes and takes some time with each different knife and image.

Thanks for the tips, I’ll try experimenting with that. I’ve always hand-held the microscope, but your approach makes sense; the scope lighting isn’t ideal.