Cutaway handle?

[surfgent]

So I have a question for everyone. I'm not really understanding the cutaway handle feature on my brushes when I can pull the trigger for the same effect. I've been using my brushes now for a little bit and I don't really see the need for this feature. Can someone explain the use of this as opposed to just pulling the trigger for clearing or cleaning

Thanks

 

[Mr.Micron]

While you think your getting the same action snapping the trigger you really aren't . Pulling back on the needle and then just letting go knocks more dried paint out of the nozzle then just snapping the trigger.
Why you ask no resistance is being caused by the trigger.
Some like it some don't , Kind of like the mac valve some use it some don't.
It is an option that enough people requested that the airbrush maker listened too.

 

[surfgent]

While you think your getting the same action snapping the trigger you really aren't . Pulling back on the needle and then just letting go knocks more dried paint out of the nozzle then just snapping the trigger.
Why you ask no resistance is being caused by the trigger.
Some like it some don't , Kind of like the mac valve some use it some don't.
It is an option that enough people requested that the airbrush maker listened too.

Ok thanks. Ya I tried clearing so clogs tonight with it I guess it worked ok. Not really sure as I'm not use to it. Yet

 

[JackEb]

when you purge the airbrush by blasting either via the trigger or the cut away handle don't let the needle spring back, you'll end up damaging the nozzle.

 

[Nessus]

Yeah, letting the needle snap back isn't good for the nozzle regardless of how you do it. The very tip of the nozzle is the only thing acting as a forward stop for the needle, and the metal there is very, very thin.

In my experience, the cutaway handle just allows you to pull back the needle further than you can with the trigger alone, for clearing really stubborn clogs. I've never experienced the need for this personally, so I suspect it's a problem related to either specific types of paints, or people who ride their airbrushes hard and dirty.

 

[2Diverse]

Just my opinion, I believe the cut-away handle was a response to the T-Shirt painters. I know back in the day brushes would clog often. The paints weren't anywhere near what they are today. Most T-Shirt artists I knew used the Paasche VL, including me. The handle was left off just so it was easier to clear clogs. This made spraying a bit more uncomfortable. With the advent of the cut-away handle you still had the handle nestled between your thumb and index finger.

 

[Nessus]

Makes sense. I know I've seen pictures of AB artists working with the handle off, and figured it was probably for on the fly clearing like that, but didn't know paints were actually worse back then, or that cutaway handles were that recent of a thing.

 

[2Diverse]

I'm not sure when the cut away handle made it's first appearance. I know that Thayer & Chandler (pretty much Badger by then) came out with the Vega 2000 which had one. I'm fairly certain that brush was aimed at the t-shirt painters.

I would watch two AB t-shirt artists that worked at a kiosk at a mall fairly close to me. They both used Paasche VLs and silk-screen printers ink. That is what I bought when I started back in the mid 1970s. I remember that the quart (the least you could buy) can of black had a consistency a little thicker than pudding. I would dollop out a plastic spoonful then thin it down to where I could get it to spray. We have come a long way.

 

[surfgent]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm really enjoying this new art medium.