I too was blessed with good eyesight. What magnification is your loupe? When I was learning to hone I "thought" a loupe from Hobby Lobby was the answer to my wanting to see scratch marks as well. During a private transaction/trade on some gun parts, member Sicboater sent me one of the cheap magnifier/microscopes from Radio Shack as a freebie. I had no clue how much a so called 60-100x (I really doubt it magnifies that much, but it's what it claims) microscope with a light could help my learning curve. This along with invaluable information provided from veteran honers is what actually taught me the "ropes".

Nothing beats sitting down with someone well versed in the stones though...