Spyderco Forums

What type of magnifier do you use/recommend?

10x jeweler's loupes seem to be held in high regard.

Hey Auxilaryjohn! Welcome to the Forum!

We had a really good discussion on this topic last month. Take a look at this thread, and if you have additional questions, we are all happy to chat some more.

Loupe-Strength Thread

TedP

Hi John,

Welcome to the Spyderco forum.

10X - 12X is a good number for edges.

sal

Thanks to all for the reply. I was wondering whether to buy the swing out loupe or the watchmaker style.

Good info in the threads I was referred to. Decisions...decisions...decisions.

This is what I use, it is called an Optivisor:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=5769 ... /OptiVISOR

It is not cheap but it is hands free and if you wear glasses it works well over them. I know it seems like a lot of money but it is money well spent. There are different powers and an additional magnifier and or light.

I've been using a 6x loupe for 5 years. In the past two months I've bought two.

20x $8.95
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/20xloupe.html
The benifit I get here is more magnification. It has an LED but doesn't shine right on the edge. It does light up the area but only at one angle so it is useful. I still use the light above my head for reflection to reveal scratches. It isn't powerful enough to give a good image of the edge as far as toothyness.

60x $6.95
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/45xmimiwled.html
This one gives a very good image of the edge and bevel. The light shines on the edge at an angle and the edge is very visible. It also has a focus that is pretty good. This one isn't as handy for quick checks during the sharpening process but great for final inspection at a higher magnification.

I'm VERY glad I have both. For $15.90 plus shipping I have exactly what I like. I use the 20x more often during sharpening to look for a mirror finish on the bevel. The 60x is good for that as well as a half way decent view of the toothyness of your edge. But really for toothyness you need many much more x's. :)

For $64.95 that site has a microscope
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/vedeusbpomi.html
I watched the video for this thing and I like it. Of course before buying something like this I'd do some shopping. This is way more than I want for knife edges but of course I'd use it for that. It would also come in handy for many other things. Maybe you have money sucker (child) in junior high science class. :) You view the image on your PC and can save pictures I think.

Jack

Another reply
I did a search on amazon.com for USB microscopes. I was surprised at the prices. Lower than I expected. Some not so low.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_ ... icroscopes

Just in case anyone is interested in this.

Jack

I use a Belomo Triplet 10x loupe. It has a large field of view for a loupe and its power is sufficient to clearly see the scratch patterns and everything else I might need to see to assist in and learn about sharpening. It's made in Belarus (Eastern Europe) where they produce high quality optics at reasonable prices. Iirc, I got it from the US Geological Society (or something like that) for about $30. Great value, imo.

mongatu wrote:I use a Belomo Triplet 10x loupe. It has a large field of view for a loupe and its power is sufficient to clearly see the scratch patterns and everything else I might need to see to assist in and learn about sharpening. It's made in Belarus (Eastern Europe) where they produce high quality optics at reasonable prices. Iirc, I got it from the US Geological Society (or something like that) for about $30. Great value, imo.

+1 on the Belomo Triplet 10x loupe. It is well-made and has a nearly flat focus across the field of view. You can find them on the 'bay for $35. I've also got a DinoScope USB microscope, which goes from 10x-200x. It allows you to get really good detail and view the picture on your computer screen - capturing movies and photos if you like. You can find these starting a little under $100.

TedP

Great tips all, Thanks.

mongatu wrote:I use a Belomo Triplet 10x loupe. It has a large field of view for a loupe and its power is sufficient to clearly see the scratch patterns and everything else I might need to see to assist in and learn about sharpening. It's made in Belarus (Eastern Europe) where they produce high quality optics at reasonable prices.

phillipsted wrote:+1 on the Belomo Triplet 10x loupe. It is well-made and has a nearly flat focus across the field of view.

OMG - I just got a Belomo Triplet 10x loupe - you guys were not kidding!!!

This thing is so awesome - night and day difference between it and the cheaper 10x loupes I have been using so far. I can't beleive how much nicer and clearer everything is. It is kind of sad I did not know about these sooner - what an improvement!

Thank you guys :D

Will

I'll just throw in that it's not worth buying a crap loupe. I bought a $7 "20x" loupe, used it awhile, then bought a 10x Belomo. And guess what? The Belomo 10x magnifies vastly more than the "20x" crap loupe. And of course, the optics are better, etc.

The Belomo is on sale at Geo-Tools. Ordered one a couple days ago. It will be the first quality loupe I've owned. I have to admit that I only own cheap loupes and one semi-cheap one.

Bearcat1 wrote:This is what I use, it is called an Optivisor:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=5769 ... /OptiVISOR

It is not cheap but it is hands free and if you wear glasses it works well over them. I know it seems like a lot of money but it is money well spent. There are different powers and an additional magnifier and or light.

I've used one of these for over 35 yrs, 10x lens, for everything under the sun. Still works fine; nothing to break or wear out.
A very common "headset" used by jewelers, modelists, gunnuts, etc.

I think the best is the Rubin & Son triplet 10 X 20.5mm for me anyway. When I was in a different businses I spent all day crouched over one of these. 10 Power is great 20 is too strong, you need a lot of light and the focal point is too small. I like the hex shape, they are larger so they have a nice big viewing area. I am sure they sell them in the US but here is the link to there site;

http://www.rubin-and-son.com/index.p...ategory_id=393

Last edited by DRKBC; 02-07-2012 at 07:40 PM.