Impossible to raise a burr?

It sucks to have your vision change as you age.

When I got my first job as an LEO, I had to have an eye test. After I passed the standard tests with flying colors, the doctor took a newspaper to the far side of the room as a lark and subsequently told me that he had never seen anyone read newsprint from that far before. Those days are unfortunately over.
 
Blues said:
That's what they told me. I'm pretty happy with my brain as is...warts and all.
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Not rewiring an old house here while all the lights work.

Yes, my eyes started to change in numerous ways, and it is a huge hassle or burden. I am very healthy, however I have to use a medication that is murder on the eyes, but with proper refraction, I’m still 20/20, 20/15.
 
(The laughing emoji is applicable only to the rewiring comment. Just to be clear.)

I've come to appreciate the vision I once took for granted...even though it's not what it was.
 
Understood.

Yes, good eyesight is a blessing and treasure. My dad sounds like you into his ‘80’s just cheaters, eagle eye. Cataracts removed age 85…

I also think “use it or lose it” applies to vision. Eye muscles are muscles wired to your brain and eye is attached to brain via optic nerve. Keep the system stimulated.
 
Sometimes perfectly corrected vision becomes blurry due to dry eyes. This can happen with age, climate, and other factors.

An easy thing to try is instilling artificial tears before sharpening —or whatever the challenge is — give is a few minutes, and see if vision is improved.

The tears may make things blurrier at first. Main ingredients are: PEG or glycerin.
 
annr said:
Sometimes perfectly corrected vision becomes blurry due to dry eyes. This can happen with age, climate, and other factors.

An easy thing to try is instilling artificial tears before sharpening —or whatever the challenge is — give is a few minutes, and see if vision is improved.

The tears may make things blurrier at first. Main ingredients are: PEG or glycerin.
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I do this pretty regularly these days and it has helped me. I've been using "Refresh"
 
annr said:
Yes it is possible, and without knowing your people, I found a strong bias in the industry toward progressive —and they have a lot of “neurology” to back up pros and cons.

The biggest fudge factor is the middle distance which bifocals don’t have. It can also depend where they put the unseen line of transition in progressives.

I did my own reading and comparison, and for me it wasn’t close. The bi-focals outperformed for clarity of vision. I’ve seen enough people struggle to do what I do, and they tell me they simply can’t see, and they don’t have an eye disease.

ETA it’s possible to be over or under corrected which can confound the problem. I had 1.5 hr visit at eye doctor (exam time) and I’m hoping they got it right!
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My vision has never been very good. Started wearing glasses when I was about 11 years old (54 years ago). And through my teens, my vision continued to degrade and I had to frequently update my prescription. It eventually deteriorated to something like 20/400 and I was wearing some pretty thick lenses by the time I was in my late teens. In the early 1990s, I had RK surgery (radial keratotomy) to correct my vision. And for maybe 20 years or so, my eyes did pretty good without the need for glasses and I was thrilled. But once I got into my mid-40s or so, aging complicated things. And the side effects of the RK surgery also complicated getting an accurate lens prescription for glasses, which I started wearing again. A lot of my issues stem from astigmatism, which is a known long-term side effect of the RK surgery. It tends to create issues of double vision when looking at bright points of light, such as the LED display on a digital clock or distant headlights at night.

The other thing I haven't liked about progressive lenses is that they tend to make me feel somewhat dizzy and off-balance at times, especially when walking outdoors on uneven terrain, while looking at the ground. I've never gotten used to that.
 
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Obsessed with Edges said:
My vision has never been very good. Started wearing glasses when I was about 11 years old (54 years ago). And through my teens, my vision continued to degrade and I had to frequently update my prescription. It eventually deteriorated to something like 20/400 and I was wearing some pretty thick lenses by the time I was in my late teens. In the early 1990s, I had RK surgery (radial keratotomy) to correct my vision. And for maybe 20 years or so, my eyes did pretty good without the need for glasses and I was thrilled. But once I got into my mid-40s or so, aging complicated things. And the side effects of the RK surgery also complicated getting an accurate lens prescription for glasses, which I started wearing again. A lot of my issues stem from astigmatism, which is a known long-term side effect of the RK surgery. It tends to create issues of double vision when looking at bright points of light, such as the LED display on a digital clock or distant headlights at night.

The other thing I haven't liked about progressive lenses is that they tend to make me feel somewhat dizzy and off-balance at times, especially when walking outdoors on uneven terrain, while looking at the ground. I've never gotten used to that.
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Sorry to hear of your immense life-long difficulties. I would normally PM. I believe there are things you might like to try if you haven’t. I would hate for you fall or get injured due to any of the eye/glasses problems.

Doctors can add prism to glasses to correct for double vision depending on cause. The ideal doctor is a neuro-Opthamologist, preferably one who employs an orthoptist. They can rule out problems with visual fields, depth perception, optic nerve, and get you correction for double vision if appropriate.

Ophthalmologists who treat strabismus also know about this. Usually, these docs are pediatric and accept adult patients. Warning: you can strike out, and if you know what to ask for, you stand a better chance.

I would also consider trying the bifocals or dedicated pairs of glasses for specific focal points since you have limitations and trouble combining distances. Once you separate the variables, you can try recombining. (Don’t know if you mentioned you feeling of instability to doctor…)
 
annr said:
Sorry to hear of your immense life-long difficulties. I would normally PM. I believe there are things you might like to try if you haven’t. I would hate for you fall or get injured due to any of the eye/glasses problems.

Doctors can add prism to glasses to correct for double vision depending on cause. The ideal doctor is a neuro-Opthamologist, preferably one who employs an orthoptist. They can rule out problems with visual fields, depth perception, optic nerve, and get you correction for double vision if appropriate.

Ophthalmologists who treat strabismus also know about this. Usually, these docs are pediatric and accept adult patients. Warning: you can strike out, and if you know what to ask for, you stand a better chance.

I would also consider trying the bifocals or dedicated pairs of glasses for specific focal points since you have limitations and trouble combining distances. Once you separate the variables, you can try recombining. (Don’t know if you mentioned you feeling of instability to doctor…)
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I'm convinced now that I'll look into dedicated lenses for closeup at least and likely try out bifocals this time around. I do think the progressive lenses are at the root of my feeling off balance in some situations. Other family members of mine have also worn progressives and expressed the same complaints about them, including the disorienting effect at times. My corrected vision as it stands now has always been 'adequate' for me. But in seeing this discussion turn up here, I'm realizing now that I may not have to settle for 'adequate' anymore. I feel like I've been missing a lot over the last many years, with these progressive lenses.
 
SharpBits said:
Walking with bifocals can be tricky, especially on stairs. Fair warning on that! I fond progressives a little better in that regard.
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Good tip there. Much Thanks for that. :thumbsup:

Since I'm older now, I'm generally much more careful with stairs, ladders & such anyway. Fortunately, I don't have to deal with them very often.
 
SharpBits said:
Walking with bifocals can be tricky, especially on stairs. Fair warning on that! I found progressives a little better in that regard.
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True. This can depend on RX and how high lower segment is placed—blocking view. I don’t think there is visual distortion like progressives, floor just not in ideal focus or line is in the way. Learning curve simpler, IMO.
 
Just one note on workshop lighting. I’m 73 and am enjoying deteriorating vision. My workshop is lit up like an airport using led light panels to adjust the temperature for the lighting. But every knife I look from the spine to the apex with a bright flashlight. Any burr, no matter how tiny will stand out. I highly recommend this tactic for burr removal.
One other note, As I strop I watch for the burr fragmenting. Once this begins to happen you are almost done. If you’re switching grits, this is a good time to do it. The less you strop, the better.
I know I said “one more thing” but I will drone on… Once I started to gain some experience I started using a lesser grit when sharpening knives I had already ground in hopes of preserving metal. The issue I started having is I would get a burr, but not apexed. Then when stropping I couldn’t get the sharpness I knew a particular steel could achieve. Save yourself a headache and make sure both sides of your workpiece are properly apexed before moving on. Just because you see a burr doesn’t mean you have ground both sides completely.
 
I'm inclined to follow Ann's advice and get bifocals if I ever need to get a pair of glasses made up for myself in future...as opposed to the cheapo cheaters I have on hand for sitting in front of Chromebook or reading on iPhone.

Oddly enough, I have a pair of bifocal sunglasses (1.5x) coming today to review for Amazon. (They invited me to do reviews sometime last year on a variety of products.) Be interesting to see if they work while sitting on the deck to read in sunlight, or while driving to be able to see messages or info on the map screen more clearly.

Have never driven with any sort of magnification previously.
 
Blues said:
Be interesting to see if they work while sitting on the deck to read in sunlight, or while driving to be able to see messages or info on the map screen more clearly.
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That's why I got progressive sunglasses. Now the dash and radio are clear again!

I'm surprised at how well my cheapie bifocal glasses from Amazon are performing for reading and computer work. Much better than my old prescription glasses. Getting new eye test soon, so new glasses are will ordered. I tend to keep my old ones for too long.



Also, what happened to the impossible to raise burr? 🤣
 
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