My best new sharpening aid

[Boattale]

Lighted magnifying glass. Not sure what power it is, but it allows me to see exactly what's going on with the edge during the sharpening process. VERY helpful, especially with first sharpening of a new knife when the edge is getting the preferred 20 degrees per side profile.

 

[Slamfire]

The magnifying glass on my Swiss Army is essential for me to put a good edge on a knife.



Without this, I would not be able to correlate what I am doing on the stone, with the developing edge. I can look and see where the stone is removing material. That ensures that I maintain a constant angle, instead of rounding the edge. I can look to see that the edge is centered on the blade. I don't know how anyone can properly sharpen a knife without visually seeing what they are doing.

 

[earlthegoat2]

There are jewelers loupes sold at HF that I use for a lot of random observations.

Looking at insects, checking to see if I have filled the pores when finishing wood, inspecting cartridge casings, and a number of other things as well as looking at the edge of knives.