Thread: Jewellers Loupe

Looking through a loupe makes me loupey as heck.......hahahahah.

They can be tough.

Lynn

Originally Posted by adjustme69

Looking through a loupe makes me loupey as heck.......hahahahah.

They can be tough.

Lynn

That is also true when using a freehand loupe. I use the magnifying glass like this one:



and it makes focusing on the edge easier, as the distance from the object is already preset. Mine is somewhere around 6-8x

Nenad

That looking glass is pretty nice. I'm currently looking for something better than the radio shack hand held. I have a slight tremor in my hands so i like the idea of a magnifier on a stand or pedestal for support. That little radio shack model drives me crazy trying to keep it steady. I get headaches every time i use it. Where did you buy this model Superfly? What is the company name who manufactures it? Do you find that the image is suitable for a straight razor honers needs?

My minimal research lead me to believe a 30X Jewelers loop was the best choice.

I got one from ebay from about $8 shipped.

It arrived and looks totally adequate(sp).

Haven't used it yet. (juggling many things)

If I've said it once I'll say it a hundred times its not about the magnification its about the resolution. I have a Nikon Stereo Microscope I've had for years and the max magnification is about 40x and I can see more and better detail then these guys with their 100x magnifiers and you can take that to the bank.

I don't think anyone expects much in the way of optics from a $10 microscope, and I use mine at or near the lowest power. The only point I'm trying to make is that for 10 bucks and an easy to find tool I'm able to see what I need to.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

If I've said it once I'll say it a hundred times its not about the magnification its about the resolution. I have a Nikon Stereo Microscope I've had for years and the max magnification is about 40x and I can see more and better detail then these guys with their 100x magnifiers and you can take that to the bank.

Thanks. I knew that in the back of my mind, but now that I've formally distinguished both terms (magnification and resolution) in respect to lenses. I can verbalize it now.

I wonder what the resolution of my cheapy 30X is. hopefully good enough.

If I'm lucky I have a 30X with decent resolution instead of a some 100X i was looking at that might have had bad resolution.

Originally Posted by kimw

Where did you buy this model Superfly?

I got it from a friend who is in the Graphic and desktop publishing business. It is regularly used to inspect the alignment of the colors on the paper. Mine is a plastic model, a cheap one, which companies give as a presentation material.

Originally Posted by kimw

What is the company name who manufactures it?

you can try searching online for more quality one, like something from respected lens manufacturers like Bausch and Lomb ore photographic equipment stores.

Originally Posted by kimw

Do you find that the image is suitable for a straight razor honers needs?

Yes, even at low magnification I am using, and I am sure it will be better with some 15 or 30x. A good quality freehand jewelers loupe will be ok too, but a little tricky to use, as Lynn stated...

Nenad

Originally Posted by superfly

The Radio shack is lousy device. It is very uncomfortable to use, will give you (me) headaches after short time staring at the edge..

That's true, but it's not like you have to use it very much, only if there's a problem with the edge. Mine gets hauled out maybe once a month and used for 5 minutes, the rest of the time it takes up very little space and if it gets lost or something gets spilled on it or it's dropped in the sink I don't really care.

Here is my two cents...

I worked for about 10 years in the Graphics and Printing world. I used to install and calibrate printing devices. Having a good loupe was a necessity. The "power" of the loop was not as critical as the clarity. One of the things I learned from the old timers and long time printers was you always use a loupe with glass lenses. Never plastic. The clarity of a plastic loupe is not very good and is distorted.

Since I an a real noob, I will defer to the experts on straight razor honing and edge maintenance as to what works best. IHMO, with my face on the line, a nice clear view of the edge seems pretty important.