Search the Community

I was thinking about buying a stereo microscope ( my budget is around 250$ to 300$ max) , to do various nib works such as grinding polishing etc. I have a very good belomo 12x loupe but the magnification just isn't enough for me. I want to be able to see very fine details on the tipping of the nib which I can't see with the loupe, especially when working on finer nibs. Now I do have a few options on what to buy, but really need someones opinion. The first choice would be the Amscope se400-z ( https://amzn.to/2SbzszH ). Seems like a good deal and has good reviews. The problem is that it does not have variable zoom plus I don't know if 20x magnification would be enough to show me the finer details of the tipping material and if there would be a noticable difference compared to the loupe. The other option is buying a used microscope from ebay, perhaps from a better brand (leica, zeiss etc) but at my budget most of the ones that I find have pretty much 20x zoom at most (usually its even less, around 10x). The third option would be to buy something unbranded from aliexpress (https://bit.ly/2WCgfps I have something like this in mind) which has more zoom and it is variable too. But again I am trying to avoid this, because I am not certain about the quality of the product and due to the fact that parcels outside eu get stuck at customs, I'll be forced to pay something around 20 euros plus 27% of the price of the item (including shipping). Ideally I would like to buy the amscope se400-z, if 20x magnification is enough to see any difference when comparing it to the loupe. So my question is, is it worth it? Will there be much difference compared to the loupe? Does anyone more experienced have any other proposals, such as another microscope that I have not considered? Any information would be much appreciated and helpful

I have two loupes one from goulet pens that has a wider viewing field and then I also have a Belomo that has more magnification. I often end up just rubberbanding the loupe to my cellphone and put my cellphone on a little tripod and then put my fountain pen / nib on a stand as well so I can free my hands. I know loupes are handy especially when on the move or for a quick look. I often look at my nibs at my desk and often when I have plenty of time. That got me thinking instead of using loupes why not use a microscope, more specifically a USB Microscope. I've done some research and there seem to be a decent number of pretty well liked USB Digital Microscopes that can be purchased for around 20usd - 100usd depending on the features. I can't be the only one who thought to use one of these or likes to be able to have their hands free while looking at their pen. Do any of you have experience with these USB microscopes?

Title says it all, I took photos of my entire collection, next to each is the amount of use the pen got (for wearing of the tip). Here you go: Waterman Graduate F, ocasional use: Rotring Artpen 1.5, almost no use: Rainbow 239, vintage, ocasional use: Rainbow 232, vintage, heavy use: Pilot Varsity, used once till empty: Picasso 998, inked for first time: Picasso 916, ocasional use: Picasso 902, moderate use: Picasso 606, almost no use: Pelikan Jazz M, moderate use: Parker IM italic ground by me, almost no use: Lamy Safari M, moderate use: Lamy Safari F, heavy use: [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbzc] [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbA4][url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbA4] Lamy Safari EF, almost no use: [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbCZ][url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbCZ] [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbEx][url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbEx] Laguiole, almost no use: [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbGr][url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbGr] [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbHZ][url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbHZ] Koh-i-Noor B reground by me, almost no use: [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbKx]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1721/41606694605_4a0d5de8d5_o.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbMg]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1757/41606694705_1937345841_o.jpg Wooden IPG, damaged nib, no use: [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbND]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1722/41606694785_87e2376a1c_o.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbQc]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1732/41606694875_1520115df4_o.jpg Wooden IPG, no damage, used once: [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbRV]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1728/41606694975_2d63cf8536_o.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbTD]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1745/41606695075_d94aa7f6cd_o.jpg Blue IPG, almost no use: [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbWV]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1756/41606695265_c18de6e77b_o.jpg Hero 332, vintage, heavy use: [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDbYZ]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1757/41606695385_1e6e17fe6d_o.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDc2e]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1743/41606695515_7d0c52c37a_o.jpg Hero 007, new, no use: [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDc2K]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1748/41606695545_94c0a4100a_o.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDc4D]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1733/41606695655_cdb999039e_o.jpg Hero 007, moderate use: [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDc6T]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1737/41606695785_dd41dfb494_o.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDc98]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1753/41606695915_66b57f7131_o.jpg Faber-Castell Basic Carbon Fiber F, heavy use: [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDcav]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1750/41606695995_097d7bb808_o.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDce8]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1751/41606696205_2ae16d1039_o.jpg BIC Easy-Click, ocasional use: [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDcgx]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1732/41606696345_34d54276eb_o.jpg [url=https://flic.kr/p/26oDchV]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1751/41606696425_698e694df2_o.jpg

Hey all! So... I received a microscope as a present about a week ago, and today I thought I'd take a look at some inks. I had some Pelikan Brilliant-Red and some Rotring red technical drawing (pigment) ink on hand, so I made a couple of smears and this is what came out: This is the Pelikan at 100X: The Rotring at 100x and 400x respectively: You can clearly see the small pigment particles that can clog up a pens feed. The dots on the Pelican slide on the other hand are little crystals that formed as the ink dried (I don't have photos of it while still wet, but it was clear). The pictures are not perfect, I still need an adapter to mount a camera directly. These were made with my phone through the eyepiece (the focus isn't great, as I focused by eye first, and the phone camera lens also induced some distortions). Another thing to note is the smooth, continuous edge on the Rotring ink, whereas the Pelikan has a rough, incontinuous one. This is due to the Rotring ink having a higher surface tension (i.e. it's a dryer ink than the Pelikan). P.S.: tell me if you want to see more pen related microscopic images (like nibs, paper, etc.) and i'll try to do some more.

Hello! I'm a new user. I've created two videos showing the effects of ink under a microscope. The first one, "Fountain Pen Ink Flow Under a Microscope" is a video showing the ink flow of various inks from various pens under various (10-40 power) zoom. The second one, "Up Close and Personal With J. Herbin Rouge Hematite" shows the golden sheen coming out of the ink at various magnifications and it's pretty interesting to see! If you're interested, check them out! Got any opinions or ideas, let me know! I'd love to do more videos on the subject. edit: Here is a gif showing the Rouge Hematite in action! Videos are inline below.

while i do not(yet) repair pens myself, i have something that may be useful when adjusting nib tines. The Eye Clops microscope is a handheld digital microscope, and does 100x, 200x, and 400x magnification. it has lights built in to light up the object, a screen showing the magnified object, and can take picture or video, if need be you need to post it somewhere. downside is, im not sure how practical it is, and you dont really need the 200x and 400x for obvious reasons. another downside is the need to hold the pen and the microscope, unless you can figure out a mount for the scope and pen, because its a bit tricky to adjust the pen correctly to the microscope at such high magnifications. a pen mount is optional but will free up both hands and keep you from having to adjust it to keep it a sharp image. i would post samples but im having quite a time finding the usb that plugs into the top...