I've old eyes - short and long sight and an astigmatism; the lot! I find I can only work on netsuke with my glasses off, but my eyes start to ache after about 45 minutes, so magnifying spectacles or glasses are in order. My optician at the daft end of the city said that "people don't ask for these, so, no, we don't do them." After searching all over, I found that no optometrist supplies them. I then bought some x3 clip-ons, but they're worse than useless, though my hand-held x8 magnifier is great, if useless for a carver, as I haven't got a stand and it's not wide enough at 3". I've now invested in a headband with multiple attached lens, which, when combined, should give me a much needed x8 vision and I can wear them with or without my everyday glasses.
There are many varieties of magnifiers, though, and I suspect that what people choose will have to suit their individual needs. There are table models, ones that rest on the collar bone, clip-on or stand alone jewellers' loupes, optivisors and the ones I've descibed above. Prices vary from very expensive German and Swiss precision lens to reasonably cheap, if straightforward, magnifiers. I'd have preferred to have found an optometrist to provide the correct types of lens, but if the over-the-counter route is the only way I can go, so be it.
The Loupe Store is the best supplier of magnifiers in the UK that I've come across online.
There are many varieties of magnifiers, though, and I suspect that what people choose will have to suit their individual needs. There are table models, ones that rest on the collar bone, clip-on or stand alone jewellers' loupes, optivisors and the ones I've descibed above. Prices vary from very expensive German and Swiss precision lens to reasonably cheap, if straightforward, magnifiers. I'd have preferred to have found an optometrist to provide the correct types of lens, but if the over-the-counter route is the only way I can go, so be it.
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