This is my first attempt at photographing hook points under a 50 power microscope (Nikon SMZ645). I thought it would be interesting.....

 

These are 5/0 wide gap worm hooks......Gamakatsu, Owner, Trokar, VMC

Good stuff man.  Are you taking requests??? Love a shot of an owner st-41 to compare to the trokars.

These are the only hooks I have. I'd be glad to take pics of any hook point but I'd need the hook (obviously). If there is interest, send me one hook with information about it and I'll snap the pics, and return the hook.....

Now what you need are pics of those same hooks after considerable use.  I have a feeling those would just show to you and us, that sharpening or replacing hooks is a sound practice (if you post them).

Pretty cool, thanks for sharing

For fear of embarrassing myself, this hook I used the last 2 trips out. Although beat up visually, it still felt sharp to the touch although not as sharp as it should be. Footnote - I crush the barbs to facillitate catch & release....

Another.....

nice pics. i’ve always like using the “thumbnail stick” test for hook sharpness. 

Please oh please dear God send them some warm days...

Neat stuff  

That Trokar hook looks like a sword. Nice pics.

Here I used an Eze-Lap hook sharpener  to sharpen the hook point. It passed the finger nail test. I'm going to experiment with finer grits and see how that looks...

Pretty cool man

Love seeing this, I hope you continue and look at other brands too, I would like to see how Berkley Fusion hooks look!

46 minutes ago, bkohlman said:

Love seeing this, I hope you continue and look at other brands too, I would like to see how Berkley Fusion hooks look!

Second vote for this. I am liking the Berkley Fusion hooks. I like the low price and quality seems to be decent.

I'll look for thr Berkley Fusion hooks. My original intent was to present in picture form the various types of hook points but I've found myself being drawn in a slightly different direction. I'll be looking into various types of hook sharpeners and the results that they produce. Admittedly, I'm OCD when it comes to any of my interests but I've learned (regarding fishing) that it's one's attention to detail that often.that dictates whether you land the fish of a lifetime or drop it.

 

I'm waiting for several types of hook sharpeners to arrive and see how well they work. I'm really excited about the Razors Edge hook sharpening system. It's a "bench" type of sharpener so it wouldn't be taken out on the water but it uses the same method that is employed to sharpen surgical needles. I wish there was a method of testing sharpness that would yield quantifiable results for easy comparison. So far I haven't found one. 

 

I'll still be snapping pics of different hooks as I come across them.......

Cool stuff! I looked at some a long time back with my childhood toy microscope and it was interesting looking at some close up. I had checked out some cheap brand that I was hoping were decent and looking at the hook points really close like that opened my eyes when I compared to some Owners I had. It was night and day difference. 

I'm learning a great deal with this endevour and having a lot of fun as well.......

 

The microscope I'm using is a Nikon SMZ645 and as I understand it from instruction manual, it's 8-50x total magnification. The microscope was previously used by an aviation manufacturer to inspect parts. The real tricky part is to get the camera (Canon A1300) I'm using in the proper position AND hold it steady......

VMC Heavy Duty Wide Gap 5/0

Take picture of a new needle for comparison.

Tom

PS, it's blowing 30-50 mph today.

Getting hold of a new hypodermic needle might be tough.  I'll have to ask my vet if he can part with one....

Is it just me or is that VMC the sharpest point of them all?

Yes, the VMC hook looks to have the finer hook point and the finish is visually better than the others.

Wow, some really interesting pictures here! I wonder if I could get some hooks into the bio labs here on campus and check em out!

23 hours ago, Crow Horse said:

Getting hold of a new hypodermic needle might be tough.  I'll have to ask my vet if he can part with one....

Sewing needle, hypodermic are hollow.

Tom