[Forzato]

QUICK REVIEW:
A very important (and often underestimated) tool in straight razor ownership is optical magnification of about 30x to 100x magnification. The RadioShack 60x-100x is a good value at about $10 US. The image is marginal, but acceptable for assessing and diagnosing the edge of a straight razor. It is recommended.



A MORE IN DEPTH REVIEW:
The (nearly) ubiquitous RadioShack 60x-100x lighted magnifier is a steal overall. It has a built in light (2x AAA batteries), 60x or 100x magnification settings, and a focus dial. The 60x setting seems to be the best overall for razor edge inspection. The unit is quite small - about the size of three average adult male fingers. It does take a few hours of practice to really get the most out of it. The sample used was modified by the addition of self adhesive felt pads (ala Home Depot, etc) to the appropriate parts of the clear plastic part around the light bulb. This allows proper viewing of the edge with minimal risk of edge damage. The edge must never be allowed to more than lightly touch the felt - otherwise edge damage may result.

Even with extensive practice the image is hazy, distorted, grainy, and of course - flipped left to right. The depth of field is very shallow. It is surprisingly difficult to augment the supplied lighting (which is acceptably powerful - but barely). In use the importance of a slow delicate touch and practice cannot be under emphasized. It takes practice also to correctly interpret the image viewed of the edge. The build quality of the unit itself is what you'd expect for $10. Even given all these issues, this magnifier has just enough of the right stuff to work well in practice. The high power, price, and easy availability make the RadioShack 60x-100x magnifier a good value and a no brainer. For many straight razor users (not already using a proper magnifier) this inexpensive magnifier will make a huge and immediate difference in the user's definition of 'sharp' and 'shave ready'.

Most noteworthy of all is how under rated the use of meaningful optical magnification is represented in the current world of straight razors - especially when one is learning the art. This also makes a strong case for the Radioshack unit since just about anyone can afford $10 to dramatically improve both a) the learning curve of straight razor ownership, and b) the quality of shaves received (read: less pain and suffering). A proper magnifier will allow the informed user to not only to asses a blade, but to diagnose many razor problems - including the shaving technique itself. With regards to straight razor shaving, especially for the neophyte - it (or another proper magnifier) is indeed a tool of most critical proportions.



The reviewer welcomes any feedback.

[Joe Chandler]

I've got a couple of them, and use them all the time. They're definitely worth the money. Not sure how "underrated" magnification is, since it's been a recommended item on here for about as long as this place has been here. I'm curious about the tagline "Imperial America" near your name. What are you trying to say with that?

[RobertFontaine]

I see there are two left in winnipeg.

Hopefully 1 will last till saturday.

sweeet.

[RobertFontaine]

Ooops I mispoke none left in Winnipeg. 2 of the slide based ones are left but the handhelds are all gone.

If someone picks up an extra I would be more than pleased to pay for it and shipping.

Thanks,
Bob

.... darn that was fast Kerryman71 to the rescue Thank you very muchly.

[Forzato]

Joe,

I appreciate your feedback. Thank you and keep it coming. The review claims we under rate the importance of optical magnification because (I'd suggest) generally we do under rate it.

Just read a few dozen virginal Newbie posts and what should be a reflexive question 'Do you have, and do you feel confident interpreting the images from - a proper magnifier?' is rarely brought up in a prompt fashion from our (otherwise generally very helpful SRP) members.

This is true even when the newbie clearly states they've got a blade, strop, mug/brush - and that's it. The true newbie almost never states that they've viewed the edge under magnification. Unless clarified upfront, the reflexive question posed a few sentences ago should always be just that - reflexive:

'Do you have, and do you feel confident interpreting the images from - a proper magnifier?'

...especially since $10 is a small fraction of the total cost these days to get set up properly for straight razor shaving. Even more so because for the newbie the potential return on this $10 is enormous (e.g. stick with straight razor shaving for a lifetime). Probably the best $10 spent after a good razor, strop, and Lynn's DVD.

Speaking of Lynn... I believe as an important service and to complete his otherwise perfect product lineup he ought to consider reselling these (or comparable) magnifiers on www.ClassicShaving.com

[gugi]

I thought we generally recommend that newbies have their razor honed by somebody experienced. When they start learning to hone is usually well past the 'got a brush, razor and a strop' stage.
I do look at my blades under magnification and find it useful as a rough guidance on the honing, although I am not sure that it's that important in the last stages.

[Forzato]

gugi,

Thanks for the feedback.

Indeed it is a wise idea for the newbie to get his first blade pro-honed. But having a proper scope at the moment the razor is taken out of the box (for the very first time) will allow the newbie to see exactly what the edge should look like. A benchmark if you will. This honemeister prepared - near perfect edge should be carefully memorized and studied at length under the microscope - before anything comes near that edge. This is critical and often missed by the typical newbie. Skipping this step will likely add many hours to the learning curve as (we all know) one must know the destination if they are to plot a course to it.

Then and only then should the newbie try his first careful attempts at stropping... scoping the edge frequently throughout - to learn what does and does not work. If the newbie damages the edge (actually quite likely without first hand tutelage) they will typically want to advance to honing the razor themselves (or have the edge re-honed by someone skilled).

Hopefully with some stropping and shaving success under his belt, the newbie will undoubtedly want (or need) to learn how to hone. The microscope will continue to provide much needed feedback. To minimize frustration it is imperative for the newbie to use the scope throughout every phase of honing as a means of checking and confirming results. With practice the Radioshack scope is good enough to help with perfecting even final honing (i.e. Belgian coticule, diamond pastes, etc). With scope practice a superlative excellent shaving edge can be easily predicted... just as easily as a nick-causing, rash-inducing, blood-draining poor shaving edge can be witnessed - again under a proper scope.

At any point in the newbie's experience if something doesn't seem right - just carefully scope the entire edge to determine if an imperfect edge is the cause of the problem, or if indeed another factor is the culprit.

Unless you are especially lucky, have a honemeister at your disposal first hand, or are already skilled at the art of straight razors - having anything to do with straight razors and not frequently using a proper scope is kind of like driving in the dark without headlights... eventually you may get there - but the trip ain't likely to be all that pleasant (simply because you didn't know to turn on the lights).

Thanks again.

[Unsub]

That makes a lot of sense to me as someone who has just ordered his first Wapi.
I have ordered some NOS Wapis and plan to order a shave ready one as well.
I am definitly going to pick up a maginifier and check the difference between new and shave ready. I am a knife nut with a lot of experience with knife sharpening but razors are a whole nother level.

[heavydutysg135]

You cannot see edge sharpness by looking at the side of the bevel which is what a microscope shows. I do own a few microscopes (and feel the resolution on this particular model is fairly poor), but for me their use is limited to looking for double bevels, microchipping, and other "issues". A microscope is definately a great tool to have but a very dull edge with an even stratch pattern can look almost identical to a honemeister edge even though it will not shave anywhere near as well. For this reason I advocate both sharpness tests and edge uniformity tests (which is what the microscope can check for) throughout the honing process and then correlating the results of these tests with the quality of the shave. Your felt pad modification is an interesting idea.

[Scott]

I have to agree with David above. I own the very same scope discussed in the review and although I have found it helpful, It certainly is not the tool I use to determine sharpness. Most chips are visible to me with the eye alone with good lighting and the rest I usually am able to feel using a fingernail lightly drawn across the edge. I recently over honed a razor and was able to tell that using this scope. It is the only scope I own and It has helped me a lot, but it has also taught me that a more expensive microscope is certainly not a necessity for getting excellent shaving edges. Now I mostly just use it to look at the bevel scratch patterns from honing but I haven't figured out how to interpret this info yet into shave quality for my face!

-----------------Scott

[RobertFontaine]

I used mine last night and found it very useful in determining the impact of the pasted strops and polishing hones.

-Bob

[toolarts]

I bought one of these and all I can say is at least it only cost $10.00. Yes you can view the edge with it.

I then purchased a nice Edmund microscope on Ebay for $65.00 and it has been my workhorse ever since. With the Edmund and a custom made razor holder, I can see the edge and the bevel, but especially, I can clamp the razor in by sliding it under a piece of plastic and then scan the entire bevel as I am working it to make sure I am getting all the deformities out.

The Radio Shack went into a drawer as soon as the Edmund arrived and is *never* used. The RS has no table, no method of attaching the razor to the scope, and attempting to use it on a regular basis for precision work was an exercise in frustration.

Instead, I have a 30X loupe I use for routine examination and field work (antique shops) and the Edmond 40X and 100X for serious honing.

I can take a razor from pitted, chipped oblivion to smooth shaves against the grain with the Edmund and no other tests (except the shaving test).

By the way, if you use a good microscope, and you have 100X, you can view the actual cutting edge by tilting the razor up slightly on the table and using the high-precision vernier to move the focus from the bevel out to the edge. With practice, this will give you a "3-D" effect that allows you to see how sharp the edge actually is. I actually don't know how to do a thumbpad test, and I don't have enough hair to spare for the HHT

[hoglahoo]

I have some telescope eyepieces that let me view between 25X and 100X but the field of view is so small and I have to hold the razor so close to the eyepiece at 100X that it isn't very useful. I wonder how the radio shack scope compares

[Leon]

I have a 30x loupe, but using it with the proper lightning is a problem.
As I couldn't buy the Radioshack microscope beacuse I'm in Europe, I ordered a similar one - this. It's a real bargain, but I'm not expecting much.