Jeweler’s Loupe

[James Doty]

Getting ready for my WE PP1 and have a question for you guys:

What power jeweler’s loupe do you like to use to inspect your edges and why?

[cbwx34]

I think most use one between 10-20x…. mine is 15x. I’d probably do 15 or 20.

My biggest suggestion is get one with a light.

I like the small microscopes that are 60-100x. But, not everyone does… mostly because you see everything “backwards”, so it takes a bit to get used to.

[Nicholas Angeja]

I have a 30x loop and regret not getting one with a light. I also like having a microscope, i use a Veho 400x but it can be tricky at times and a little frustrating to get pictures but I love the detail I do get to see.

[wickededge]

I use this little guy all the time and love it: 60x Mini Microscope. There is even an iPhone attachment that allows you to use it for photos.

-Clay

[Eating Pie]

I bought this 40x loupe on amazon. It has a light and is 25mm making wider than the typical 21mm, something I really like about it!

Ships from China so it takes a few weeks, but worth it.

-Pie

[Ken Buzbee]

I use a 20X B&L loupe. Had it for years. A light would be handy but I get by.

Ken

[Jamey Howard]

I bought one of these 10x LED ones off eBay:

It works fine but being curious I had a look to see how to change the battery and I must admit I’m a little stumped. The switch assembly seems to sit directly on top of the battery and I couldn’t see any way to get the battery out without bending the assembly which seemed like a bad idea so I just closed it back up and forgot about it.

Does anyone else have the same loupe? Have you changed the battery? If so do you fancy doing a YouTube tutorial 🙂 I did have a quick look to see if there was already one up on YT but couldn’t spot anything.

[Eating Pie]

I cannot quite see the mechanism in those 10x loupes, but here’s the picture of the 40x I referenced above.

Below the magnifying glass, you can see the circular battery cap with the words “LOOSE” and “TIGHT” on it. Those two little holes (conveniently, the arrows point at them!) are how you remove the cap. I inserted the tips of a very sharp pair of needlenose pliers into the holes and unscrewed the cap. Weird. It may be that your loupes use a similarly obscure cap setup.

The only real drawback is that the stupid batteries cost more than the loupe itself!

-Pie

[Jamey Howard]

Thanks, but it seems like your loupe uses a slightly smarter battery door design than mine.

If you look at the pic of mine, the LED part can slitp into two halves, a top and a bottom.

The top is just plastic that comes off, the bottom (which stays attached to the loupe) houses the LED, the switch and the battery.

The switch assembly sits on top of the battery and is connected to the LED bulb by a strip of metal. It’s this strip of metal that it seems like I would need to bend to replace the battery but I don’t want to try that obviously.

Like you say though, they’re so cheap I could just buy another when the battery dies I guess, just seems a shame.

[cbwx34]

I use this little guy all the time and love it: 60x Mini Microscope. There is even an iPhone attachment that allows you to use it for photos.

Musta been good advice… sold ’em out in a couple of days. 😉

[Jeremy Long]

http://www.amazon.com/SE-30X-Illuminated-Jewelers-Loupe/dp/B001T4OWZ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363482344&sr=8-1&keywords=jewelers+loupe

That is the one I use.. works pretty well.. got it as an add on item for one of my previous amazon orders

[James Bare]

Completely dumb newbie question, what’s the benefit of looking at the edge through a loupe?

[Eating Pie]

I first used the loupe when doing the Sharpie Trick. It gave me a much more accurate view of the wear on the knife after just a few passes with the 1K grit stone. It’s especially helpful when you’re off by just a bit and it’s difficult to see exactly where the stone is hitting the bevel.

Now I also use it to look at scratch patterns. Of course, most of the time I’m baffled by what I’m seeing… but I figure it’ll make sense some day! 🙂

And now I want to ammend my recommendation. This 40x Loupe sold by Fasttech, direct from China is my new favorite.

It has a much better depth of field than any of my other loupes, and it’s only $1.00 more. It uses standard AAA batteries, so you don’t have to hunt around the internet (and pay extortion fees) for replacements. DId I mention the depth of field? That’s really what sets this one apart, making it significantly easier to see the details.

-Pie

[cbwx34]

$4.05 and free shipping? AAA batteries? Looks like a no-brainer. Thanks for the tip!

[Eating Pie]

I like Fasttech… just stay away from the knives! I bought a “CRKT” knife that’s my very first ever official knockoff product purchased in my life. And boy does it suck. 😀 Doesn’t seem like there’d be money in fake knives, but then I was a sucker so go figure. (Ironically, I found them because they sell real Panasonic batteries — something everyone else knocks off!)

Their magnets are pretty awesome too!

-Pie

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