There is a HUGE debate that has been going on in the airbrush community for years about whether or not people should buy the very inexpensive chinese knock off airbrushes that are available or whether they should avoid them like the plague.

I want to put my two cents in…

I think there are really four primary concerns:

1. Ethics

I think a lot of people who are really concerned about the chinese knock offs are more concerned about the ethics of purchasing a knock off as opposed to the quality of the product.  It is well known that these airbrushes and other equipment are complete copies of other peoples designs and, being artists, that rubs a lot of airbrushers the wrong way.  No artist wants to support the idea of stealing someone else’s creative idea.

But is that really true?

A few weeks ago I decided I wanted one of those snuggie things (you know, the blanket with sleeves) – don’t ask me why, i just did.  So I headed to walmart in search of them.  I found them, and you know what was right beside them.  About 12 different knock-offs – all of them considerably cheaper and many of much better quality than the original.  Guess which one I bought?  I bought the plushie, cozy knock-off and didn’t even think twice about “the poor people at snuggie” when I made my purchase.  They invented a wildly popular product and other companies jumped in the game.  That’s how supply and demand works.  Copyright and patenting aren’t going to stop that from happening … it has always happened.  Admit it, you’ve done this too – we all have.

The same goes for chinese knock airbrushes.  Airbrushes are in demand and the chinese can build them cheaper.  Note that I said cheaper – not better, or equal quality, or even functioning – but they can do it cheaper.

2. Quality

Another argument is that the airbrushes made this way are junk.  And you know what?  I totally agree.  I bet they aren’t quality tested like Iwatas or Badgers or Satas.  I bet they are pumped out of the factory with defects and all and I also imagine that many of them are non-functioning.

The rule of thumb is “you get what you pay for” and, if you want a really great airbrush that is never going to give you an ounce of troubles then I recommend that you buy a more well known brand that is known for it’s quality.

But what if you don’t want a “quality” airbrush?  What if you just want to give it a whirl and aren’t willing to invest over $100 in an airbrush?  Does quality matter then?  Do you care if you bought a piece of junk then?

In my opinion it depends on the artist and how serious they are about learning to airbrush.

I know that when I first started out I was determined to get really really good at it (that has faded a bit lately) and I knew that investing in the best brush I could afford was going to help me do that.

On the other hand, I also wanted to try to learn colored pencil art and when I went to the art supply store to purchase the equipment I needed I quickly found out that super-high-quality colored pencils are 10 times the price or crayolas.  I bought the crayola pencils.  I decided that if I liked the process of colored pencil art that I would upgrade to the better pencils and thus see an upgrade in the quality of my work.  Turned out that I didn’t like that art form and I never needed to buy the expensive pencils.

The same applies to airbrush art.  If you’re dabbling, then cheap out, if your serious, buy the real deal.

3. Unsupportive

Let’s face it.  Airbrush art isn’t HUGE.  It is likely pretty tough to make a living selling airbrush equipment and here we have chinese knock offs stealing some of the profit margin.  When you feel like you’re part of a community you want to support your friends.  Companies like Iwata, Sata and Badger support the airbrush community by attending events, sponsoring training and shows, and holding contests in hopes of building a loyal fan base.  Buying a chinese knock off airbrush is unsupportive of these activities.

The question is, do you care?

Personally, I care.  I have a vested interest in supporting airbrush companies because they support the events I want to attend.  I genuinely want to see them do well because if they do well then they will be able to sponsor more events.  But maybe you don’t care a less.  Maybe you never plan on attending an airbrush event and never will need the support or sponsorship of a high-touting company.  Maybe all you want to do is spray some paint.  In that case, maybe spending $15 on an airbrush is all you need to do.

4. Service

Hahahahahaha!  This isn’t even an item to debate.

If you bought a chinese knock off airbrush and then are disappointed when it doesn’t work AND try to get somebody here in North America to fix it for you, you’re kidding yourself!!

That’s would be like reporting to the police that somebody stole your drugs.

When you buy a chinese knock-off you are taking a gamble and you have to live with the consequences.  However, the consequences are not always bad financially.  Here’s an example …

My neighbor bought a chinese knock off tractor (yup, a tractor).  He paid $8,000 for a tractor that would have cost around $30,000 to buy North American made.  We laughed and laughed at him telling him he was going to regret that decision.  Meanwhile, we bought the John Deere version – the expensive one.

Two years later he has had lots of problems with his tractor and we have only had a few minor things go wrong.  Every time something went wrong with our tractor we sent it off to the dealership where it was fixed for free.

You know what he did?  He bought a second chinese tractor!!  Now, for almost half of what  we paid for our fancy tractor, our neighbor has TWO!  You see, unlike us, this guy is fairly handy and he uses the parts from the first tractor to keep the second one running.

The moral here is service comes with a price.  When it comes to chinese airbrushes is that you will NOT get any service… and some people are OK with that.  If your not OK with not getting any service and don’t have the patience to work to solve your own problems, then buy a well know brand.

I’m Curious…

I don’t want to start a huge debate in the comments below … I know for a fact that airbrush artists can be pretty headstrong on this topic and that many refuse to hear anything contradictory to what they believe is true … but I would like to know if YOU have purchased a chinese knock off airbrush whether you regretted it afterwards or not?  Let me know in the comments.