Basic Steel Gramophone Needle
These were sharpened and tumble polished. The radius of the tip could vary from needles to needle.

Gramophone needles of different loudness - Soft, Medium, Loud and Extra Loud Tone.
Soft needles were thinner than loud needles. Shorter needles were louder than than longer needles.

Columbia ‘Talkie’ Needles - Single use, copper plated steel.
Not all needles were 'silver' coloured.

Marschall-Nadeln Trompito (Marschall-needle Little Spinning Top). Tono Muy Fuerte (Very Loud Tone). These needles had a shape similar to a spinning top.
“Die echten Marschall-Nadeln sind aus Edelstahl hergestellt. Sie spielen ohne Nebengerausch und schonen ihre Platten”
Genuine Marschall needles are manufactured from high grade steel. They play without surface noise and protect the records.
 
Polydor Concert Needle.
The flange may have been used to indicate how far the needle had to be inserted into the needles bar.

Edison Bell Discaphone Needles - Double Tone.
The short taper gave extra rigidity and thus made the needle louder.
 
 

These needles all had the brand name embossed on their side.

Marschall - Zukunft (Marschall - Future)
Mittellaut (Medium-tone)

Columbia De Luxe
The letter 'C' was embossed on the needle.

Mount Everest
Starkton Nadel (Loud-tone Needle)
 
 

These needles all had special shapes.

Herald Spear Point
Believed to be for a range of loudness. Soft tone if the flat section was parallel to the groove. Loud tone if the flat section was perpendicular to the groove.

Imperial Needles - similar to above.

HMV The Tungstyle Semi-permanent needle
Up to 250 playings. The tungsten stylus fits into the record groove and is not tapered.
Tungsten is very hard and therefore will play many records. This needle is Soft Tone due to its narrow waist.

Unknown - very soft tone due to its small diameter.
The wire winding is to provide grip in soundbox.

Unknown Loud Tone - Blue coated and grooved

Unknown

Aguja “Aegir” “Aegir” brand needle. (Made in Germany)
“Insuperable en fuerza productora del tono, poco desgaste de los discos”
Unsurpassable in the loudness of tone produced, little wear of the record.
This needle is very short in order to increase the loudness. The flange helps to set at the correct position in the soundbox.

Ondulette Silber (Silver Wave)
“Die Tonveredelnde Wellen-Nadel. Extra Zart”
The tone improving wave needle. Extra delicate (soft) tone.
“Marschall-Nadeln spielen ausserst rein und schonen die Platten."
Marschall needles play with utmost clarity and preserve the record.
"Verwenden Sie also nur die echten”
Therefore use only the genuine. 
 

Needles for use in the early electric pick-ups were often coloured (brass or bronze) or partly painted, usually red.

Polar Bear Brand - Long Playing Needles (plays 20x)

Polar Bear Brand - Semi-permanent Needles (plays 20x)

E.M.I. Trailer Needles - Specially designed for the playback of lacquer records.
The bend in the needles reduces wear on the lacquer surface.

HMV Silent Stylus (plays 100x)
“for use with HMV Hyper-Sensitive Pick-up”

Columbia Chromium - Long Playing Needles. (plays 60x).

Dog and Baby - Long Playing Needle (plays 20x)

Songster - Durable Pick-up Needle (plays 15x)

Songster Golden Pick-up Needles.
“Made specially for pick-up & cinema use”

Nightingale Thorn Needle
“Eliminates surface wear, no hiss or scratch”
Made out of some non-metallic, natural material, such as thorn. Probably for electric pick-ups.

Fibes Re-pointable Long Playing
“For all types of pick-ups.”

Burmese Colour Needle (green) Loud Tone
Instructions say “Plays up to 50 records. Rotate the needle 1/3 turn after a few records.
Use BCN Renovator to re-sharpen needle”

Burmese Colour Needle (red) Medium Tone
Instructions say “Made from chemically purified Keratin.
Is homogeneous with record - therefore cannot damage record”

Columbia Miniature Thorn Needle
“For use in light weight pick-ups” (electric)
“Re-sharpened after 10 playings.”

HMV Fibre Needle. Triangular shape. Must be Resharpened after each record. Probably made from bamboo.

Fibre Needle with round section for use in early soundboxes.
 
 

Used gramophone needle showing wear on tip.

Worn needles.
From: Modern Gramophones and Electrical Reproducers - P.Wilson and G.W.Webb 1929

Songster Needles - unpolished and very sharp.
Manufactured by the new owners of Songster's needle-making machine (c1970s), who did not know that the needles should be tumble polished after they are pointed.

Songster Golden Pick-up Needles with faulty points. Sold by Musgroves c1968
 
 

Based on a club presentation by

Rodney house
Richard Rennie
Steve Austin