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 -  Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Calibration off by a factor of ten…
Reviewed By: Bob Blaylock 
  Not a full review yet, as I still have yet to master the use of this device, or to make enough use of it to make any judgement of it.   I do, however, have one quibble needing to be voiced.   I was wondering about the calibration of the knob as far as the thickness of slices produced.  It wasn't until after I had made some crude measurements in a number of different ways, that I thought to read the instructions, where I found it claimed that “Each mark on the microtome is a 1 micron increment”.   My own measurements show this to be off by a factor of ten.  Ten rotations of the knob moves it by about five millimeters, so each rotation of the knob moves it by 0.5 of a millimeter, or 500 microns.  There are 50 ticks on the knob to each rotation. 50 ticks to 500 microns means that each tick is ten (10) microns, and not, as the instruction sheet claims, one (1) micron.   It also seems worthy of mention that the included miniature box cutter doesn't really seem to be the right sort of knife to use with this.  I think a full-sized box cutter would work considerably better.  I shall have to try other sorts of blades as well to see what produces the best results.  “Frank” mentions using a straight razor; I've never handled one, but I imagine that it would probably be an excellent sort of knife to use with this device. [Home Science Tools adds: Thanks, Bob, for pointing out that this microtome does measure in 10 micron increments. We will update the product instructions accordingly.]

 -  Friday, July 17, 2009
Good Unit
Reviewed By: Steve 
I bought two of these for my students to use. Not a bad product for students. Good quality, however the clamp freely moves up and down so I found the clamp screw needs to be held down with one hand as the other is cutting. Results were good. Worth the $34.95, but if you are looking for more professional results this one is not for you.

 -  Saturday, April 11, 2009
Finally!
Reviewed By: Frank 
I finally found a microtome that I could afford. This thing is really slick. I am cutting sections on the order of 5 microns using an old straight razor that I purchased for a nominal fee from my barber. I did need to polish the lip around the hole in the glass table to provide a smooth cut for the razor. Otherwise, a great tool.

 -  Thursday, February 05, 2009
Must Have
Reviewed By: thenaturalist 
If you're going to get a slide making kit, you must get this nifty device. You just really want to see the inside of that plant stem, but your kitchen knife keeps crushing the stalk, and ruining your sample. Plus, it can't cut thin enough sections. Solution: Microtome. The only problem with this tiny contraption is, well, it is so convenient, that it will go with you on any walk or field trip.