Quote Originally Posted by stonehenge View Post
The rage here used to be a cheap microscope that was available 5 or 6 years ago. A microscope of any quality has it all over a loupe, no matter how good it is. Just not enough magnification in a loupe.

Once I got both, I never used the loupe again except for checking for pits in the blade, razor condition etc.

If you are interested, the microscope was a 60-100x with a built in light and adjustable focus and zoom from RadioShack. Slick, inexpensive unit, but don't know if they are still available.
I picked this little scope up about 4 months ago. I like it. You just have to shop a few Radio Shacks, not every Shack carries it.

I use the microscope to observe how the stone performs on the edge, I don't use it to determine the sharpness of the edge. I shave test it for that.