I love having a desktop magnifying glass with light sitting on my desk. It does everything I typically expect my handheld magnifier to do, only hands-free. Granted, I have to be sitting at my desk to use it as opposed to reclining in my La-Z-Boy (only kidding – I wish I had a La-Z-Boy).
Anyway, I mentioned in a previous article about how much of a giddy little kid I am when it comes to collecting stamps. Well, just today I found myself staring into my desktop magnifying glass with light for about 30 minutes straight. I was enjoying my time pursuing my favorite hobby of all so much that I didn’t even notice the magnitude of what was happening.
Until about a week ago, I exclusively used my handheld magnifying glasses, especially the lighted ones. My old college roommate, remembering my passion for collecting stamps, bought me a desktop magnifying glass with light for my birthday two years ago. At the time I thought this was great – I just knew I wouldn’t get enough of this thing.
And then it sat in its box for a year. I don’t know why I never got around to opening it, but that’s what happened. The poor neglected desk magnifying glass remained untouched for a full year.
One way or another, it found itself onto my desk (I’m guessing a certain significant other pulled it out), and there it sat for a while longer.
Long story short, the suddenly very handy tool became a staple in my hobby, and it took me until today to realize it. I am trying to think back, and come up with a list of benefits of having a lighted magnifying glass that sits on your desk that I can share with you.
Benefits
1. It’s hands free. I know I mentioned this already, but I especially like this part. I can peer through the top of the glass and have both of my hands free to position the object I am magnifying to my liking.
2. The glass is already positioned properly. When I say this, I am referring to the minor annoyance that handheld magnifying glasses have, which is the necessity of having to move the focal point of the glass up, down, left and right just to get the proper image you want. With the desktop magnifying glass with light, I just turn the knob on the arm to the left or to the right, and no matter what the glass is positioned right where I need it to be.
3. Accessibility. Yes, a handheld tool is rates higher on the portability scale. But portability does not necessarily translate into accessibility. I like knowing the desktop magnifier is sitting in the same place all the time, and that it’d be really hard to lose (even if I tried). Admittedly, I lose things pretty often.
If any of these 3 reasons resonate with you, and you have a hobby that you like to pursue at the comfort of your desk, then a desktop magnifying glass with light might be for you. If only it didn’t take me so long to find out!