Manufacturing a needle

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

Has anyone ever tried making a needle out of alternate materials?

I know that things don’t adhere well to Titanium.
There is wire available in many thicknesses.
Do you think it might tend to clog less?

I was also thinking of carving one out of Lignum Vitae.
http://surfpick.com/hardness

Yes, it’s only wood… but a slice barely thicker than 1mm
can withstand being slammed against steel, for years
http://surfpick.com

Lignum Vitae is also notorious for it’s poor adhesion properties.
You have to treat it with acetone, to epoxy it.
The wood needs no finish and will accept none.
It appreciates sanding all the way up to 2500 grit,
where it becomes more like a marble finish, than wood.

2

I’ve never done it, but primitive peoples used to make them out of porcupine quills, cactus spines, and bone all the time. I am familiar with lignum vitae and see no reason it wouldn’t work. Expensive bloody needle!

I once made a mountain out of a molehill, but the results were less then pleasing…

3

Ya know maybe it’s worth a try ? Lignum Vitae is also notorious for it’s poor adhesion properties.
You have to treat it with acetone, to epoxy it.
The wood needs no finish and will accept none.
It appreciates sanding all the way up to 2500 grit,
where it becomes more like a marble finish, than wood. If it works in R&D I’m in for an investor.

4

…or maybe just a teflon coating on an existing needle-save the tooling costs.

5

I’m going to play with the concept when my brush arrives.
I went with an HP-BS

If I can find a springy alloy of Ti in a gauge identical to the needle,
it will be a lot easier than making the LV version.

Maybe a Ti shaft, with an LV tip!
Now that’s an exotic needle.

6

Manufacturers have looked into this before and it is not cost effective.
I see no reason why a different metal would make any difference at all.