Thread: Razor & Magnifying Glass...

Ok, am I just wasting my time looking at my razor with a magnifying glass?

No. Not at all. They're a useful tool & lots of us use them. Generally referred to as Loupe's here, as we tend to use the jeweller's version.

Originally Posted by jmcgericault

Ok, am I just wasting my time looking at my razor with a magnifying glass?

It depends what you see and whether it helps. It may be that you just enjoy looking through the glass.
It's only a waste of time if it doesn't help you improve the edge or there is something else you would have rather been doing.
I think for many of us, if it shaves well, then any deeper examination is superfluous.

The loupe is great. I use mine frequently. It lets me see enough of the bevel when I'm honing, I don't need any more than that.

I use one when I hone. Many times, especially on new razors, the edge is so tiny you can't tell if you've set the bevel or not. On antique store finds, you'll find that you'll have a secondary bevel where your honing hasn't created a fresh bevel and but the existing older bevel is nearly microscopic...this is where magnification is very helpful. Perhaps the biggest challenge to using a loupe or microscope, at least for me, is you to interpret the information you're getting from the loupe.