Getting to that age where I could use a little help with the eye at seeing tiny things. Don’t like reading glasses for many reasons and thought maybe a ‘reading’ monocle would be perfect. Anyone have experience with such a thing? Its not for fashion but I guess it could be?
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They’re almost done with the Occumetrics adjustable lens. It’s just the same as a cataract lens replacement, but you can naturally focus at any depth instead of the currrent fixed focus lenses. Like we might have them in the US in 2028, some countries 2027.
I want this rather badly.
Doesn’t a monocle get jammed into the flesh around your eyesocket? That can’t be comfortable long term.
Ooooh, Magnets. Hold it on with magnets.
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Well my eyes are fine but seeing those super tiny letters on ICs and such isn’t easy anymore and I think being able to pop a lens over my eye and hold it in place while using my hands and just let it fall out when I am done is an ideal solution. I don’t know much about the lens you are talking about but it looks surgical, which would be hard to justify when I am still 20/20.
Sounds like you don’t want a monocle, but an eye loupe then. It’s a magnifying glass you can hold with your hand, or your eye.
They are made specifically to look at small things for short times while keeping your hands free. I’ve used them for a few jobs, and have a set for home but I rarely use them now. They do get uncomfortable for prolonged use; for that I prefer the head mounted version. But for short use at a workstation, they are great.
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That’s classic presbyopia, the hardening (and no longer focusable) lenses of the eye. You’re what, late 40’s, maybe early 50’s? Happens to everybody. I’m naturally near sighted, but my eyes are perma focused about 2 feet out. Sucks for reading, sucks for machining, sucks for trying to put tiny little parts back together.
Hence the adjustable lenses to get back to what I used to have, the ability to focus up close again.
Well let’s get technical here.. “reading glasses” are a specific lens shape because it’s compensating presbyopia.. a hardening of the natural lens as we age. This is different from simply magnifying something.. though magnification works to mitigate the blurry focusing issues presbyopia presents. This is why you can get “reading glasses” which are 1) universal, work for everyone because everyone has the same problem, and 2) versions of reading glasses that have no additional magnification, just correct the focus issue.
You can get reading glasses that also magnify because at some point your natural lens loses all playability and magnification is about the only thing left you can do.
In any case, why not test the monical thing out by extracting a lens from standard reading glasses and just try holding that up to your face when you need to inspect something. You can get reading glasses with magnification if you want.
If it’s something that works for you then you might be able to approach an optometrist to see if they can order a “round” lens shape for you from their lens supplier. There may even still be optometrists that do their own grinding but likely everything is outsourced at this point
Well I have tried that but in sense that I used reading glasses and they work, and are also slightly magnified which gives a bonus to the looking at small things part. But I dislike wearing glasses for specific reasons which are not going to change.
Yeah, I have a loupe. The problem is that the working distance is incredibly short. Its extremely difficult for me to solder a joint that is less than 4 inches from my face. 
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Maybe one of these visors?
They wear a little differently than glasses, I find them more comfortable at least
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I know we are all troubleshooters here which makes proposing alternative solutions irresistible, but let’s assume all of the usual ‘non monocle’ options have been considered and rejected.
Is there a something I am missing with the monocle consideration? I would feel like there would have to be except for finding really good solutions in similar ‘old timey’ things. Suspenders for holding pants up, wide brimmed hats and sleeves for preventing sunburn, etc, are all things that people think have been discarded for impracticality but the only thing I can see against them is fashion.
I get that. I am a fan of wide-brimmed hats; they protect your entire head rather than just your face. I still use long sleeves rather than sunscreen when I can as well. I also greatly prefer goggles over sunglasses.
I would say though, I get why these things are no longer popular. Even if they are better in some ways, they have their trade offs. Mostly in convenience, wide brim hats are wide and hard to store compared to a modern base ball cap. Also they don’t work so well in modern vehicles. Ever wonder why the original cars had so much head room and never had head rests?
Sunscreen is harder to use, but cooler than long sleeves. Also without a wide brim hat, you need some sunscreen for your face/neck anyways. Might as well also put it on your arms. Sunglasses are easier to put on/off than goggles. Styles follow trends, and trends sometimes follow preferences. Sometimes they follow other things like shortages, prices, fashion, marketing, etc. Also sometimes things come back. Sunshirts/sunhoodies are becoming a thing for hiking. Really thin, breathable and UV rated.
Sometimes new tech is better, sometimes we forgot something better. It is a mixed bag; and always worth a shot trying the old way if you have a chance and it’s not made from uranium or lead. Each person might have a different opinion on these trade-offs, but I feel like most people never give things a chance. We get reading glasses when we can’t read well, because reading glasses are they solution now. Maybe there is a good reason for that, maybe it is a bad reason. What works for everyone else might not work for you. I would be curious where you find, or how you make a monocle. And how it works, and how you find using it to be.
I’m with amal here, your best option if you want a tensioned monocle is to have one commissioned. Have an optometrist measure your focal range and have a lens made and mounted so you only use it for reading.
My experience at distance is from PVS-14’s with Wilcox mounts, which doesn’t sound like the application you’re going for.
Man, I feel that. I don’t know if you’ve gone down this track, but I literally just googled “bespoke monacle” and got at least 4 places that make them.
THIS ONE looks kinda cool, pricey, but cool. Looks like prescription / magnifier / or “reader” is all available.
The problem is, you need to find someone with monacle experience in order to form an opinion, or just drop a couple hundred bucks and see if it works for you.
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oh that is cool! i was thinking maybe if you could get a lens that works you could also approach like a steampunk etsy artist to make a frame and chain for it
The chain freaks me out. Machinist thing. Seen some weird ass, bloody injuries from people getting shit pulled in to rotating parts.
This one also looks decent and is in the USA which is convenient for me. Both of those sites look like templates with a shopify processor underneath and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they they were drop shipping for the same supplier, but I don’t care as long as the quality and service are decent. I’d love to hear from someone who gave the monocle a shot before dropping ol’ Grant on it but I guess someone has to be the pioneer.
you know that loops of razor wire you see on chain link fences? I saw a guy scoop up a double armful of something like that was made of titanium ribbons left from roughing a large titanium casting. When he picked it up it tightened around the cutter, and pulled.
They had to surgically re-attach ligaments. You don’t forget that shit. Ever.
Binnocular vision / depth perception
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can you expand on those reasons?
Would either of these two options mitigate your reasons?
Straining light flexible portable emergency reading glasses
or
Alternatively
There are other types, a bit more robust than these
eg..
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That works fine with a monocle, you aren’t closing the other eye. You gain resolution in one eye but don’t lose anything in the other.