kits

I was on another tattoo website/forum, and noticed that it had a link on the site's homepage to a place that sells tattoo "kits", right to your door.( Not just your shop door, but your house door too.) I would first like to say, I looked around here and did not see any such links...and I am so glad. But what do y'all think? I think these "kits" have one purpose...home tattooing. Because if you learned from a real tattooist in a real tattoo shop you would know this stuff is junk. Clearly made for the amateur with no professional guidance.

You know the saying: "guns don't kill people, people kill people..." Well the same could be said about kits and scratchers...that being said, I've read the valid point that you don't often see an autoclave included in these "starter kits" so I think that pretty much hammers home the final nail in the unreputable coffin of starter kits! Owning a hand gun and firing on a practice range does not mean that you will go on to eventually commit murder. If someone were to have the restraint and will power and maturity to resist the urge to scratch, I don't think buying certain equipment to study its workings is a bad thing. Building/assembling a Machine, soldering needle bars, sterilizing cutlery with an autoclave for fun & practice...But if this were the case one would still be better off buying quality equipment to study on from the start, not a junky starter kit. Therefore I see no valid reason for their existance...

I try my best to filter out all "tattoo kit/school" ads and any others that dont promote healthy tattooing as an art. I cant get them all sometimes, so if you do see an ad thats offensive, post a message here and Ill filter it out. Tattoo kits are for folks who dont know better. Its a shame that theres a part of this industry that cares more for business than for the art and preys apon young eager artists. At the end of the day, everyone pays for their own karma. After all, if you really care for the art and always do whats best for it, the business will follow.

ack, its late. the simple answer is yes, kits are for people trying to teach themselves tattooing. Really bad idea, tattooing is one of the arts thats not very forgiving.

people rarely apprentice anymore; people buy the kits so they can practice and become tattoo artists. ...if someone wants to buy a kit and practice on themselves- who fuckin cares? they're messing up their own skin.

We really don't care if they put substandard tattoos on themselves, but when they start putting bad tattoos (www.badtattoos.com) on the public it does affect our art and business in many negative ways...I am all for people learning to tattoo and I will try to help anyone I can if I can...hell I'm not tryin to keep people out of the biz...there are few things I enjoy more than seeing a young person taking this ancient art seriously...and by seriously I mean doing their homework, developing their art skills and taking classes in bbp, cross contam and cpr ....any other way is just plain dangerous...you can get rid of a bad tattoo...ya can't get rid of AIDS or HEP!!!...TAz, Painted Angel Studios

To answer the original post...Yeah those kits are out there...hell its nothing new...huck spaulding has been selling them for years and years...But with the proliferation of tattoo shows on television and the popularity of our art it seems like every shady businessman or woman on the planet is trying to cash in...I can't say I like it but this country was built on the free enterprise system so what can we do? As I've said all along we can't stop this practice...all we can really do is to keep trying to educate the public to the dangers of amateur tattooing and purchase supplies only from companies that sell only to licensed studios...( and visit only sites that refuse to accept ads from suppliers who will sell to just anybody.) I think our art has been mainstreamed to an extent over the past few years but this mainstreaming has also given rise to the best tattooing the world has ever seen...just look at the amazing stuff some of the really young guns are doin...some of it is just CRAZY GOOD!!...This subject is a two edged sword...we gotta look at both sides...TAZ, Painted Angel

"...if someone wants to buy a kit and practice on themselves- who fuckin cares? they're messing up their own skin." Problem 1: They seldom keep it to themselves, they usually jump right into anyone who wants a free tattoo. Problem 2: They VERY seldom, if ever do it in a safe, clean manner in a controlled sterile environment, thus the risk of spreading disease is multiplied. Then, people that get Hep from a tattoo fall into the statistics of people that got Hep from a tattoo, which affects all of the pros who tattoo in a safe manner, ruining our reputations. Problem 3: The people that do get infected from a scratcher doing it out of his/her house in such an environment usually don't know that they got infected, and tend to spread that infection in various ways to unsuspecting otherwise innocent folks, spreading the disease further. Example: Joe Cheapskate gets a $20 half sleeve from Scotty Scratcher who re-used a needle, but "sterilized" it with alcohol and boiling water, contracts hepatitis, but doesn't know it. Joe Cheapskate touches his open wound to put ointment on it and then with the same hand touches the door to a convenience store to go buy some smokes. The next person entering the store touches that same door handle and rubs their eyes because it's allergy season and their eyes are itchy. Guess what? They just contracted Hepatitis from rubbing the virus into an opening in their body. It's not common, but very possible and very real. To answer your question of "who fuckin cares?", I do and you should too.

I've been bitching about these kits for years, while it is negitive on the industry to have these kits so readily available. there is a plus side to it, we make tons of cash every year covering or fixing a design that some new scratcher put on some poor sucker. but seriously, this is why we should condone bitch slapping and forcfully taking equipment out of the hands of the un-worthy, it used to be a common practice in the trade......but it would seem that the industry is no longer ruled by the old ogerish-neadrathal types that smash first and ask questions later. sigh.....the good old days.......

ok heres a thought...with as many kits that are easily available on the internet and other sources. How about posting just as many ads looking for dedicated artist and apprenticeship candidates. You dont see that, but if half of the well qualified tattoo artists would share the art, and motivate these homebodys to get out there and do it the right way, through an apprenticeship, then I would bet that you would watch the business sales decline drastically of the "self starter kits". JUST A THOUGHT!

Artist have posted here,looking/offering apprenticeships to potential artist.Weird though.......the bitching usually stops and the sound of crickets starts.Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

yeah, if an artist is really good and getting A+ tattoos then opportunities almost always present themselves. Im not crying for anyone who doesnt have the patiuentce to learn the right way and making excuses for kits and people who start too soon is just that... excuses. Every talented artist I know is pretty open with their experiences and tips, at least to good artists who they know and see in person.