| At A Glance | |
| Author | Steve-O |
| IAM | ThunderBoxCrash |
| When | It just happened |
| Artist | Keith M. |
| Studio | Peter Tat-2 |
| Location | Pittsfield, Mass. |
My latest tattoo was actually a resurrection of a previous design. The design was of a military-style bomb emblazoned with the number 4 on it. It was a pretty simple design and the number signified my month of birth. For a location, I had chosen the sternum area, since the design fit perfect in that area. I really liked the design and it was something that I planned on getting, but I ended up getting another tattoo instead - the Racing Koi Fish on my right forearm. I had the number 4 put on that piece, to fit the theme. The bomb tattoo never got done.
That was well over a year ago and recently, I started thinking about the bomb tattoo again. I was thinking what I could do to the design to make it work and then it hit me - make it an F-Bomb. We've all heard the phrase "droppin' the f-bomb" so that phrase would go perfectly with the design. After all, the bomb was the type dropped from planes. This tattoo is also fitting, because I tend to use the F-word way more than one should.
I explained to Keith, my artist, that I had a new idea for the bomb tattoo he had drawn up well over a year ago. When I told him I wanted it to be an F-Bomb, he took to the idea right away. He had to look for the bomb in a pile of flash drawings. The bomb originally had a banner going around it. Since the design is pretty simple, it didn't take long for him to do a rough outline. When he asked me what type of F I wanted, I told him I wanted a big fat, bold looking F. The rough outline looked pretty good:
I was still going to get it on my sternum area. After having the Five Stars tattoo done on my upper chest and finding out it wasn't anything too horrible pain-wise, I figured the sternum area wouldn't be all that bad. I guess I was just trying to think positive because I've been told many times that the sternum can be brutal. Honestly, I really didn't dwell on the pain issue. I wanted a clear mind without any hesitations.
I wasn't sure exactly when I was going to get this tattoo. I just had a touch-up session and wanted that tattoo to heal before venturing to a new project. The last week of June while visiting at the shop, I decided to make an appointment for July 7. Two other people had beat me to it, so I made the appointment for 4pm - which is unusual for me, since I like to get tattooed just after the studio opens. It wasn't a big deal though.
The next seven days went by pretty quickly. A few days before the appointment, I realized I was going to be tattooed on 7.7.07. Pretty good day to get tattooed I thought, since I've been tattooed on my birthday, Friday the 13th and on the anniversary of my first tattoo. So another unique date would be added to the list.
Saturday the 7th arrived and I was at the studio earlier in the day when Keith asked me if I wanted to start it then. Since I hadn't eaten yet, I told him I'd keep to the appointment and wait until 4pm. I didn't stay too long as I did have some other things to do. I needed to eat and I needed to go to the ATM. Food in my belly and cash in my pocket were both high priorities.
About an hour before my appointment, I went and grabbed some iced coffee for both Keith and Gabe. It's always a good idea to hook up your artist with a freezing cold caffeinated beverage and Gabe deserved one too - he's learning the trade and progressing very well.
Keith's station was mostly set up for my appointment. It wasn't quite 4, so we all stepped outside to inhale mad quantities of nicotine. It was a decent day, but the wind was blowing, so it made the actual temperature feel cooler. Once the smoke session was done with, it was time to get the ink session underway. First thing I did was kill the fan. I hate fans blowing on me and the shop was plenty comfortable, thanks to the AC that was cranking at full power.
For this tattoo, I chose gray for the bomb with yellow for the stripes and the F. Keith suggested adding orange to the outside areas of the stripes, to give it a little more depth. I agreed with the suggestion. Keith assembled the machines and poured the ink while Gabe went to fetch some water. Then it was time to apply the transfer.
I pulled off my wifebeater and stood up straight as possible. Keith made sure to mark the area first and made sure the mark was centered. Then he sprayed Green Soap on the area and applied the transfer. He looked at it for a while and then told me to have a look. I looked at it for a while and I thought the placement was dead-on. He looked again and then had Gabe look. With all three of us in agreement that the placement was good, it was time to start tattooing.
I laid almost flat on the chair and prepared myself for the experience. I was pretty calm but just a little bit on edge. It didn't matter, because I wasn't turning back. Keith rubbed in some A&D and asked the famous words "are you ready?" "Ready as I'll ever be" I replied as he gave some juice to the machine. He was starting at the bomb's fins. After a few lines I was surprised that it really didn't feel too bad. I thought hell, if this is what it was going to feel like, I had nothing to worry about.
Then he worked on my sternum area. Those "nothing to worry about" thoughts ran from my head as if someone had just screamed "fire!" It felt as if someone had held the blade of an X-Acto knife under a torch and then cut into my chest with it. I now knew what deep, intense hell-like burning felt like and honestly, I didn't really like it. The exact area he was working on was right over the bony tip at the base of the sternum. It was pretty intense. I just focused on breathing correctly while he continued with the outline.
When he got to the top part of my stomach, the intensity leveled off to a more tolerable level. I watched TV as he continued with the outline. Gabe had been made the official videographer, and he took some video of the procedure. It didn't take too long to outline and after he sprayed the tattoo to clean it, I literally peeled myself off of the chair. Seems I had sweated a bit and it created some suction. For as much as the outline sucked, I still managed to laugh and joke as we made our way outside for a smoke break. Then it was time for some color to be added.
Before we started, I gulped down some of my iced latte and took a few deep breaths before jumping back in the chair. The first color was gray. The entire bomb wasn't going to be gray - only the shadowed areas. He started on my stomach first. It wasn't too bad. I just focused on my breathing, making sure to take even, slow breaths in and out so my stomach moved as little as possible. It didn't take long however for the intensity to increase. I knew the worst was yet to come.
When he got to the sternum area, it became intense. I'm not sure what my face must have looked like as it contorted into wrinkles and creases and Lord knows what else. All I know is I was trying like hell to think of happy thoughts. At one point I said "I can feel that everywhere." I felt it throughout my chest and deep into my back. I'm thinking it was all my ribs slightly vibrating. It was a pretty odd feeling. He was working pretty steadily though, so the gray maybe took 15 minutes. It's safe to say that it was the longest 15 minutes of my life. After cleaning the tattoo, I didn't waste any time getting off the chair. I scoped out the tattoo in the mirror and it was looking sharp. With the yellow and orange up next, it would make the tattoo look pretty amazing.
The break was nice. I took the opportunity to gulp down more of my iced latte and to hork down a Boston Kreme donut. I wanted some sugar in my system, thinking a boost of sugar would help with the final steps. Once the donut was finished, I got back in the chair. Keith would use orange first and then finish up with yellow.
The orange was the quickest part. He just brushed it in along the outer parts of both stripes and where the fins come together at the top of the bomb. The yellow took a bit longer. The bottom stripe wasn't too bad. Wasn't exactly a picnic either but it was tolerable. The second stripe was going right over that bony tip and just as before, the intensity increased dramatically. If I had to give this intensity a number from one to ten, it was high up near nine. Luckily, it didn't last long. The F was also colored yellow and that wasn't nearly as brutal. With the tops of the tail fins getting their yellow addition, the tattoo was finished and I was glad. Keith gave the tattoo a spray down and then I went to check it out. It looked amazing. The redness gave it an added touch. Then I stepped outside to get some fresh air in between the drags off my cigarette. Keith cleaned it one last time before slapping a bandage on it and securing it with a long piece of medical tape. Then I put my wife beater back on and got out my wallet to pay the man for inflicting some serious pain on me. For as much as some areas sucked, I didn't move, scream or even yell. Oddly, I didn't even drop an F-Bomb once.
I stayed for a few minutes and then headed out. Keith told me to stop by the shop on Monday, so he could see how the tattoo was doing. I told him it would be looking fantastic. I was going to take care of this tattoo like no other. I left the shop with a sense of relief and a sense of accomplishment. I felt that I truly earned this tattoo.
When I got home, I chilled, ate dinner and later that night, watched the lame fireworks that were supposed to happen on the 4th but were postponed until that night. It was around 10pm when I removed the bandage which had a faint imprint of the tattoo. The tattoo looked pretty nasty - with a nice mix of ointment, blood and ink. I gave it a good cleaning and used a hair dryer to dry it. I used the cool setting, so I wouldn't burn it. Then I put a fresh, clean bandage over it before going to bed. I really didn't want to take any chances and see F-Bomb transfers on my bed sheets. With a bandage, there was no chance of that happening.
The next morning, I gave the tattoo another cleaning. It was a little nasty looking because it had continued to weep a bit during the night. Having a bandage over the tattoo definitely helped. There wasn't any noticeable scabbing either, which was good news. During the day I gave it a few more cleanings. As I'm writing this, I noticed that the tattoo looks pretty amazing. The redness is fading and it feels pretty smooth. I'm predicting that healing should continue to go well.
This tattoo ranks in the top three as far as pain goes. I'd even go as far to say it was the most painful at times. It's hard to say only because the other tattoos that are in this category were done a number of years ago and I really can't recall exactly how painful they were at the time.
A few years back I would have never attempted to get a tattoo on such a rough area. I remember one of the artists telling me that he wanted to get a sternum piece and wanted to get tattooed right over the bony point. I looked at him and told him he was crazy. Fast forward to the present and tell me who's crazy now?
Here's a few pics:
Pics of the tattoo:
