I would go for them 100% if you could put them on to putt around on the Shovelhead or go on board your old Navy ship as a young man again - and take them off again when you were done

Otherwise, not. We all have what could be really great minds and should occasionally congratulate ourselves on being evolved some distance now from the painted savage whose entire existence was a public affair.

John

Here is a picture of a scrap tattoomachine frame I made 7 good ones. they sell for about $100



I have 37 peices of art in my skin, about 60 hours of work at a cost of around $3,500.
sleaves and a back peice ,7 dragons ,3 girls,50 skulls, fire, smoke ,flowers , monsters,swords, sheilds,moon and stars,,,,,

tattoos are not for everyone, I can put on a suit and look like a normal joe. all mine are basicaly one big tattoo.

I worked tattooing for years , I made $40-$80 an hour, I will no tattoo names other than kids or a dead friend, dont do hands , faces , dirty words, pot leaves or other stupid ideas.
I ran a throw away set up,tubes, nettles, ink cups,gloves all went in the trash when I was done.

being a machinist and a tattoo artist makes a person a very picky perfectionist.
the tattoo machine does not have an eraser.

tattoos can be taken of with a laser,ex-acto knife, branding iron, or a tattoo machine using compound W wart remover instead of ink.

the tattoo business is cool if you like to barter, trade guns, cars , electronics , drugs , sex, stolen items.

I quit doing tattooing as a job years ago, I did not care for the low life scumbags, gang members and junkies knowing me. I mostly did work on women, and yes I have seen a lot of hot young babes with thier panties off, some of them wanted a tattoo.

A fellow I know well owns a tattoo shop and one of his frequent comments I think says it all " the words tattoo artist is a contradiction in terms. "
Personaly I find tattoos ugly especialy on a women. If I were single and dating a women and found out she had a tattoo I would get up and walk out and that would be the abrupt end of the relationship.It would not matter what other atractive features she had they would be overcome by my dislike of tattoos.

I have several tats, am 57 and will be tattooed again someday. The oldest are the names of my wife and children, they are unreadable now but that doesn't matter, I know what they say and what they represent. the newest are about ten years old and are a Killer whale on one leg and a Dragon on the other. I like whales a lot and am fanatical about dragons. They are symbols of strength. You may find that hokey but that's way it is. One day I will have a large back piece of a dragon and a whale doing battle. Another one on my thigh of Moby Dick with Ahab entangled in the ropes of the many harpoons stuck in the whale with the sinking Peoquod in the background will be the next one I get. For such work one must find the right artist.
My tattoos are not for the benefit of anyone else, nor I do not show them off, in fact they are seldom visible.

Tattoos have been around for over 5,000 years....and just why/how does that matter???

They used to drill holes in people's skulls to allow evil spirits to escape, but I don't see too many people going in for that kind of treatment.

I don't care if somone has tattoos, but the tattoo'd person almost always provides a source of laughter. I can't believe some of the crap people have stuck on themselves. There's nothing more laughable than some dork who works in a warehouse in New Jersey or on Wall Street walking around with a tribal tatto on his arm...as if he has some connection with the ancient peoples that makes him more interesting. Even better are the ones who only have the tattoo on the outside of the arm, cause it hurts more underneath.

Yep, that was my argument for NOT having them....sheesh, Leigh what other dumb things did they do 5,000 years ago do you want to do in 2006 ?

[img]smile.gif[/img]

OK, personal opinion, since that is what the thread is about. I don't care if you have them, but to be honest, it "might" influence how I perceive you. I would never judge a person solely based on their tattoo's, or lack of them.

I would not get one, and I really hate to see attractive, smooth skinned ladies with obvious tattoo's where they show almost all the time.

It's your life, so do what you want, as long as it doesn't affect me adversely.

"They used to drill holes in people's skulls to allow evil spirits to escape,
but I don't see too many people going in for that kind of treatment"

No, they're doing it to themselves! Check out:

http://saphire3.tripod.com/trepanning.htm

where you can find a link to buy the (mandatory metal content) tools to do it
to yourself, friends and family.

Regards, Marv

Home Shop Freeware - Tools for People Who Build Things
http://www.myvirtualnetwork.com/mklotz

I once thought about getting one. I know what it would be but with a little more thought, I couldn't find the point of it. So I never got it done.

Tattoos for quite a while were linked to a bad lifestyle. Gang members and such were the majority of people with tattoos. Probably a big reason why many employers and general public would have judged a person just from the tattoos as the odds must have been pretty high that this person was in something.

I don't think its the same type of people who get tattoos today although the thought in many people heads has stayed the same.

Many people have been getting their name tattoed in chinese letters, or they got the rose thorns band around the bicep. Butterflies and other stuff like that. Just a trend, something to do just to say you did it. It's often a conversation starter.


I do somewhat like that tattoo Jesse James got done in his hand, it says something like " Pay up $ucker's " Of course in today's world one would have to scan it and then email or fax it to customers who aren't paying up.


Maybe someday when I'm old and I start really losing it (I hope not to get there) I'll get my name and address tattoed just so people can bring me back home when I wander off. Maybe something smart like " Your grand-ma thought I was cute " Perhaps also a few pointers like " Key goes in the ignition" " no food after 6pm " the useful stuff.

Comment to the Real Leigh!

" Otzi" is a friend from over in Otz Valley- despite being found in Italy.
Again, he was murdered- with a stone arrow.
His "tatoos" were not tatoos but an effort at that time to alleviate the arthritis in his body.

That's the story in Obergurgl- and that's where I rest my case.

As for tatoos, I rather like the whole Fox Hunting scene with the riders, the horses and the dogs- and the tail of the little fox disappearing. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Norm.

Just thought I'd throw in my .02 worth here. I have both of my upper arms sleeved out with tattoos, I got my first one in the Navy almost 30 years ago, still get some new ink occasionally, but I am starting to run out of room on my upper arms. Haven't done any on the forearms yet, when I wear a short sleeve shirt, they are barely noticable. I am not a dope smoking, drug addicted derelict. I own a business and am a respected member of my community. I choose to get tattoo'ed by my own volition. It doesn't hurt anyone except me. It doesn't make me want to go out and kick someones ass. Some people hang their art on their walls, I prefer to keep mine with me all the time. Why tattoos? Don't really know, I just like to be different than all the rest. Its just me.

well,,, i have to say that in the dark you can't see a tattoo

SND wrote, "Many people have been getting their name tattoed in chinese letters ..." Whenever I see those, I wonder if they are really the person's name or quaint Chinese proverb and not something like "I'm a horse's ass!"

D. Spencer wrote, "i have to say that in the dark you can't see a tattoo." But I would just wonder how many other guys thought the same thing about the woman before me!

This thread reminds me of an old Playboy cartoon -- A man is sitting on a hotel bed taking off his tux while his new bride is stepping out of her wedding dress. On her backside is a tattoo saying, "Property of Hell's Angels". The caption reads, "Honey, there's something I need to tell you ..."

I wonder if this thread is going to be more popular than the dowsing one?

I made it through 30 years in the service without ever getting one, early in my career before getting into engineering we were warned not to get one because we could be identified.
I wouldn't have gotten one anyway, the first tattoo I ever saw was on a older guy in town, my dad told me what the numbers on the guy's arm meant. Gas chamber 3 is now serving number.....

I don't have any tatoos, and honestly don't think I ever will. It just doesn't appeal to me.

SWMBO had a couple of small ones done recently, they are small and not offensive. I can say they don't bother me at all; she enjoys them, and I guess that is what matters.

It seems that younger people are more receptive to having artwork done and seeing it on others. I have always known people with extensive tatoo coverage, but lately it seems that they are getting younger and younger.

My 16-year-old daughter has been begging to be allowed to get "some ink". I will not allow it, as I feel that she is not mature enough to make such a permanent decision. When she is 18, she will do what she wants, and I will not hold it against her...but for now, I don't feel it is appropriate.

As DryCreek said, visible tattos will often alter my perception of a person, especially if they are offensive or extensive. Some people I have known (or hired) in the past with lots of artwork were self-centered primadonnas. For some of them, getting that next piece of ink was more important than anything else. I'm sorry, but that impression has stuck.

Tatoos and Harleys among midlife crisis sufferers are on the rise, and the younger wave isn't far behind. 20 years from now, everyone you see will be inked and/or pierced, but they will be complaining about the people with 2" Lexan earlobe ornaments or whatever the next step brings.

As our society becomes more and more disposable, it seems that people are considering themselves and their bodies as diposable objects to be modified and mutilated.

If you are covered in ink, you know your reasons for it. To me, what matters is whether you show up for work on time and do your job. If you spend the day talking about that next tat and staring at yourself in the mirror, you're gonna walk.

I misremember seeing a kid on a bus with a couple of tats - no big deal. But he also had hair that was, at the same time, red, yellow, blue, green, and white.

I got drunk once in Singapore and, perhaps, did something really stupid with a parrot? Perhaps this kid was my son?

Stan Db

Tattoo's have always interested me, I also comment on them when I see them.

A few years ago I had a pizza delivered, the guy that delivered it had both arms covered with tattoos. I commented they looked nice....He said they were the worst thing he had ever done, when asked why, he said
"see what I am doing for a living !"

I was torn between getting a tattoo, and what people would think of it (mainly mom) There is a artist in the area that I met and was talking to, and we were talking about invisible tattoo ink. He said he could get it, I ended up with 2 tattoos.

I know what it feels like, I can talk about it, I am DIFFERENT from everyone else, I can look at them and remember a time or story about them BUT no one else can see them or judge them unless I want them to.

One drawback is you have to have a ultraviolet light to see them.

My girlfriend got one too, my name.....in the invisible ink

Maybe in 10 or 20 years people won't judge you for tatts or clothing, but for now I will stick with the 2 blacklight tatts I have.

My 2¢

Dave J

Hmmmm...wonder if there's a market for custom "trepanning" tools...

Interestingly this topic polarizes people with few exceptions.

Don't tell the politicians, it will become an election issue to cleverly camouflage "other" activity & gain votes, same as other emotional issues like firearms & abortion.

Ok, don't lock it up, no need to delve into those particular issues here but ya gotta admit the parallel is there.

-Matt

Access Db Guy wrote,"But he also had hair that was, at the same time, red, yellow, blue, green, and white." At least hair color is not permament.

If you want to "express yourself", why not do it through music, writing or art, or by becoming an excellent craftsman, or by a multitude of other things. Express yourself through stuff you do and not what you can buy!