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I'm pretty much in the large dagger category. :)

Got to love daggers. I've got a couple too, if we're having photos. The honeycomb one isn't settled yet, just a couple of weeks old. They wrap quit a bit.

Love that, @Gingerninja. I have a dagger, too. I love a good dagger and flower/dagger and moth/dagger and skull. This post makes me want another one!

My best dagger story... We were at semi-swanky bar last year. The bartender was, um, hipster'ish. He had a dagger on his forearm so I was like "hey, nice dagger." He gave me a shitty, smirky smile and barely acknowledged me. I was wearing a shirt that was open in the back so I gave him the "that's not a dagger, THIS is a dagger" in my best Crocodile Dundee impression. He didn't see that coming.

In order to find the best things in life (food, music, people, tattoos, whatever-the-fuck you're into) you have to give a damn beyond a cursory level. You've got to put in some work. Most people don't want to do this in my opinion. More so if they're not going to be into tattoos as a continued hobby. Or they're just busy with other things that are more important to them. They probably don't understand why one would settle for a terrible interest rate on a loan or something...

Just back from four weeks fabulous holiday with the family, first Chicago and then Canada. We enjoyed everything we did, but highlight was probably taking the little one (he's four now) canoe camping for three days in Algoquin park, Ontario. We were even lucky enough to see a moose feeding on water lilies! We watched her for about half an hour and were the only people on that lake during that time. Worth all the mosquito bites (even without seeing the moose), that's for sure.

I think this is the main thing. Most of the time, you're just comparing different flavors of bad. I have had untattooed people express shock at the fact that my visible tattoos weren't awful more than once.

I got a little Richard Stell pink elephant when I was at Pair-O-Dice on the 4th. Had fun shooting the shit with Richard and Jen while Jen tattooed me. Elephant is very mangy currently. I shall post a photo when he has healed! Meanwhile, enjoy this photo of me with Richard. :-)

Being young and careless? Not knowing any better? Rushing into a decision? All or none of the above? I'd say it's a case by case basis. The first large tattoo I got, on my forearm no less, is not necessarily something I would get today. I still like the tattoo, but it's in some prime, very visible real estate that I may have otherwise used for a much different, and probably much better, tattoo today. At the time I was younger and far less informed, latched on to a particular idea pretty early, and didn't really consider all possibilities. I rushed into it. Fortunately, I didn't end up with one of those horror stories, but despite liking the tattoo, I'd still probably do things different today.

MANGY (unhappy) PANTHER by Theo Mindell.

Spent the 4th of July with Richard and Jen Stell. My stomach hurt from laughing. They are both so damn FUNNY. Talked music with Richard and got a wee tattoo of Richard's flash from Jen. Good times all round. Here are Jen and I hamming it up for the camera. Love this girl!

It's a great idea. Wonderful tattoo image that shares your child's name. Stop thinking, get a great tattoo, and post the photo. Hell, if you don't do it maybe I will. Now I kind of wish I had named my daugter gargoyle. Is it weird to change the name of a seven year old?

My one tattoo that I don't love (in process of laser reduction to redo) was one that I had put a lot of thought, research, even buying line and taking photos to make examples for the artist. He did a crap job on me. Seemed like he didn't care or was pissed or something. When I went back he was real defensive and ended up making it worse. The first laser blast looks to have removed most of his "fix", but I don't think I could ever get the deep blown lines from the first session out. I was reviewing some photos of what it looked like after that first session. I should have known not to go back (and this is a shop owner). Lesson learned: walk away if not 100% satisfied with the stencil, and if the tattoo doesn't look done well, don't expect the same guy to improve it!

@Gingerninja That's sweet, but no. Just fancied stabbing stuff ;)

@omeletta thanks for posting that. I had completely forgotten about my camping trips to Algonquin as a kid (back in the '60s, holy sh*t!).

Very cool. I do love a good dagger! I dig your swallow...I'm doing two on the upper, inside corners of my dagger. Hopefully at Pagoda!

@Gingerninja That is gorgeous!!

@9Years please post a photo of that when the mange disappears, too!

You don't need to incorporate anything else about your kid, his name is more than enough of a connection to the subject matter. Don't clutter up an awesome tattoo with words or dates! I think your kid will be proud when he grows up and sees his dad got a badass beast as a tribute to him. You could do something statuesque, new school, traditional...the list goes on. There's tons of options for a griffin since it's a mythical beast and there's no "wrong" way to draw one. It just depends on what style you want. Who is your intended artist? Any links to a portfolio?

It's not (always) stupidity, I know plenty of otherwise smart people who go full retard when it comes to tattoos. I think most people do it based on price. The same artists who post on their Facebook pages "I charge $50 an hour" or whose shops advertise "buy one, get one free tattoos!" do shit level work. Most people are just bargain hunting and choosing whoever is closest and cheapest. In their mind, all tattoos are more or less the same because all they've ever seen is these shitty local shops or "good" tattoos on TV shows like Ink Master and they probably think "Those guys are good, but they're famous and on TV, I could never get something that good," not realizing how poor the tattoos on these shows often are. Even Chris Garver's stuff on Miami Ink was wayyy inferior to what he's doing off the show! I think if people would a) quit being so stingy about something that's on them forever and b) look around outside of your town, they would see what's possible and get better stuff.

I can say that in my own "tattoo journey," the first one I got was kind of on a whim. I went to a street shop with @TrixieFaux – she had an appointment; I was a walk-in – with an image that I literally printed out from Google Images, and that's exactly what he tattooed on me. It wasn't bad, just meh. It never occurred to me to do it any other way, but he also didn't suggest how he could make it look cooler or whatever. (Since then I covered it mostly because it was in prime real estate – my shoulder – but I didn't hate it.) I've since learned that's probably not the best way to do it. This was pretty much before Instagram, but it's not like I didn't have access to the information. I just didn't know to look let alone where. At that point, I don't think I had ever even seen a "good" tattoo on anyone in real life. Back in the day when your only option was to pick flash off the wall you'd pretty much know what you're getting. So in a way this trend of "custom" tattooing means you might get a worse tattoo than you would otherwise if you don't know what the F you're doing.

The Montreal tattoo convention is coming up in September and it's always a fun time and an excellent opportunity to get a great tattoo. The lineup is always incredible: this year's convention is going to feature, among others, Henning, Mike Rubendall, Guy Le Tattooer, Steve Byrne, Paul Dobleman, Bert Krak, Robert Ryan, Mario Desa, Nick Colella, Andre Malcolm, Ron Wells, Chad Koeplinger...and this is only scratching the surface. There are so many good artists working it. And if you needed any other incentive, if you've never been to Montreal, it's a great city to visit. If you have been to Montreal, you're probably looking for a reason to visit again. Lots of things to see and do, great architecture, world-class dining, and for you Americans, the Canadian dollar sucks right now so you can stretch your money. Who is thinking of going? Closer to the date I will plan some kind of LST meetup because it's always fun hanging out with the people from this forum. You're a great bunch of people and it's always nice to meet up and talk tattoos and share our tattoos in real life. http://news.arttattoomontreal.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Montreal-Art-Tattoo-Show-9786505473/ https://www.instagram.com/arttattoomontreal/

I've been talking to @steve recently, and we want to revive the Tattoo of the month contest (no shirt prize this time around though). We thought it would be nice to get some input from the LST community as to what the new contest rules and structure should look like. Discuss!

glad to hear this news I don't know what to suggest regarding rules - I kinda liked the way it had previously worked - I'm sure some others would have some feedback but I'm just glad to see the return of some fun competition!

I'll chime in here, as a rabid fan of the -derm products. I've used them mostly the day AFTER, but last time on a whim I applied it right after the tattoo, before all the plasma leaky stuff had begun, "set it and forget it" style, and it was awesome. There was actually NO plasma at all, no collecting under the film (I have actually had that happen before) and it was much much easier to remove after 4 days when I applied it this way. So basically my entire healing process was no different than a mild sunburn. No real peeling, either. Kinda wild! This was a largish piece on my back and I could not get to it by myself at all, so it was simpler just to have it covered, then leave it be as long as possible. I was actually able to remove the film by myself, which I've never been able to do before. These people really oughtta pay me...

@HettyKet Beautiful work!!

Taking a guess..are you a chef? @HettyKet

@oboogie Yours is awesome, too. If I finally decide to go visible, I think a dagger or bayonet on the inside of my forearm will be my choice.

Nah, just get the griffin by itself and consider the manticore for a separate one.

Looks awesome!!!! And very nice placement

I don't know if it helps you at all, but this thread made me think of Davey Havok, who has a couple pairs of daggers going diagonally across his ribs. I think anything diagonal/vertical works in that spot, horizontal just looks awkward imo. I myself have a tiny dagger through a heart on the back of my arm to fill a gap (plus it was to benefit an animal charity, I couldn't possibly go home that day without getting something!). I plan on getting a bigger dagger someday.

horizontal placement of a dagger would not really fit with the body on the rib cage, it will look like a bent blade in my opinion. vertical dagger would be better placement on a rib cage... but at 7cm (half the size of your pinky) horizontal/vertical won't matter, it will look extra small like a sticker on the ribs. take the plunge and go waaay bigger, at least 3x bigger.

go bigger

My artist touched up a couple of tattoos from the artist who did a couple of very small ones on me. He scarpered without any notice, and my artist was happy to jump in and do the touch-ups (while I was in for another tattoo). I've been using Josh ever since, which is about four or five years now. Ask nicely while you are getting another tattoo, and TIP WELL!

I definitely think people without an artistic eye have a hard time making judgements on specific things like shading or linework. Also partly laziness or convenience. I have a lot of friends who go to the same guy, not because he is the best, but because he is local and someone recommended him once, so someone else went and then the rest of them. I think it can be easy especially when you are young to follow the crowd in that sense. In terms of "good" tattoos, I certainly had a lack of knowledge before my first about how tattoos age. I don't think mine counts as good in the sense that it will stand up 20-30 years from now. Not sure if I could go back if I would change it tho, it's beautiful now.

Having spoken to a bunch of my friends after getting a bunch of my own...I genuinely think that most people just do not know what good tattoos look like, or even why good tattoos are good in the first place. I've had a lot of friends send me links to shops near them going, 'what do you think about this person's work?' and half of the time the shading is terrible or the lines are wonky, but they just don't see those things. Even after I show them a bunch of examples of better work, they don't seem to internalize it quickly. I do think there's something to the control aspect, though...that most look for an artist doing things like what they've imagined their tattoo will look like, even if what they want isn't going to make a very good tattoo. I dunno.

I think they don't care and they think they're cool for just having a tattoo. Maybe in some situations they feel more in control because they're scared to give the artist the reins... Sent from my Z755 using Tapatalk

It's been said ad infinitum but this is something to discuss with your artist who can advise on placement etc. but it definitely can be done Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

One of the most regularly requested tattoos I have been noticing are facial tattoos. I keep getting requests by guys and girls/ Guys wanting small designs across the eyebrow...words, or something small where a tear drop would go......city initials, spiders etc....gangster shit......girls wanting the stars etc........ For some reason, I get this feeling that I am doing something taboo..........like when that little voice is telling me not too and I get that feeling in my gut. Anybody else experience this? Any of you get regular requests for this shit?

BTW, Fred Perry has some of the Amy Winehouse Foundation shirts on sale. @oboogie I'm an enabler. :)

Went to CatConLA last weekend with my daughter!!! We had so much fun. Saw Horitomo, Molly, and Taki from State of Grace. We bought a ton of cat related stuff, two of my favorites being prints featuring David Bowie and Robert Smith w/cats! We bought @DJDeepFried a monmon cat baseball cap. I'm still wanting another monmon cat tattoo... someday...

Got this awesome piece this week on the spur of the moment/walk-in from Tommy Stegall at Baldy's Tattoo in Radcliff, KY (near Fort Knox). It's my first American Traditional tattoo and I am in love :) Wildcat

My thigh pieces (more side of thigh for them both). first one by Sam Smith when she was visiting the UK. I think about 5.5hrs one hit. Healed perfectly in 3 days despite being in a car crash where I rolled my car 3x and wrote it off on my way home from the shop. Second one, my beautiful big red kitty from Stu Pagdin. One hit - 6hrs. I took the train. This one was more of a tricky heal, got some lovely scabs but I think he's got a heavier hand. I love to collect but I'd be covered in Stu's work if he lived in the UK. I just love it!

I posted these in the new tattoos thread but here are my hands by Guen Douglas. They hurt like a bitch and I had a shitty heal (they need a few touch ups but neither of us are in a hurry!) really happy I have them done. I've got full coverage on arms and most of legs but not torso - partly because this is where I want my biggest pieces - but to get my hands done was very symbolic of committing myself to tattooing. No going back to teaching for me! Plus I just feel more 'me'. Hard to explain but I reckon someone gets it.

update...from my Sunday Takeover

And here I thought it was when you get a bunch of people with tattoos together to show them off and have a great party.

It happens. No tattoo is perfect. It's a handmade craft. Gives it character, etc. Chances are it won't bother you so much as time goes by. But at least let it heal. Fixing it could make it worse. Up to you if you want to take that chance. But I'd do what your artist recommends if you trust him/her. The reason why "get more tattoos" is the best answer is because you'll drive yourself crazy nitpicking over every last detail so you may as well put that energy into planning the next one.

I mean I've done two one on a guy and one on a girl. They were both beauty marks otherwise I wouldn't do em. It's alarming the volume of young kids getting facial tattoos. It's my opinion that you don't look hard when all you have tattoo wise is a few knick knacks on your face. You just look like a dumb asshole.

I won't tattoo faces of anyone who is not either a tattooer/piercer, or a collector that is already pretty well covered. So no to answer your question, I don't get any bad gut feelings. I do get asked for it about once a month though.