Fake Iwata Airbruhes

[haveblue]

Does anyone have any identifying marks/clues or differences that they could point out which separates the genuine article from the fake?

[Guest Peterpools]

Best bet:

Buy your Iwata air brush from a vendor with an excellent reputation. If the price is too good to be true, most likely it's a knock off.

Just call Iwata and asked

Peter

Edited June 28, 2018 by Peterpools

[Gigant]

Hobby Lobby is an excellent source of Iwata's stuff.

 

I got their nice trigger model with a 40% off coupon as well.

[haveblue]

I should add I've had a HP CS for a couple of years, paid around $120 USD for it at the time...I see a lot of reports about this brush being a pretty good one, however sometimes I find it a little underwhelming, especially for detail/fine lines.

[Gigant]

Once again, depending on where you live, our Hobby Lobby stores have Iwata's, Paasche's and Badgers, all in various single/double open/enclosed action types.

 

And of course for the finer lines you seek the smaller needle size, but those also can be got as AM items from the major manufacturers.

[haveblue]

Thanks for the heads up on hobby lobby, not looking to buy at the moment just curious what the tells are on the fake ones

[Gigant]

Thanks for the heads up on hobby lobby, not looking to buy at the moment just curious what the tells are on the fake ones

No problem.

 

In your case, I suggest that you talk to their technical dept. and see if ordering a finer needle and nozzle tip is an option for your model.

[Out2gtcha]

Im not sure there is any one or even multiple "tells". Generally I think some of the knock-offs seem visually very close and sometimes identical to the genuine article. I think the main difference would likely come down to tolerances. By that I only mean that the knock-off may look similar if not identical, but would likely be manufactured to a lot less strict tolerances, thus getting likely sub-par performance VS the genuine article. 

 

Where did you buy your HP-CS at?  I have one and its definitely my work-horse. Its not quite as capable as my H&S for mottling, and not quite as comfy to use over larger surfaces as my trigger TRN1, but is much more stout and reliable than either of the above air brushes. 

 

As Tom states above, it might be worth putting in a call to Iwata and see what they recommend. 

[gwana]

It my experience, not necessarily with Iwata, but in general: Many times, the counterfeits come down the same assembly line but are 'diverted' or are seconds. Many offshore manufacturers already make the parts for the OEMs, nobody notices if they run off a few thousand more in the middle of the night and sell them to grey market sellers. You can get a lot done when you ignore quality control.

 

Mostly, don't buy from Ebay unless it's an Iwata dealer, don't buy anything from Ali Express or Alibaba unless you want a cheap knockoff.

 

In reality, in most of the testing I've seen the Chinese knockoffs aren't all that bad performance-wise. The airbrush is a pretty simple instrument that's been around for over 100 years. The problem is support, parts, and longevity. Either buy a $200 brush for life, or buy a $15 brush every few months.

[haveblue]

Thanks all for the responses, much appreciated.

 

I brought my HP CS from eBay store in Australia, it was cheaper than others I'd seen advertised but not by a whole lot. Out2gotcha I'm not sure I could mottle with the one I've got but I've never really tried, so it would more be operator error than airbrush

 

Gwana, completely agree with your thoughts on counterfeits and copies sometimes coming off the original production line...been to Shanghai a few times and have seen in first have in the markets there haha...suddenly the OEM part is compete against itself due to “extras†being made and siphoned off along the way

Edited June 28, 2018 by haveblue

[Helmsman]

Hmm, never heard of any counterfeit Iwatas. Not that I looked for one though. I did see lots of cheap chinese airbrushes and even used one briefly, but they all were not similar to any big brands. Maybe I'm just ignorant. 

It seems that Iwata begun making airbrushes for Gunze, but it is completely different story.