We do a ton of Rx sunwear and therefore we have tons of unused plano sunlenses that we have to discard. Some are flash mirror, gradient tints, the occasional polarized, etc. that are kind of a shame to waste.
Can they be edged to fit, say, an ophthalmic frame, to make a pair of sunnies? I realize they are very thin and bezels may be thicker...
Also, is anyone aware of the availability of less-than-full-fare plano sunwear lenses that a lab can offer to clients to be edged into frames? I know we can order a plano lens with a tint for any frame but it costs us the same as a Rx job.
You can buy polarized plano stock lenses through Zeiss and Nassau, nassau also offers them with a few different mirrors. It's also very easy to edge unused sun lenses for different frames.
Just have to account for the difference in frame wrap/base curves. I know a guy who does this with old ophthalmic frames. He cuts stock sun lenses for them and sells them as grab and go sunglasses.
Krystle
I think Hilco or one of the supply companies sells plano sun uncuts. They're pretty cheap.Originally Posted by drk
I would go Nassau, they have a pretty good and inexpensive selection for sun lenses of all variety. Good size blanks
Dynamic labs has a big selection of zeiss planos with mirrors/ar/etc.
There are a lot of premade plano sun lens blanks available, polar, non-polar, uncoated, backside coated, mirrors no mirrors. Cost varies with options but all significantly less than Rx lenses. It will be easy to find 6 and 8 base. Less options for 4 base, which is what you would want of you are turning old ophthalmics into suns. If you have an edger and are doing a lot of them you can also buy in moderate to large quantities direct from manufactures on Alibaba for much less, with pretty much endless possible combinations of materials and options.
Also no reason you couldn't cut down old lenses into smaller frames as long as they are not glass, and you can line up the polarized filters.
I also second Nassau. they also have some KBCo options available.
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You can cut those Plano’s into frames that didn’t sell and give them new life
you’d be surprised. not only do they sell as Plano‘s but people can see what they would look like. In a prescription sunglass especially helpful for petite or high RX client
This is a bit off-topic, but a place I've used a couple times is Fuse Lenses. It's a retail direct to consumer site, but they have a lot of lens options and really nice prices, plus pre-edged lenses for tons of popular sun frames. I've had a few Maui Jim and Oakley fans bring their scratched up pairs to me. I don't carry those brands so couldn't get authentic lenses (which would be expensive anyway), and I didn't really want to go through all the hassle of ordering and edging lenses myself for them, so I ordered them through this site. They were a perfect fit, and looked like quality lenses. I don't do enough plano sun to make it useful, but if someone did their points reward program can cut the costs down a lot, to the point your paying less for pre-edged polarized mirrored lenses than you would for uncut stock from ophthalmic vendors. They offer to do custom jobs if you send in your frames, which means they have a huge stock of uncuts at their facility. I bet if one forged a good enough relationship they might even be willing to sell uncuts. Not for me, but I bet someone could rock a custom plano sun business this way.
1. Yes you can
2. Be cognizant of frame to lens size
3. Your edger should have a “frame change” function like the Santinellis, but best option is to go old school Weco 440. No feelers. But, you will need to cut a pattern. Easy Peasy. Trace the frame, use a pattern adapter, then cut a pattern like you would a lens.
4. Most of these sun lenses are acrylic based, so a poly or Trivex setting is a must.
5. Makes me think that I should open a side hustle just for this…….
I bend light. That is what I do.
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