When I started tattooing back in 1994 I used steel barrels. Disposable barrels still were not widely used in the industry. I also started out using a brass frame machine. The weight that the two were combined was nice and heavy. With how heavy the whole set was enabled me to throw down lines like butter. The steel barrels also aided the machine in how it sounded and how I was able to tune it. In 2005 I decided it was time to go with the industry standard of disposable barrels. Up until like three weeks ago I was totally behind the idea of using just disposable equipment at the shop.
With disposables I've found only a few advantages over the steel counterparts. They were one time use and the artist threw them out. The public liked this idea because for years the industry used it as a marketing tool to get customers in the door. The tattoo industry tends to market the fear of catching some disease to the public in order to get them into the shop. Well as many of our students learned last night during our sterilization class a tattoo shop can be more clean then a hospital.
Our class was on the process of how we get our equipment sterile. The State of Illinois mandates that all shops who use steel instruments have an ultrasonic cleaner and spore tested autoclave. At Aberration Pro Custom Tattoo we actually go through more of a process then required. We use three processes to kill and sterilize all of our equipment. Chemical, Autoclave Steam, and UV sterilization up to the minute a customer comes in for a procedure. Many have called it overkill because we have an up to date spore test, but at our shop the safety of the clients and staff is priority number one. With our processes we are able to achieve 100% sterilization.
So with the shop doing more then whats required by State Law the artist are able to enjoy using equipment that is better then disposables. Disposables usually disrupt the machines tuning and the needles ability to ride on a smooth surface. If you ever pulled a disposable barrel out of a package you notice the artist has to cut some of the ends of the barrels off. So instead of giving out bad work thats the main reason I decided to go back to steel. Every artist has their way of doing things, Aberration will be a MOMS and Steel only shop because the quality of the tools affect the outcome of our procedures.