A "Must Have" for all those Honing razors.

I know a lot of us already own a 60x loupe, but mine just saved my bacon. Or, should I say, "My Beau Brummel". I only paid $8 for it, but it was in fantastic condition. All I thought it needed was a little polish, and a little bluing in the tang, and it would be ready.
I was wrong. I fiddled with it, and had it looking pretty good, at least I thought so. I examined the edge with the naked eye, and felt it for burrs, with my fingernail. It all looked, and felt very good. So I thought.
This blade is ground very very thin, like a Dubl Duck, so, as I was doing my 1k bevel, I looked under the 60x loupe, and saw a crack. This crack couldn't be seen with the naked eye, but, it could easily be seen under the 60x. My heart skipped a beat. If I had finished with the honing, and put it to the leather strop, I an certain the crack would have split much farther, because of the thinness of the blade. The crack was the entire depth of the bevel, so, off to the 100 grit tool hone. I carefully ground down the edge, in a sawing motion, until it was no longer visible, at any angle.
So, I am off to finish with this honing.
Before any work:

 

+1 for the loupe. I have several different magnifying devices I use with computers.

 

I use a hand held microscope that I have in my stash of stuff at work. This works really nice for looking at the edge...but it's more that $8

 

A good loupe is always the first thing to go near any new razor as well as verification between stones when honing. Saved my strop and throat many many times over.

 

What is the power of magnification on yours ?

 

30x very good resolution.

 

I have a Carson hand held microscope that can zoom in from 60x to 120x. The 60 x is perfect for seeing what's going on with my blades. It has really helped me get my razors properly honed.

 

This discussion makes me feel like a rank amateur. Either that or I just live dangerously. This was pretty much my thought process when I started honing razors.

"Hmm, this mysterious razor from an antique shop doesn't look too bad. And I watched a video on You-Tube once about honing." So far the results haven't been too bad.

 

Sounds like you just like to learn things for yourself. Nothing wrong with that.

 

I'll admit my success rate isn't perfect, but at least I've never maimed myself. I guess that's something to be proud of!