Tattoo questions

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wolftat

wolftat

Product Reviews Manager
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I have many tattoos so I know a bit about them. My 17 year old son announced he is getting one from a friend (bad idea), so I offered to take him to a real tattoo artist and buy him one for his birthday (yesterday).With all the headaches that this kid has given me, should I have the artist ( a friend of mine) do a dry run first? You know, no ink just the pain? Is this too sadistic even for me? Is it wrong of me to be laughing my *** off just thinking about it? If you don't have boys and you don't have tattoos, no need to respond.:wink::biggrin:

Final question.
Should I get him a set of SGT stripes on his arm so he will fit in with the DI when he goes to boot camp???? LMAO!!!!!!!


Okay one more question and thats it.
Would it be okay to let him choose what he wants and then have the artist do something like ""the little mermaid" instead????
I'm having way too much fun just thinking about this.:biggrin:
 
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I have to say that I am glad I wasn't with you when I got my first tat. Dad, you suck. get him good.


I just remembered about 3 years ago when he put on my uniform and started giving me orders. Get him his own set of stripes.....LOL
 
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I have two sons the youngest and a couple the oldest none but is wife does. I think you are have way to much fun with this but go for it. Maybe have some like My DI is Sweet or I love my DI. They do cause a lot head aches growing especially in this day and age. For the most part they grow up and become responsible adults. Back in my day there was the Draft and in some cases if you got in to much trouble the Judge would give you a choice jail or the service. The military did straighten a lot of young men out.
 
My daughter got her first one this year. She was just about to turn 17 when we did it. She's wanted this design for about 3 yrs without changing her mind at all. It is a tasteful design, and this to me was not a significant battle for me, so I was good with it.

NC state law does not allow artists to tattoo under the age of 18. I told her I had no problem with her getting this tattoo, provided she did so within the limits of the law, and provided she did research on the artist. I encouraged her to search online for pictures and horror stories of failed tattoos. I also told her no writing -- too easy to mis-spell and botch. Again, search for failed tattoos.

She checked state laws on adjoining states, and also checked state laws for states that we had planned on travelling through over the summer. She checked into several artists, looked at their online portfolios, and tried to find out if there were any complaints filed with them in the state departments.

When she finally found an artist she liked in a state where allowed by law to tattoo a minor, I took her in. Her mother was with us, but didn't come in at first. Since both parents were with her, and our names and addresses on driver's licenses matched hers, she did not need her birth certificate. Some states/artists may require the original birth certificate for your son since he is a minor, and some may require both parents to be present, or a notarized statement from an absent parent. Check your state laws, and be sure to know what the artist requires.

That said, I wouldn't have ever thought to put her through it twice. She got a small butterfly / cancer awareness ribbon on her shoulder. The artist was almost done with the linework, and she felt woozie and said she almost passed out. He put a fan blowing on her, gave her water, and had Hershey kisses for a sugar fix, and gave her a few minutes until she was ready to go again. I couldn't have watched that twice.

I also assume that if an artist agreed to do a dry run without ink, the needle still penetrates and they would have to go through the same healing process, and would not be able to be tattooed with ink until a couple of months later in that same spot.
 
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Mine hurt like a mutha!!! To this day, I'm releasing this pain at my children...I feel so much better!
 
How about the stripes, with the little mermaid just under them.
Done in a very light red. (pink)

Or Just the pink stripes.

I will come down and help pay for this as well. Bwahahahahaha
 
I understand different branches and even units have their own set of rules but since you stated him going into the military, he might want to check first. I was in a unit that no ink was allowed. That was the extreme but something to consider. Yes, I do know many in service and vets with ink now.
 
Akula said:
I understand different branches and even units have their own set of rules but since you stated him going into the military, he might want to check first. I was in a unit that no ink was allowed. That was the extreme but something to consider. Yes, I do know many in service and vets with ink now.
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The only branch he is allowed to join is the Marine Corps. Tattoos are allowed as long as they are not showing in uniform. At least that was what I was told but they overlooked the tattoo I had on my finger. My entire unit was covered in tattoos. But you are correct that the wrong tat in the wrong spot can adversely affect his career. Thats why I opted to not put anything across his forehead.
 
The dry run sounds like a bad idea. maybe decide on something small instead, talk to your artist first for sure. i've never heard of someone doing a dry run without ink.

ps. (2 sons, a full sleeve, and starting my second)
 
mdl7070 said:
I have tattoos and just saw that the military is cracking down on the troops getting inked
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Yup...nothing below the knee or elbow. It appears that many of the drug cartels are sending kids over to enlist. Now they have military trained staff to move their product and defend against the locals or whatever. Sad state of affairs.:frown:
 
wolftat said:
Akula said:
I understand different branches and even units have their own set of rules but since you stated him going into the military, he might want to check first. I was in a unit that no ink was allowed. That was the extreme but something to consider. Yes, I do know many in service and vets with ink now.
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The only branch he is allowed to join is the Marine Corps. Tattoos are allowed as long as they are not showing in uniform. At least that was what I was told but they overlooked the tattoo I had on my finger. My entire unit was covered in tattoos. But you are correct that the wrong tat in the wrong spot can adversely affect his career. Thats why I opted to not put anything across his forehead.
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I did my thing as a Corpsman for recon and those dudes are crazy!!! New tat a week, and the more the better, pain was cool. Some bozo asked if I could tat him in morphine...."uhhh...sure dude, go see the chief for a sign-off" Most reputable shops won't tat feet, arms below the wrist, necks, heads...so on. Reason being that many professional employers don't like it, neither do many professional clients...big business, medical, law, political...so on and so on. Not on the yup or nope either way...just what is out in the world.
 
The dry run is a good idea.On the little mermaid,Just remember that he has to live with it the rest of his life.He has to get something he will love 30 years from now.I have many(arms,legs,and a full back and regret none of them.Whats cool now might not be when getting a job 10 years from now.
 
FYI, check with the recruiter. They *are* cracking down last I heard. (Last year sometime, I think.) I don't remember the specifics though. Having said that: how about SGTs stripes with crossed pink mermaids instead of rifles?

S/F
Jerry
 
They are no longer above the neck line or basically any place it can be seen with the uni on! at least that is what the talking news head said a couple of weeks ago.
I tell you now a days, the younger crowd, its "what were they thinking". You see them at Wally World or some place else with ink that after a couple years appears to blend into a blob of dark green,black and blue.

The other thing is why is it the extremely obese young women, get large nasty looking tat's?

As been said about ink everywhere, the kid across the street has them hands, neck, up the back of his head ect. and even being not that old they are starting to look like just black and blue marks. And he can't understand why the only jobs he can get is in the back of the plant as a low dollar factory rat.

No jobs in the sideshow for tattooed men or women! when you can see em for free on the street.

Good ink is art, and never out of style. Bad ink is just bad ink!
:clown:
 
It's done. He got a Rose compass on his left shoulder. Looks good, may show pics once it heals. I did give him a good smack on it, put a smile back on his face.:biggrin:

I have a sick family, but I love them.
 
wolftat said:
It's done. He got a Rose compass on his left shoulder. Looks good, may show pics once it heals. I did give him a good smack on it, put a smile back on his face.:biggrin:

I have a sick family, but I love them.
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Well you gotta make sure to "set" the tattoo or the ink comes back out, or at least that's what everyone who gets a fresh tattoo in my family is told right after getting it smacked LOL. Both of mine were "set" this way.
 
Jim Burr said:
mdl7070 said:
I have tattoos and just saw that the military is cracking down on the troops getting inked
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Yup...nothing below the knee or elbow. It appears that many of the drug cartels are sending kids over to enlist. Now they have military trained staff to move their product and defend against the locals or whatever. Sad state of affairs.:frown:
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I'm not sure when the problem started but I feel I was part of it. I did some work at the SoA training forces from other countries (lot from South America and Middle East). I didn't know it at the time, this was back in the 1980's. When I got out of the Army, in the back of my mind, still today, I think of some of the things these people did when they "went home". Then it just exploded into the gangs going in the military for training and the things they did when they "went home".
 
I don't have tatoos. A thing I've noticed is often I can't tell what the tatoo is. I see people with tatoos and it's a blob or mass of color. Is that just "bad" ink as someone mentioned earlier or is that just what happens with old tatoos? Just curious not meaning to offend.
 
Hturnings said:
I don't have tatoos. A thing I've noticed is often I can't tell what the tatoo is. I see people with tatoos and it's a blob or mass of color. Is that just "bad" ink as someone mentioned earlier or is that just what happens with old tatoos? Just curious not meaning to offend.
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It could be a bad tattoo or it could be a coverup. Dark blobs normally cover something that a person doesn't want anymore. Some are just poor choices of tattoos.
 
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