Jump to content

Nib Viewing. Whats Your 'tool' ?

Pen Nut

By Pen Nut
in Repair Q&A

 Share

  

116 members have voted

  1. 1. Nib grinders. What do you use to view the nib?

    • Loupe. Non Illuminated
      67
    • Loupe. Illuminated
      37
    • Illuminated stereo head magnifier
      6
    • USB Microscope
      6
    • Stereo microscope
      8
    • Standard 'one eye' microscope
      2
    • Hand Held Magnifying Glass
      5
    • Desk Mounted Large Surface Glass
      2
    • Other. Please state.
      9

Recommended Posts

lahlahlaw Vintage

lahlahlaw

Posted
Posted

Reading glasses might have a 4 diopter bottom lens, but a 12 diopter lens (4x) would be unusual.

 

--Daniel

They are marked 4x, and I have to hold the nib less than 6 inches away from the lens otherwise it's blurry (I am 20/25). I first checked local stores and they only carry up to 2.5x. These work really well, I prefer them to a loupe.

post-99778-0-93308300-1411661674_thumb.jpg

post-99778-0-92275800-1411661689_thumb.jpg

@arts_nibs

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 46
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Pen Nut

    6

  • lahlahlaw

    4

  • kirchh

    3

  • 777

    2

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Posted Images

dali3464 Mint

dali3464

Posted
Posted

The + prior to 4.00 indicates that the figure refers to diopter, not power. The actual power of your lens is 2x.

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites
kirchh Antique

kirchh

Posted
Posted

They are marked 4x, and I have to hold the nib less than 6 inches away from the lens otherwise it's blurry (I am 20/25). I first checked local stores and they only carry up to 2.5x. These work really well, I prefer them to a loupe.

 

You'll note that they are not marked 4x; the label says, "+4.00". That means 4 diopter, not 4x magnification, as I suspected. That is equivalent to 2x.

 

--Daniel

"The greatest mental derangement is to believe things because we want them to be true, not because we observe that they are in effect." --Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

Daniel Kirchheimer
Specialty Pen Restoration
Authorized Sheaffer/Parker/Waterman Vintage Repair Center
Purveyor of the iCroScope digital loupe

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lahlahlaw Vintage

lahlahlaw

Posted
Posted

 

You'll note that they are not marked 4x; the label says, "+4.00". That means 4 diopter, not 4x magnification, as I suspected. That is equivalent to 2x.

 

--Daniel

I've learned something, thank you!

@arts_nibs

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Randal6393 Antique

Randal6393

Posted
Posted

Really informative post, thanks to everyone joining in. For those of our members looking for a good loupe, would recommend the 12X illuminated that Goulet Pens is selling. Have several loupes, this one is the best by far.

 

Enjoy,

Yours,
Randal

From a person's actions, we may infer attitudes, beliefs, --- and values. We do not know these characteristics outright. The human dichotomies of trust and distrust, honor and duplicity, love and hate --- all depend on internal states we cannot directly experience. Isn't this what adds zest to our life?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 year later...
ac12 Donor Pen

ac12

Posted
Posted (edited)

Rather old thread but still useful.

I found that I use a variety of magnifier, depending on what I need to see/do.

- If it has to be hands-free, as I am working on a nib, then OptiVisor (or clone) or a stereo microscope.

- It it is just inspection, then any of my magnifiers; OptiVisor, loupe, or stereo microscope.

 

For me and my setup, the stereo microscope is more usable than a USB microscope.

Maybe if I have a laptop next to my working area, a USB microscope might work. But that would be inspection only, as I don't think it has the working distance of a stereo microscope.

Edited by ac12

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mathieu_he New

mathieu_he

Posted
Posted

I use a loupe, which also works if you want to make pictures with your mobile phone: just hold it in front of the camera lens...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33583
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26772
    5. jar
      jar
      26105

  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      Links to web pages or articles about Chinese typesetting, signwriting, etc.

      By Shanghai Knife Dude · Posted

      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o

  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More

  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...