Decent Loupe For Aging Eyes?

[ac12]

Holly,

You still have to go the one step further, and get a stereo microscope

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I can certainly appreciate the ageing eyes aspect of this topic .

 

I bought a triplex 10x loupe from Swisher Pens, no longer in business, years ago. Works well. I bought a magnifying visor from someone here on FPN a year or two later. It does help to be able to have both hands free while looking at or manipulating the nib/feed/whatever. Along with that magnifying visor came a tiny "10x" loupe that looked like it'd not do much because it's just a plastic lens in a tubular, plastic housing, which looks like a professional loupe, but then I found that I could get a small camera lens shoved into that housing and with a bit of maneuvering get a magnified photograph of something. I'd been about to show an example of that, but I don't see that photograph of some fountain pen innards anymore.

 

Anyway, the really cheap loupe has turned out to be useful.

 

I also bought a 10x loupe from one of the nib meisters at a pen show years ago for $5. That was a good buy, for the money.

 

I also occasionally use a small, ordinary magnifying glass for a fast look at a nib or other part of a fountain pen.

 

I think that getting and using a loupe marks a milestone in one's addiction progress in using/collecting/accumulating fountain pens.

[praxim]

A handy variation on this theme is one of those large magnifying desk lamps. I use this one. While magnification is only 3x, it offers a large viewing area, nothing to put on your head, optional light and is hands free; and can be used merely to light a work space.

 

This is additional to various loupes for fine inspections, in my case up to 14x B&L.

[OakIris]

I received my Belomo 10X loupe yesterday. As others have noted, good optics do indeed make a difference! The optics are much better than that of any of the inexpensive loupes I have, including the 15X lighted loupe from Goulet's. I can actually see what I need to with this loupe. The Goulet lighted loupe will still see some use, I am sure, but this loupe will be the one I reach for first.

 

I would love to get a microscope, ac12, but that isn't going to happen, at least not anytime soon. The desk-mounted lamp/magnifying glass looks like a great idea, too, praxim; maybe someday I'll get one of those as well.

 

My Optivisor is supposed to arrive tomorrow. I am hoping that with that and my new 10X loupe I will have the tools I need to work on nibs or just to look at things on my pens.

 

Thank you again to everyone that has responded here and shared their experiences with loupes and other aids to aging eyes! Much appreciated and I'm even following the advice given by some of you.

 

Holly

Edited February 27, 2017 by OakIris

[LizEF]

I received my Belomo 10X loupe yesterday. As others have noted, good optics do indeed make a difference! The optics are much better than that of any of the inexpensive loupes I have, including the 15X lighted loupe from Goulet's. I can actually see what I need to with this loupe. The Goulet lighted loupe will still see some use, I am sure, but this loupe will be the one I reach for first.

 

I would love to get a microscope, ac12, but that isn't going to happen, at least not anytime soon. The desk-mounted lamp/magnifying glass looks like a great idea, too, praxim; maybe someday I'll get one of those as well.

 

My Optivisor is supposed to arrive tomorrow. I am hoping that with that and my new 10X loupe I will have the tools I need to work on nibs or just to look at things on my pens.

 

Thank you again to everyone that has responded here and shared their experiences with loupes and other aids to aging eyes! Much appreciated and I'm even following the advice given by some of you.

 

Holly

 

Thanks for the report, Holly. I'm looking forward to hearing about the Optivisor / loupe combo - if that works well for you, I'll be sold and place my order. The Belomo is already on my Amazon wish list.

[OakIris]

I will let you know how the visor works for me, Liz. I am hopeful...

 

and I recommend that you go ahead and get the loupe anyway, I think you will be quite happy with it. I resisted paying that much for a loupe for a long time - $30+ dollars seemed like a lot to pay - and I figured if a loupe was advertised as a 10X triplet loupe it should be fine, even if it did only cost $5, lol. I have learned my lesson!

 

Holly

Edited February 28, 2017 by OakIris

[ac12]

Holly,

You have all the magnifying devices (Goulet hand magnifier/loupe, Bellomo 10x loupe, and Optivisor) you need to do most of the pen work you will likely do. Each has its purpose and use. Now, go and have fun

 

The microscope is for us nerdy guys.

One of the Posse members brought her digital microscope to the Posse, and it was quite fun looking at the pen with such high magnification. But for general working on the pen, that was way too much magnification. IOW, too much of a good thing.

Edited February 27, 2017 by ac12

[Erik Dalton]

I've been using an optivisor for about a year now. It's great to have both hands free while your're working. I've never gone back to a loupe.

Don't buy the off brands. Their lenses are plastic and will scratch.

[OakIris]

I still wish I had a microscope, ac12. I have actually wanted one since long before I went crazy - again - over fountain pens. I am rather nerdy myself and would love to be able to take a look at all kinds of things with a microscope such as plants, insects, this that and the other thing, in addition to pen bits. All it takes is money....

 

Looking forward to trying out my Optivisor when it gets here today. With my nearsightedness, a decent loupe and the Optivisor I should be able to get a very good look at pen nibs, etc.

 

Holly

Edited February 28, 2017 by OakIris

[ac12]

I have an American Optical stereo microscope that has a 0.7 - 3x magnification. So with a 10x eyepiece I go from 7x to 30x magnification. Got it off eBay, for about $100, including shipping, but I had to shop a long time to get this deal. I think a stereo microscope would be the tool for your stuff; plants and insects.

 

But when you need more magnification, above 50 or 100x, for more detailed plant and insect work, you need to use a compound microscope, or a digital microscope. I've been thinking about one of those also. But I would use it less than the stereo microscope, so likely not.

 

I wish Belomo made a lighted loupe. That is the only thing that is holding me back from getting one. Much of my work is done where there isn't a good light source, the kitchen table, or at the Pen Posse meet at a diner, or at a pen show. So I needed a lighted magnifier and loupe.

[pen2paper]

I use a lighted hand magnifier recommended by a business that specializes in low-vision optics.

It's 8X optically correct (no distortion) manufactured by ila.

The button to turn on the light is shot, but it's 15-ish years old and well traveled judging minute details on objects 3/8th" or less.

It was worth the $30ish and I'd replace it for the same or similar quality again.

 

But that's not why I'm posting... Recently two friend's shared experiences of leaving their needlework where they were sitting at a sunny window, still under their large magnifiers and returning to find charred remains*. I never thought about that possibility since i was using small hand-held mag's in dark showrooms.

 

* burn mark but one was able to incorporate the dark spot into the floral.

[Vintagepens]

That can happen with bottles and glasses, too! Be careful about leaving any of them in a sunny window.

[OakIris]

Scary stuff, P2P! I remember as a kid playing with magnifying glasses in the sun to see if it I really could burn a hole through leaves and the like with it. I could indeed.

 

In reference to your comment about bottles in windows causing similar problems, David... I never thought about regular glass being able to concentrate the light photons the way a magnifying glass can. I love the look of sunlight shinning through coloured glass so I have glass bottles sitting on some window sills in my house, and also have antique glass insulators placed so that the sun will shine through them. No harm has come as yet, but I will keep your warning in mind.

 

I received my Optivisor and lenses on Tuesday. Thank you very much for that recommendation, David; the Optivisor is what I have been waiting for! I haven't actually worked on any nibs as yet but have taken a look at some and the Optivisor really does help me see details - and is more comfortable to use, at least for me, than is the loupe. I hope to work on a couple of problematical nibs this weekend so I will see how the combination of loupe and Optivisor will help me; I am quite impressed with the set so far.

 

Holly

[tmenyc]

Oak, the Optivisor is a good bet -- I use mine all the time, with the 3.5X lens. I can even do most nib straightening with it, and then I finish with the Belomo 10x. I find that the Optivisor brings out flaws, scratches and blemishes that need to be polished out that I didn't see before, but the field is still full-size. In fact, my habit is to walk into my workroom, turn on a couple of lights, put on the Optivisor, and then decide what the first job is. I usually finish the evening with the Optivisor on my head and my loupe hanging around my neck, and often without a conscious memory of when it got there. So both get used, for sure.

 

And, I agree with the comment about the brand in this case. I bought mine with a coupon from RioGrande Jewelry supplies.

 

I keep waffling about getting a good magnifiying lamp, but frankly don't see the significant improvement over my current setup. The improvement I am seriously considering is adding small LED spots over my workspace, to replace the gooseneck single bulb fixtures clamped to a shelf.

 

Finally, I'm going to buy, hopefully at the LI Pen Show if it's there, one of the white illuminating magnifiers. There are just too many times that I inspect a friend's pen for repair needs in a typically dark NYC coffee bar or tavern, and then the little maglight and offbrand loupe I carry in my bag take up both my hands.

 

 

 

Tim

Edited March 2, 2017 by tmenyc

[Vintagepens]

Glad you like the Optivisor! Mine have served me well.

 

Here's a link to a story about a liquor store that caught fire when sunlight got focused by vodka bottles onto a cardboard display: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/05/vodka-fire-sunlight_n_2076193.html

 

And this BBC article mentions that this sort of fire happens with some regularity: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-31594956

Edited March 3, 2017 by Vintagepens

[OakIris]

I will look into getting some more lenses for the Optivisor but already think it is an excellent tool to have. Thanks again for the recommendation, David, and thank you for sharing your good experiences with Optivisor, too, Tim.

 

I read those articles David and they do give me pause, especially with the intense sunlight we have here in Colorado.

 

Holly

[sidthecat]

I found myself in need of a loupe a few times at the LA pen show and regretted not bringing along my Belomo, but it strikes me that I have on my phone a photo app with a macro setting AND a flashlight app. I wish I'd thought of it last month.