Jewelers monocle?

[petesurfer]

Hello, I've just had a silly idea. You know the kind of "monocle" the jewelers use to examine diamonds? Would that be useful when observing a razor's edge? Or doesn't it magnify enough?

[Pete_S]

I use a jewelers loupe alot. I'm sure you could use a monocle if you wished. They come in various magnifications. I think you'd need to be careful with a monocle, though, your face has to be kind of close to what you're looking at.

[JimmyHAD]

I've had good service from this 30x eye loupe here. AFAIK a monocle style loupe won't come in a very high power. Probably not high enough to be of value in assessing a razor's edge.

[Zacsdaddy]

But you'd look really cool wearing it.

It also gives the impression that you know what you're doing.

Zacsdaddy

[ursus]

I'll say, that's a mighty fine eyewear you got there they'll say.

From what I've read, some jewelers use a loupe suggested by jimmy, since it won't distort the perspective as much as a one-lens loupe would do. But on the other hand, jewelers can't lop off their noses with those diamonds of theirs.

[dnjrboy]

I use a 10x loupe for honing. It works pretty good to see what progress I am making on the edge. I have been looking for a 30x for a little while though......

[BingoBango]

I have a two-lens jewelers' loupe. Each lens in 7x, so when you use both it's 14x. I haven't used it for honing yet, but it is big enough to see some really tiny chips and pitting. $5 at an art supply store.

Also, because the loupe has a little larger lens than those really small 10x loupes, I use it with my digital camera to take close up photos of my razors. I just shut off the flash and take the photo under a lamp. Here's are examples where you can see fine details even with a regular point-and-shoot digital camera.

With the 14x, I can see micro-chips on the edge. These photos are with 7x and aren't as magnified.