About the new-age vibes, that's not me, man! It was just an accident of wording. In real life I'm a #^*!ing construction worker.

With good resolution, you can tell a surprising amount at 10x. Monitor your scratch patterns as you hone, watch the edge as you use the razor... Try inspecting the whole edge when you first take the razor out for the day's shave, then strop the razor for that shave and inspect the edge again, then once more after the shave but before cleaning the blade, then after cleaning the blade but before your put-away stropping. That'll give you not only an idea of what your lense can pick up, but also a sense of the wear and tear your razor experiences in normal use.

I know my 10X Hastings can resolve the difference between 4k and 8k scratch patterns; at 12k it just starts to look really shiny and maybe a 20X is called for. At 12k and beyond I don't know if what you'll learn really applies to daily honing; at that point you're more satisfying your curiosity or becoming, for better or for worse, a serious student of your hones. Like, how different are the scratch shapes off your nicest coti when compared to those of the Thuringian someone lent you for a week, that sort of thing. A viable alternative is to have your meds adjusted. ;-) I say that, though it's yet to work for me.