It was about four years ago that I found out that I was not immortal, and that my vision seemed to be the first thing going bad on my chassis. As a youngster, I had exceptional vision and never thought that I would need corrective lenses in the near or far future. Well, I found out that I was wrong. Years of long nights spent at a flickering computer screen, and at light tables and so forth during my work weeks had taken their toll. After initially learning of my poorer vision, I decided to get a pair of shooting glasses that could function as both a safety item, and a help in seeing my sight picture clearer (whenever you shoot, regardless of what type of shooting you are participating in, always wear eye protection! Otherwise you might find out what it is like to be blind, permanently). I had a pair of Outers safety shooting glasses that were clear that I had been using when I shot trap and action pistol, and they had served their purpose well and were a great value at around $10.00 besides. But now I was onto bigger and better things in air pistol competition, and I needed a really good set of frames that would be precision made and totally adjustable.
I first learned of Knobloch's products back when I shot three position rifle in the early eighties. A fellow team member of mine wore glasses, and had a pair of the German made Junker (pronounced youngker) frames that he used during training and matches. At a match we attended, there was another competitor who had another brand of glasses, which turned out to be Knoblochs. I liked the design better for several reasons, and filed that information away somewhere in my head for future use. So when I needed to get shooting glasses myself, I looked for the Knoblochs first. After a short search through various mail order catalogs, I found what I was looking for.
The frames come in two separate and distinct styles. Rifle - which are equipped with a much longer nosepiece to raise the lens up to the higher sighting plane that rifle shooters have, and Pistol - with the shorter nosepiece for the opposite of the above reason. The glasses come in a sturdy plastic case, that does a good job of isolating the glasses from shock and keeps them in place with the use of molded points in the top lid and on the bottom as well. Every part of the frames is replaceable, adjustable or in some way customizable to fit every possible shape of head and face. The bows are available in a variety of lengths, I ordered mine with 170 mm length to fit my particular needs. The main part of the frame (where the eyepieces are anchored) is made of tubular section material which allows the eyepieces to rotate at a forward or backward angle. They also are able to move laterally a full six inches, which allows for total fit to the width of individual shooters eyes. This is a very key element, because all shooters have different positions to some extent, and the angle that they keep their head at relative to their shoulders varies by infinitissimal amounts. I had my optometrist make a lens in my prescription to fit the round lens holder supplied with the frames. I also ordered a black occluder for my nondominant eye (the left one in my case). Both the lens holder and occluder are mounted on stems which are also tubular and allows for rotation on yet another axis. You start to get the idea by this point - you will need some time to set the glasses up for your particular build. To aid in this there is a key which is supplied to adjust all of the screws on the glasses. The screws all are slotted, of the same size, and have a knurl on the edge to facilitate hand tightening as well. Very well machined, with an excellent finish, these frames impressed me immediately on their inspection. I also ordered an adjustable iris (much like a camera's shutter) to help define the sight picture even further. This clips on to the lens holder, and has a small lever that adjusts the size of the aperture. This unit works extremely well, and I recommend an adjustable iris of some kind to all shooters, whether they need corrective lenses in their glasses or not.
I have had these glasses for 4 years now, and I am just as happy with them today as I was the first day I owned them. If you are a person that takes very good care of your equipment they should last you a lifetime, and if you appreciate finely crafted items of any kind, you will appreciate the functional beauty inherent in such a well engineered design.
I am sure that there are several suppliers for these glasses in the U.S., but I will list the company where I purchased mine below. In the most recent catalog, the list price for the basic glasses with one eyepiece was $103.00 U.S. funds. The adjustable iris is an additional $45.00, and the black occluder is $16.00 (they call it a cover disc with side protector). There are also many different lenses available from Knobloch in a plethora of colors and powers of magnification, as well as every single part that makes up the frame, so that you can rebuild them if they were to be damaged.