Sharpening Loupe

[The Tourist]

When I sharpen with the Edgepro, I find that a loupe helps me perfectly match the original edge angle. I had a non-lighted magnifying glass, and a small 1.5 x 1.5 lighted loupe, which was more geared to help your grandmother read the newspaper. Nothing was perfect.

I went to the eye doctor this afternoon, and while there I saw a thick clear globe device on his desk. I asked what it was, and he told me it was a Magnabrite. When placed over something it magnified the entire image with no distortions. I tried it, what an experience!

It is incredibly clear crystal, about 3" wide and about the same size deep. It has a dome shape to it which gathers the natural light. It even comes in one of those velvet bags, like Crown Royal.

I told him what I wanted it for, and he was nice enough to go to his supply closet and score me a brand new one and sold it to me for cost. Nice guy, I'll sharpen a knife for him. If you get the chance, look through one.

 

[Rev. Pete]

Very cool. I guess you got the large (89mm) version. There are different sizes. I was looking at the pictures here but it is hard to tell how it is used for non-flat items. Do you hold it in your hand slightly away from the item to be magnified? Is it heavy?

 

[Grapevine]

That reminds me of this magnifier prototype that a former co-worker of mine had made to spec once. I was working at Oxford University Press and they were trying to come up with a better magnifier for their micro-sized print edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. My co-worker went to an optics specialist and the guy gave him this magnifier made of fiber optics that was being developed (or being used) by top military. The thing was cone shaped, about the size of an inverted loupe. You put it on the page and the magnified area looks like it was lighted on all sides, it was brighter than the surrounding page. We were told it had something to do with the fiber optics gathering all the light thats on the entire surface of the magnifier and condensing it to just the small area that makes contact with the page. Very cool little thing. Too bad it was too expensive to bundle with the Dictionary. The co-worker took the piece with him when he retired a year later.

 

[The Tourist]

No, you do NOT have to hold it away from the item being magnified. For example, he had a road map there, and the entire 3" area could be clearly read.

I tried it at home by placing it over my AR. For my eyes (I need reading glasses only, I have presbiopia) it appears clearer if I raise the globe slightly. It appears better if I wear my glasses when viewing.

No, the globe is not heavy, but it sure is well made out of very clear material. It could be lexon, but I've never seen lexon this clear and perfect. It had NO defects in it.

I could clearly see every striation from the slack-belt that sharpened my AR. Incredible.

 

[Cougar Allen]

If you don't need reading glasses (or at least don't need strong ones) go to the drugstore and pick up a pair of the strongest they have. They're not 10 power, but when you don't need high magnification it can be very useful to have both hands free. I like the half-glasses so I can still see normally by looking over them.

 

[The Tourist]

Cougar, in my case I wish it was that easy. I can see a fly on the end of my nose, and a prairie dog at 300 yards, but I can't read print clearly at a 'comfortable reading distance.' That's the curse of presbiopia.

I first noticed this condition reading a newspaper in low light at the age of 46; I'd had perfect, if not above parr vision to that point. Then I was sorting cases from a turbo-tumbler and I couldn't clearly see the difference in 22-250 cases from .243 Win cases.

I like sharp knives, but I also like the sharpening to have a very professional look. I mark the bevel with magic marker, and then adjust the Edge-Pro to match. On some knives with very narrow bevels it's hard to know where the bevel ends. I started to use loupes, but most distort the image somewhat. So far, I have not needed a lighted magnifying glass on a goose-neck lamp, as we have in our assembly areas.