Sparrow Tattoo!!

[Paisley]

kanji - kahn'jee : From Japanese "Kan" (the Chinese Han dynasty) and "ji": glyph or letter of the alphabet. The Japanese word for a Han letter used in Japanese.

hummmm...intresting...but i think i'll pass...lol

not my kind of pirate thing..or anything else

[Dorian Lasseter]

Hrmm...

Kanji... or any other 'words' I've always shied away from...

Tattoos are artwork, not the dictionary...

[Black Dog]

looks like this is a tattoo forum now - soooooooooooo

consider this question from an uninked newbie to the pirate world - conservative, quiet, sober-errr sorta, in a world that believed pirates are long gone into the history books and should stay there

- is there such a thing as a period tattoo or is it just whatever the artist and client can come up with? As I have been threatened on pain of death should I ever get inked; I would have to find something worth the price to be paid if I ever was able to work the courage up. What would one of the kings sailors have? What was the deal with the pirate brand? - hey ya'll - I'm trying to learn something new here!!!

Willie the rumrunner

[Black Syren]

That would SO be my luck..Asking for Pirate and coming out with Gerbil. Unfortunately I have no inkings. Hubby won't allow it..*sighs* But if I did I would put a Trident around my right ankle. But I would want a unique and custom piece for my Trident. Perhaps someday....

[Mission]

- is there such a thing as a period tattoo or is it just whatever the artist and client can come up with? 

...

What would one of the kings sailors have?  What was the deal with the pirate brand?   - hey ya'll - I'm trying to learn something new here!!!  

Actually, it is fairly well agreed among scholars that the majority of pirates did not have tattoos during the golden era of piracy. (1690-1730). Jan Rogozinski has quite a bit to say about this in his book Pirates! An A-Z Encyclopedia:

...although they marked criminals and slaves for identification, European peoples loathed decorative tattooing. All forms of body scarring are prohibited in Jewish, Christian and Muslim religions.

...

Tattooing was introduced to Europe after 1700 by sailors who had been to Asia. William Dampier imported a tatooed Pacific islander in 1691 and planned to exhibit him to the public. A London author met sailors with tattooed biceps in 1698. Tattooing spread slowly, and it was still novel in 1764, when a sailor was tattooed while visiting Tahiti with Captain James Cook. Until the 1960s, it remained a rebellious practice among criminals, madmen and other social outcasts.

...

Mediterranean pirates probably never were tattoed. A few tattooed seamen may have visited the Atlantic and Caribbean before piracy died out in 1830. Tattoos occasionally appear in pirate films and fiction.

I suppose you could try to make some hay of the statement "Until the 1960s, it remained a rebellious practice among criminals, madmen and other social outcasts", but it sounds like most pirates did not have tattoos from Rogozinski's research. They were, after all, members of a society where it was not generally accepted by any strata of the population. Keep in mind that social norms were much more rigid and pertinent in that era than they are today. Trying to impose the loose fabric of today's culture and mores on previous eras is a novice historian's mistake that should be avoided.

Branding has been similarly over-associated with pirates. It is suggested that pirates were branded as punishment (ala The Scarlet Letter), but this makes little sense given that a more permenent solution to piracy was allowed and encouraged in that era: hanging.

However, to quote my friend (and fellow scholar) Foxe from another forum:

There is some evidence to suggest that some pirates were branded, but only in very specific and limited circumstances.

[Paisley]

well guys.....having just returned from aruba :)...for my souvies..i brought home...

more ink! woohooo

found an awesome local, with many u.s. associations. clean, respectable, etc...and very good! (he wasn't your drunk-tourist tattoo artist)

anywho...haven't loaded my pics on my pc yet, but my new ink is pretty much the design below. i had the design placed on my shoulders/collarbone, facing forward. it's based on an old portuguese compass rose.

[Paisley]

ok...i got 1 pic online...here ya go:

[Capt. Morgan]

I have a tattoo in mind, but need to find someone who won't screw it up... i don't want it to look crappy... thats the only reason I haven't gone for it yet... nice ink, though, Pais!

[tishsparrow]

i had a jack sparrow henna on my arm, but it dissapeared after i went in my friends hot tub at her party. hennas are nice, cuz they can look real (technically they are, cuz they're genuine henna) and they last longer than the stick ons, and when you want to get rid of it, just exfoliate!

[Bloody Charity Kidd]

Nice Ink!

[callenish gunner]

paisley great compass roses .....i've been searching for one to have put on m' forearm or on the back m' hand

i think this may be the one i want ....aligned with my right index finger so when someone be askin which way's north i'll be pointing

[Paisley]

thanks guys.....

my hubby got one too, on the inside of his left bicept. old school lookin compass rose, lots of shading...

i'll get him to be a pirate yet...might take me a few more years, lol

[Cire]

I joked to a friend that I should get a tattoo on my wrist where my watch normally goes, to mask the pale skin which doesn't tan. He said I should get an outline of my watch that says "watch goes here". Sounds fun, although not something one would seriously consider....

[Ace of Harbor Bay]

Well, I finally did it.

After the whole Sparrow Clone topic, I can hardly wait to see the posts about THIS!

[tishsparrow]

awesome dude. now, thats commitment to a character.

[Pynch]

Beautiful work Pais!!! And you too Ace (I'm especially happy to see that your sparrow is pointing in the correct direction). :)

[Capn_Enigma]

There is nothing like a "correct direction" for a tattoo.

The direction is any way the owner likes to wear it. If it's upside down, mirror- reverse and oblique and you wanted it that way, it's just fine as any. It isn't "incorrect" just because it faces one way or the other.

Nice work there, Ace!

[Ace of Harbor Bay]

Thanks mates.

Pynch, I thought long and hard about your prior advice. It held me off for a few months, but I decided that my time spent paying tribute to the character (which I assume will be another few years) will be something I would want to remember and this will mark that time.

I also have plans for another that will signify the time when I was 6 and fell in love with all things piratical. It of course was the POTC ride in Disneyland.

[Rumba Rue]

If'n I didn't hate needles so much, and be disowned by my companion, I'd have had a tat a long time ago. I've always wanted a small Celtic pentagram over my heart.

My companion hates them, and I've been told if I get one, he can't have sex with me anymore, cuz he can't be a blood donor. The rules here in Calif. say you can't be a blood donor for over a year or more if you've just gotten one or had sex with someone who does. Rules are rules.....

Course I could really freak him out, go to the PIP event and come back with one, providing someone is holding me down.

[lady snow]

that's the same in any state - tattoos fall in the same category as surgery - same goes for piercing. it's just a major phobia concerning needles and pain that keeps me from getting a tat.

[Capn_Enigma]

Firstly, you don't see any needle at all. The only thing you'll see is a device looking a bit like an airbrush making a buzzing noise, like a toy electric motor.

Secondly, the pain is much less than you'd expect. The initial sensation is less than that of a vaccination. Depending on the size (surface) of the tattoo, it may hurt a bit during the first minute or so of the tattooing process. Endorphines (the body's own pain drugs) are released, the skin is getting numb and you hardly feel anything, except if you concentrate on the spot. To avoid that, a good tattooer will chat with you during tattooing to distract you.

Finally, cleanliness is mandatory. If the tattooing room does not look clean enough that one would like to have a minor surgery in it, you'd better forget it.

You should not get a tattoo if you are not 100 per cent behind it.

Anyone coerced into getting a tattoo against his/ her will or coerced into not getting one against his/ her will should seriously consider to reevaluate their partnership.

[Paisley]

it's just a major phobia concerning needles and pain that keeps me from getting a tat.

lmao....one word....

EMLA

snicker

quit laughing pynch!

[lady snow]

i'll probably get up the courage one of these days and i know what i want - i have it in my mind and have for quite a while. just haven't gotten up the nerve yet.

[Captain Jim]

Course I could really freak him out, go to the PIP event and come back with one, providing someone is holding me down.

RumbaRue my love, I be new 'ere, but if it be 'elpin' ye, I'll 'ave me picture drawn 'olden ye down fer th' artist. Just fer evidence that ye put up a fight, o' course. It was in Key West that I woke up one day wi' me earring. Seems I told someone tha' I wanted one. Whilst I was asleep (wi' the aid o' much rum) they obliged. I still have it, 20 years later.

[Rumba Rue]

Well at least you got the piercing in your ear.....it could have been an 'oops' and ye woke up with a ring on your ding.