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whoa, you folks weren't lyin! The back is tough! I was disappointed that I was only able to sit through 4 1/2 hours. It was done by Ian Lutz who tattoos in Denver CO. He was in my hometown (Pittsburgh PA) guesting at a local shop, so we were able to start this project on my turf. Next sitting is in January at his shop, World Tattoo. LOTS more to go, but excited for the journey. Also...the outline on the love handles?!?! HOLY HELL! I never knew pain like that existed lol i have my inner thighs/feet/chest all done and i didnt think pain could get much worse but WOW!! i could have almost passed out when he was hitting those spots. I felt like such a baby!!!

As of yesterday! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Last night, 3.5 hours, a couple of small breaks. Got home after midnight. This is round 3, maybe 1 more to go.

Just heard back from the guy, and he admitted to screwed up the time,and credited my account for $220. He apologized profusely.

another session down, this time the background down my right side. here's a healed photo Takashi took of the left side:

Glad to hear this one had a happy ending. As a business owner myself, I'm always happy to hear about things like this being solved in person, rather than online (not a dig against you/this thread, just thinking about the beast that is Yelp...). Do you plan to continue with the same artist? It sounds like he's a reasonable person, and would be open to your requests re: fewer smoke breaks.

My artist always deducts all prep time, his lunch break and throws in some time for free. I have an established relationship and tip well. I need to stretch once an hour or so and dont mind when he needs a break. I understand his need for margin. He delivers an outstanding customer experience. Quality of work is very important. The customer experience is also important. It works both ways. Simple communication helps both expectations. If your artist is not delivering the same type service...I would look else where.

I've had both of my shoulders done and I just about slept through it. Sounds like it may be time to move on.

My next session is going to be at least five hours. Just met a cool lady who wants to come with to watch and meet my artist.

I always respected those that got big back work done. Then I had mine done... a whole 'nother animal. I already have a considerable back injury, that area was tender. I was eating a few pain killers too which helped. Today I won't take as many and I'm off from work. Been snoozing and hanging out with the cats. Had a new sensation after I got home. Sat up and watched TV for maybe an hour. Got into bed, all covered up and got a case of the chills that lasted maybe a 1/2 hour, teeth chattering too.

you figured it out, good stuff ! i like positive outcomes, especially when it's tattoo related.

el twe, I am. He did mention "Ill knock a few dollars off cause of all the breaks". So he did seem aware of the issue before I said something. Maybe he had something personal going on, and was having a real hard time with it. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the situation, since his apology seemed very legit. He even said in the email that he did bring it up to the shop owner so everyone knows the situation. I wouldn't go public (Yelp, Facebook Reviews, etc) until I at least gave them the opportunity to correct it. That would probably guarantee that I wouldn't get a credit/money back! I do understand that it was a bad experience with that one artist, and not all artist at that shop are that way, and would have just considered changing artist had the manager be willing to work with me.

Dang, been a while since I checked this thread, nice work everybody! It'll probably be a couple more years before I'm in a position to start my own back piece journey so I'll continue to live vicariously through LST...

Chris Lambert in Leeds (UK) he is a wee superstar xx Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Grace - it looks amazing!! I was in yesterday too for more - I am sure I become more of a baby each time! Why the hell I decided it could come down to my butt I will never know - look forward to seeing your progress Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

well that worked out!

It might take more than 1-2 applications, but a lot can be done with coverups. Bottom line is what you are working with (but no photos . . . ?) and the ability of the artist (also an unknown to us at this stage . . . )

It could have been an honest math mistake at the end of a long day. If you like his work, then by all means continue. All the matters is if you're happy. Tattoos do cost whatever you're willing to pay for them. But it sounds like he's slow, painful and wasn't really respectful of your time/money - this of course is just from reading your responses on the internetz and we don't know the whole context...but the tattoo won't lie. Did it turn out awesome? Healing well? Red flag if you're second guessing whether or not you got the hustle. If you left with a sour taste why go back? maybe i'm just confused. or tattoo-naive because my experiences have been all good. Tattoos fade, the experience is permanent. Good luck

post up a picture of the overpriced tattoo for reference. Time to prep the stencil and area, setup machines, pour ink, etc, i don't count setup as tattoo time. Take all afternoon to get the stencil placement perfect if that's what it takes. I start my clock when the first line is pulled and stop the clock when you call the sesh and the machine gets put down. I don't think I've ever been hosed on price. In fact most tattooists did me a solid and round down. I have however witnessed peopled getting the ol' round up, and usually it doesn't surprise me in the context of those situations. All that said, you were likely overcharged and then you left a tip. Suck it up as a couple hundo lesson-learned and move on.

IMO, a 15 minute smoke break every hour is excessive... If you like his work and want to continue working with him, I'd find a way to say something. It's not like you don't want to pay for his time. Like @Hogrider, said it also means that you have to get back to your happy place. Express your concerns in a nice way. Every two hours should be sufficient. :)

We're done! The previous two day session didnt' go as well as the few before it had, I ended up having a pretty bad case of hitting the wall hard enough to lump my noggin. So I was concerned about the final session... but I did much better during those 5 or so hours a few days ago and here we are! Total I think ~35 hours, maybe deduct one or two total for breaks etc. That tengu has the exasperated smarmy expression I would expect it to have having had a teenage Yoshitsune (nee Ushiwakamaru) thwack it with a wooden sword. Horifuji's instagram has some clearer pictures from before we applied the film on it (as you can tell it was a bit ticked off and seepy by that point). (by Horifuji @ State of Grace, San Jose , CA, USA) Feels a bit weird plopping this on teh intertoobz but I am so pleased with my experience* that I wanted give him and the whole shop a shout-out. *minus the hurty being- poked-with-needles part.

You feel you were overcharged by $200, but you left a $100 tip?? That'll teach him ... NOT 1 hour prep, 30 minutes lunch, 15 minute break each hour, I'd look for another artist. I don't want to sit for 6 hours to get four hours worth of tattooing. Also, every time he takes a break, you have to get into the zone again. My guy usually goes about 2 hours between breaks.

right, I mean, that's some bulllllshit

not that I love capitalism, mind you.

so you paid for his lunch break? on what planet? generally it sounds like he milked the time, but quicker breaks (5-8 minutes every hour) is totally fine (and needed for the canvas!). not sure what I'd say, but you're paying for him to eat lunch. that's not how capitalism works.

Happened to me 10 years ago. It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn't realize how unhappy I was until I got away from that mess. Now I'm covered in ink, playing music, restoring an historic house, married to a great woman. Hard to figure how it could have turned out better.

Just to throw a little something else in. I don't know how tattoo artists and their shop handle the reporting of tips as income, but when I got my tattoo, I handed the artist cash for a tip before leaving their room. I was paying with a card and knew I could add the tip on there, but figured there's no need to have it on the books. Anybody asks, I didn't give nobody nuttin'.

Hello! I stumbled across this site trying to look up the different ways of healing for the leg (the back of my knee is healing a little differently than the rest of my sessions have so far) and decided to sign up! Here's my piece so far!

I'm hoping the detail will hold up over time.

Maybe you're nervous because it's going to hurt like a bitch ... maybe. What's very sensitive on one person may not hurt bad on someone else. As my artist always says, just because it hurts is no reason not to get tattooed.

Well, on the bright side, they are easy to cover up....

Here's the complete Stoney documentary for those interested. Such a cool video, I love all of his old sideshow flash! Stoney Knows How