What devices have you found useful when inspecting your stylii for cleanliness?

Dear @noromance : I know that with that Decca cartridge even as the Ikeda 9 have compliance ( very low ).

Now you as many other audiophiles ( I made it in the past too. ) makes that stylus clean after each side with out really make an inspection, just we do it we are accustom to.

In the other side @richardbrand was or is looking for a device to inspect the stylus at the end of each side where that " inspect device " makes a quality difference between what he is looking for and what other gentlemans normally make: no inspect devices.

@richardbrand " One mystery remains: "After each side is played the stylus is inspected".

I can’t be sure if @billstevenson do it in the way I do where I only " inspect " the stylus by my eyes looking mostly for debris/dust threads ( he posted that the true inpspection of the stylus is twice a year. ) . This is the " inspection " I do: only by eyes. I like to listen MUSIC and don’t lost time that often with a " inspection device ", time is to short and is " gold " to take advantage of it.

R.

the new mirror with LED light came, the light works well, no need to aim or hold another light source. it's 30x, slightly better than my 20x, the numbers don't make meaningful sense,

btw, many years ago, I gave myself a great shop light with magnifying glass, and built-in lights, here it is, with the 20x and new 30x in same photo, I'm moving my Sumiko Talisman Sapphire to my Long Fixed arm for the Holidays.

here's the 20x, I bounce light from a nearby fixture with flexible arm, then pick up the mirror, rotate it this way and that

here's the 30x, self-lit a wonderful hands free feature, I still lift one edge of the mirror, roll it this way and that, you can inspect the suspension, the cantilever, the tip, just a matter of positioning, bending, eye distance.

A loop is the most obvious. The best lens makers are Schneider-Kreutznach, Zeiss and Leica.

Thanks everybody and especially @elliottbnewcombjr for the very informative pictures.  I am going to go for something like that small LED-lit magnifying mirror and a BelOMO loupe.

Only problem is that I live Down Under.  The Australian website selling BelOMO has stopped carrying them, offered me a Russian one instead.  They think that Amazon may be able to oblige.  The US store's website has them as "out of stock' but apparently some have just come in.  Next issue - they only have facilities to ship to the US.  But in a few weeks' time that should change!  Down here, we just pop things in the mail.

As a trading nation, Australia does not have tariffs, and the local 10% goods and services tax is not normally charged on small imported items so we positively encourage imports.  In exchange for our copious supplies of iron ore, coal and gas, I'm afraid.

Have not been able to find a suitable mirror yet, either!  But as they say, I am looking into it

@richardbrand I would try B&H in New York City for new or KEH in Georgia for used. Sorry for misspelling loupe.