Tattoos
-
I‘m getting a tattoo right now after a 5 year break. I know tattoo machines are constantly evolving but it feels way less painful than I remember it from the past. I‘m getting a tattoo on my upper back up to the neck. So I don’t know if this is just a less sensitive area. I only had my arms and legs tattooed so far.
Is it me or are the machines more gentle nowadays?IG: @fadecyde
WTB: IHSH-156 burgundy (M) -
@don_pipone I was wondering about that myself - my regular tattooer used to use a traditional, very old school machine which always felt like it was shredding my skin (it didn't but sure felt like it). When he decided to give a new machine a try I genuinely laughed at how painful it wasn't. And while, sure, while it can depend on the needles, the area you're getting done, tattoo fatigue etc, I've asked myself the same question!
-
@don_pipone I've had the same question over the years, seems placement does have a lot to do with it but in my experience people using the rotary machines are much lighter handed than some of the guys I used to go to.
-
@Vik @GoodtimeJohnny
That must be it. My regular tattooer also used and might still uses those traditional noisy „rattle“ machines - also I think he is a bit of a sadist
However, a few of my older tattoos were made with rotary machines as well but I still remember them as more painful than today. They must have become even better over the last couple of years. -
For those who are curious, I got zodiac signs. Cancer for my twin boys and I am a Gemini - which fits double.
-
-
@Daniel-San haha…that might be true. You can‘t zone out if you are constantly getting reminded of being tattoed.
-
A lot depends on technique and the individual tattooer and their process. I saw a guy getting tattooed at a convention last summer by a celebrity tatter, the traditional machine was turned up to some crazy RPM and the tatter was bashing that bad boy in fast.
No joke, I stood there for the whole thing and it was just 25 minutes from drawing it on by hand to a fully lined, shaded and coloured tattoo about the size of a palm. For £400 or something like that I saw get counted out after. The tatter must have made serious bank that day.
Anyway, the person being tatted was having it done on a relatively less painful area, back of forearm, and already had copious tattoos - he was a tatter himself - and he was wincing and gripping the edge of the seat like it was his first time. It was gnarly to watch.
-
@EdH that sounds horrible
I mean, getting through the whole process much faster is tempting but like this? I don‘t know man…
Was the result at least decent? Or was it just quick and dirty? -
@don_pipone The tatter was Chad Koepliner, so 'quick and dirty' is part of his slightly gonzo take on American trad. I liked the skull he did on this other person, personally, and was in line to hopefully get something similar on my calf, but sadly he was already booked up for the day. The design was no different from what you'll find on his socials. I was just astounded at how fast he was. How it healed up after that sort of treatment, and whether it was full of blowouts, I couldn't tell you, I wasn't that close to the action.
Take the dive...
-
@EdH My tattooer is fond of saying "getting tattooed sucks," and he's incredibly fast, so the suck doesn't last very long. I have a full-color American traditional piece on my thigh that's about the size of two hands, and it took 2 hours. He has a heavy hand so it can be pretty painful at times, but he's fast and his tattoos are clean.
“Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible” - Don Norman
@zeebeeleather
-
@EdH ah, I love his work. I would have lined up too
-
@seawolf getting tattooed definitely sucks. I get the sentiment but I‘m torn whether I’d prefer to endure 2h of insane pain or 5h of moderate pain.
-
@don_pipone I think once the endorphins kick in, it's not so bad. At about the 4-hour mark, it starts becoming difficult to sit there without wincing.
