Jewlers loupe?

O

Omega Leather Works

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Jun 13, 2007
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Is a jewlers loupe sufficient for inspecting the edge of a blade? Say 30x magnification.

I've got my Opinel to where I can drag a hair across it and sometimes it will "break" the hair, but I need to know what's going on with the edge to get it sharper.

If not a loupe what do you suggest?

They have led lit ones on the river for around 3-$5 I'd prefer to buy one locally. Any idea where I can look? Already tried Radio Shack.

Thanks for any advice!
 
I use a 30x loupe from amazon. $8 including shipping for 4. I'm sure others work better but I can see the edge very well, works great!
 
Yeah... so I called around to a bunch of hobby stores and most of em didn't even know what I was talking about. None carried them so I called a coin and gem store and the guy said "oh sure, go to Harbor Freight they have a good set that you'll like". He must have been laughing his but off after he hung up because the set is total crap. Oh well at least it was only a few bucks.
 
I'd go with a graphic arts magnifier - can be had from Edmund Optics or magnifier.com among others. 8x minimum, preferably 12x or so and try to find one with a large diameter as it'll let in a lot more light. The stronger the magnification the less overall detail you'll miss - you might see the apex better but not see overall defects in your grind pattern etc. For utility 15x is about as high as you need to go to see defects and burrs and still get a clear picture holding in your hand. A quality magnifier or loupe might run 50 bucks or so, you might get away with something in the 30-40 dollar range. I'm in graphic arts and so spend a lot of time looking thru these things - quality matters. You can see far, far more detail looking through high end 6 or 8x binoculars than you can through cheap 15x ones, loupes are no different.

Just my opinion, don't bother getting a microscope unless it can do 400x or better without using display enlargement.
 
I personally like the Belomo loupes. They are outstanding quality and come in a variety of magnifications - I like the 10x and 12x models for general use. You can find them at a lot of arts and geology stores online. The company also sells them direct via eBay. Plan to spend about $35 - higher quality and lower price than a comparable Bausch and Lomb.

TedP

http://www.belomo.us/

belomo-and-bausch-lomb-10x-triplets.gif
 
A standard SLR lens will provide a magnification of some 8x. Use the front lens as an ocular.
 
For edge inspection any cheap 5x to 30x loupe would be more than good enough. I use a 22x $8 cheapo beater for quick inspection.

My $80 400x usb microscrope sort of useless because drifting focus & fuzzy images.

A Peak (brand) 15x or 22x loupe is really cool. I use my Peak 15x + camera to look at scratch pattern & edge. e.g. dmt C -> EE & stropped 4 strokes on white compound - aha a lazy scratcher.
15x_mag_cropped.jpg
 
phillipsted said:
I personally like the Belomo loupes. They are outstanding quality and come in a variety of magnifications - I like the 10x and 12x models for general use. You can find them at a lot of arts and geology stores online. The company also sells them direct via eBay. Plan to spend about $35 - higher quality and lower price than a comparable Bausch and Lomb.

TedP

http://www.belomo.us/

belomo-and-bausch-lomb-10x-triplets.gif
Click to expand...

+1 Belomo 10X is a GREAT loop. Have had one for several years for fountain pen stuff. Great quality.

Peter
 
Brighter light will help more than additional magnification. 30X is plenty (I seldom use more than 10X), and using it with a good light source will reveal a lot more. The higher the magnification, the brighter the light source needs to be (higher mag won't transmit as much light to your eyes, so a lot of detail gets lost). Viewing distances with very high mag are often so close, that it shades the item under inspection. I'd sooner pick a lower mag with a good light source, than a higher mag under dim light. Edge defects like burrs, wires, dents and chips will really stand out, if illuminated with decent lighting, even at very low/no magnification.

High mag can always be a good thing, IF it's not handicapped by poor lighting.


David
 
One other issue with high magnification is that the depth of field gets very very short. This makes it harder to keep the edge in focus with a handheld loupe. I have two Belomos - one 10x and one 12x. These are all I ever need for sharpening.

My son has a pretty cool USB microscope, which goes from 20x-200x. It is kind of cool to be able to look at the edges close up on the computer screen (it takes 640-480 video and stills). His is an inexpensive Dino-Lite which can be found across the Web for under $100.

AM2011_L.jpg
 
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