aircooled Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 Most of these stories start with, "I just bought this off of Ebay..." and this one is no different. I bought a used Harder Steenbeck Infinity CR+ from a US based seller. Upon inspection of the airbrush (which feels impressive and looks like the real deal) I noticed that the needles - both the one that was installed and the one that was in the legitimate looking needle clear tube did not look like the needles in the two other HS brushes I own, an Evolution CR+ (bought new from a reputable vendor) and an Ultra (bought used on Facebook Marketplace - hey, that's almost as legit). My two old brushes have needles with notches machined in the end just like you see on the HS website. These nozzles also have machined marks in them that match the needle size. The needles I received in this "new" Infinity brush look decidedly different. Namely, they look cheaper. One has no markings at all and the other needle has a single notch cut out of the end (the one with the blue background). I've seen Harder Steenbeck Infinity CR+ for sale on EBay direct from China and they are typically listed for about $100 or better cheaper than ones for sale from reputable dealers. I find it suspicious that a German made airbrush ends up for sale cheap from multiple vendors in China. Is there actually a market for knock-off high-end airbrushes? Do these needles look suspicious or could someone confirm that these needles are genuine? I'm leaning towards this being a knock-off that someone purchased direct from China and then decided to resell on the used market. I'm curious what the chaps on here have to offer up? Sherlock Holmes anyone? Or am I just being paranoid? The final picture shows my old Evolution and it's needle in comparison with the new "Infinity" needle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray_W Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 Strange, the needle does not seem correct. Did the US seller swap out the needle? The two needles supplied with my Infinity CR plus. 0.4 at the top. 0.15 at the bottom. Hopefully, Paul from @little-cars will come by and offer his expertise. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircooled Posted March 3, 2023 Author Share Posted March 3, 2023 That's what I was expecting to see as well. The brush looks new, there was some slight paint residue on the needle that was installed in the gun but there aren't any handling marks on the body so I'm guessing it was only lightly used. Perhaps because it didn't perform as expected. So i doubt they replaced them due to wear but can't rule out they may have replaced them with knockoffs for nefarious purposes. I've looked as closely as I can on some of these Chinese ebay listings and on some photos you can just make out what looks like a notch, similar to the one I have, cut out of the spare needles, but it's really hard to tell...I might be seeing conspiracys everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenko Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 H&S changed the markings on their needles some time back. A good place to check would be air-craft.net website. They are also a dam good firm to deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malpaso Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 Relax @aircooled, you have proper H&S needles there, they are the same as I have in my two H&S. They are older, no notch = 0.2mm, one notch =0.4; they changed to the nobbly style marking in the last few years. Supposedly the newer “ribbed for pleasure” needles are also somewhat harder! 🤣 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircooled Posted March 3, 2023 Author Share Posted March 3, 2023 25 minutes ago, malpaso said: Relax @aircooled, you have proper H&S needles there, they are the same as I have in my two H&S. They are older, no notch = 0.2mm, one notch =0.4; they changed to the nobbly style marking in the last few years. Supposedly the newer “ribbed for pleasure” needles are also somewhat harder! 🤣 Thanks Malpaso! I needed someone to talk me off the ledge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmwh548 Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 You have the original stuff, just the older versions. They changed the markings on the needles and nozzles a few years ago. Make sure you get some photos when you order replacements so you don't mix them all up. Not an issue for the needles, but I think the old 0.4 nozzle had one marking and the new 0.2 has one marking (don't take my word on it, it's been a while). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psdavidson Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 (edited) There's a blog post on air-craft.net which gives an explanation of the changes and the markings https://www.air-craft.net/blog/2018/12/20/now-heres-an-airbrush-tip/ Hopefully it helps /P Edited March 3, 2023 by psdavidson corrected the badly spelled words Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircooled Posted March 3, 2023 Author Share Posted March 3, 2023 Thanks psdavidson, that helps immensely. You guys are killing my conspiracy theories about rouge Chinese counterfeiters. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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