Thread: Loupe

Thank you all for your recommendations.
As I said, I have a cheap 60x illuminated loupe.
I find with my loupe that I have to get very close to see anything, sometimes i have hits the edge of my razor when trying to see straitght down for sparklies etc.

My loupe has cheap plastic lens, which probably isn't a problem

I am still a bit unsure what to get next, I have heard a 10x is good and 18x through to a cheap 40x.
Only one has mentioned a 60x like mine so I can't help feeling that 60x might be a bit too much, appaently less magnification would leat me hold the loupe a bit further from the blade (?).

I think I would like a glass triplet lens this time because i have beard that they're a lot clearer but I will make sure that i can get the bateries cheap on Amazon before i get one.

Does this look like it might be worthwhile?

https://www.amazon.ca/Magnifier-Achr...%2C178&sr=8-16

Can't see why it would not work but have never tried that one.

Bob

I bet the cheep 60x is more like 20x if that much. They are far from accurate. Like my usb scope. It was advertised as 320x. But i have compared it to real scopes and found it is really about 100x.

Whatever you get will work.

Yea, for what you are using it for it will do.

If you stay with this hobby and want something better with optics it's magnification in relation to definition. The better quality the less mag you need plus then you get eye relief and a lens that will do with a simple light source or sunlight. But of course the cost is quite a bit higher.

I asked my jeweler friend about loupes since he uses them all day every day. Now granted he's not a razor guy so there's that but He said for what you're doing 10x is probably plenty of magnification and there is no need to spend a great deal on the expensive ones. He says he carries cheap ones with him when he travels so he doesn't damage his good ones and he uses those to purchase merchandise. So, take that for what it's worth. The LED lights are nice to have. In all honesty I use a magnifying glass with the additional small inner glass that has a light and that's all the magnification I need. I think it's maybe 6x, maybe not even that. Even so that light makes so much difference it's ridiculous and I don't ever have problems getting it into field view.

10x Hastings triplet achromat is all I need for viewing the razor during honing. The bevel is viewed by reflected light and the edge is viewed in silhouette. A small eyepiece, the standard is Bausch & Lomb, but Otto Frei also has them for jewelry-making purposes for a little bit cheaper. True 10x like this is fine for me. My skin lets me know the rest. Anything higher than true 20x, I don't really need to know about. Ignorance is bliss and all that...

The cheap stuff works good enough, especially the ones with LEDs. My personal favorite is the 10x Belomo Triplet and no LEDs needed if you have a strong worklight. Has a very comfortable focal length and good depth of field. I also have the 20x but the field of view is too small and the focal length too short for comfortable viewing while honing. YMMV. I forget what I paid for the 10x but it wasn't much, way less than a good B&L.