Could also be the condition of the skin before application. Those intervening decades can make a hell of a difference.
@anon61221983, @Grey_Devil, he said the Japanese artist used long bamboo needles, dipping them in ink and leaving them in place until the whole piece was done, then removing them one by one. He said it looked like a big block of wood was standing out of his skin.
I haven’t any way of verifying any of this, and he says he was literally a drunken sailor at the time, but the guy has been 100% trustworthy and quite honest in everything else I know of.
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From what little i know as a layman the Japanese tattooing method is relatively similar to how Polynesians do it, here’s a video i found
It’s possible there’s other techniques, but being at work my time is a bit restricted. Got a meeting to attend in a few minutes.
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I don’t have the sound on right now, but I’m going to assume that the audio for that clip is OW OW OW OW OW OW OW for three minutes.
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Interesting! I wonder why that makes longer lasting tattoos in general?
I want to say that in traditional Maori tattooing, part of it is not showing that it hurts? It’s like a rite of passage to manhood kind of thing… Though I guess I could be confusing that with with over cultures that do tattooing and body-moding?
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A tattoo gun is doing the same thing, just with a motor.
No, you’re dead on correct. It’s much more of a rite of passage and a ceremonial, meaningful process than, say, getting photos from Mad Max or Pulp Fiction emblazoned on you for chuckles.
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Oh good! I thought it was Maori culture!
But I dunno… I mean, getting a tat is still a sort of rite of passage for young people in some countercultures here in the west, yeah? I mean, it might not carry the same import, but it’s still a moment of showing ownership over your body as an adult, and showing connection to a particular subculture - often times… sometimes it’s just a frat boy/sorority girl drunken outing, but sometimes, it’s showing allegiance to a more underground subculture. Sure, it’s not the same as the Maori thing, but it’s still a means of making a cultural connection to other people, I’d argue.
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I recall seeing an episode of Miami Ink where the shop owner Ami went to Hawaii and get a piece done on him and he fell asleep. He said compared to other tattoos he’d gotten it was the least painful. Then again i don’t take it as gospel since everyone has a different tolerance for pain and where you get it also matters.
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From what I gather Ta Moko is traditionally different from what we would consider tattooing. It’s more of a chisel than a needle. The facial designs could result in so much swelling that they had special feeding funnels for the healing process.
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These creations must be preserved for future generations.
Taxidermy, anyone?
So hand done tattoos in the Japanese method is called Tebori, and from what i’ve found on my quick search it can yield more fine detail than a machine gun, and it will damage skin tissue less which might cause less of a reaction from the body and might help with retaining the quality of the tattoo. There haven’t been formal studies in hte matter but according to some Japanese tattoo masters they say the traditional method can hold onto more ink giving a more vivid color and will last longer as well. But without a scientific study you can take that as you wish.
Also i’m no expert so also take my links and thoughts with a grain of salt. If anything the clear downside of a traditional method is a much much longer sitting time, but in the hands of a master you’ll get something of equal or surpassing quality to a modern method… but sounds expensive to me.
Edit: Found this short article. I haven’t had time to read it much but it looks interesting
http://www.needlesandsins.com/2010/03/guest-blog-machine-vs-tebori.html
I like her shades.
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I like her shades and her tats! I mean, she looks totally bad ass doesn’t she? OH! And you can see her lobes are stretched!
I’m getting a beer with her pronto! I bet she doesn’t take any shit for anyone!
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“Grandma?”
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That face. She looks like someone who would for quite a while tolerate whatever silliness pours out from any bozo yammering away at her… then out of the blue deliver a wicked roundhouse kick to the bozo’s noodle.
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Also, I bet her name is like… Nan… for some reason. And she probably rides a motorcycle.
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Goes with the shades.
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Usually by 40 they’ll be greenish dark gay blobs
We can’t see, but I bet she’s wearing bad ass boots, too!
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