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The Evolution of Tattoo Equipment: Tattoo Needle Types

Posted on by Caesar

Tattoo needles are key to the success of every tattoo artwork but gaining industry secrets on their features is not an easy task. So, I compiled a comprehensive guide for you to help you understand the analytical and historical background of the market availability for tattoo needles.

Let’s start with tattoo needle types!

Tattoo Needle Types

We distinguish two main tattoo needle types based on their functions and subcategories:

  1. Liner Tattoo needle configurations
  2. Shader Tattoo needle configurations:
    • Round Shader needles
    • Magnum Shader needles
    • Curved Magnum Shader needles
Precision Round Liner Tattoo Needles - Tattoo Supply - REBEL
Precision Round Shader Tattoo Needles - Tattoo Supply - REBEL
Precision Magnum Shader Tattoo Needles - Tattoo Supply - REBEL
Precision Curved Magnum Shader Tattoo Needles - Tattoo Supply - REBEL

Diameters or Gauges of Stainless-Steel Wires

Tattoo needles are mostly manufactured from 3 different diameters or gauges of stainless-steel wires:

  • .25mm – FINE – #8 is the standard system (US) designation.
  • .30mm – NORMAL – #10 is the standard system (US) designation.
  • .35mm – FAT – #12 is the standard system (US) designation.

These wires are on a huge roll, similarly as the fishing line on a spool. So, if you want to create a needle from these wires, you need to cut and sharpen them.

The lengths of these cut wires are quite standard for every brand of tattoo needles. However, they are usually a little over ¾” (or around 21mm). This unified but unofficial length allows tattoo artists to switch between different manufacturing brands’ products as they wish.
 
These unified length pieces of metal which need to be sharpened are called tapers.
 

What Do We Know About Tapers?

Definition:

“ta·per

/ˈtāpər/

           verb

to diminish or reduce in thickness toward one end.

Note: there is a misconception that often makes confusion between the terms taper and gauge when it comes to describing a needle configuration.


Tapering has 4 different variations depending on the length, measured from the beginning of the taper to the tip of the needle.

  1. Short taper         .07” = 2mm
  2. Medium taper     .14” = 3.5mm
  3. Long taper          .23” = 6.5mm
  4. Extra-long taper .31” = 8mm
Tattoo Needle Taper Styles - REBEL
The easiest way to visualize these variations is to imagine them in proportions. Short-tapered needles are sharpened at a big angle on the length of 1/10th of the ¾” needle’s full length. Thus, it kind of looks like a bullet tip.
 
They sharpen the Medium-tapered needles close from 1/5th of the total length, the long-tapered is about 1/3rd, and the extra-long taper is almost halfway up, as you can see it on the image above.
 

Why is This Important?

The answer is that all tapers have different properties to store and carry the ink into the skin.
 
Also, the different taper lengths give us different possibilities to group the needles into different configurations. The longer the taper, the closer you can group the needles to create tight configurations. This is an important and crucial feature for manufacturing bugpin liner needles.
 
The industry manufactures all taper variations from all three different wire diameters. And this gives us a crazy number of variations for needle configurations. This number is between 120 and 150 (3 sizes x 40-45 configurations). 
 
Tattoo artists hardly use short-tapered needles. The most popular and widespread diameter is the .30mm. 
 
 Now that we’ve learned about the needle types, it’s time to talk about configurations!

 

Tattoo Needles Configurations

These loose needles are soldered together in a certain number and shape to create different configurations for different purposes. The numbers of needles grouped are usually odd numbers: 3, 5, 7, 9, and so on. Needle configurations are soldered onto the stainless-steel bar. However, in some cases we can see even number configurations like 8, 14, or 18.
 
Typically, the tattoo industry identifies these needle configurations based on a description that includes the number of the needles, the needle configuration they create, plus the shape of them. For example, 9 Round Liner, 15 Magnum, 18 Round Shader, or 27 Curved Magnum.

Note: Manufacturers build every needle configuration from the same tapered needles! There is no mixing! For instance, they are short, long, or extra-long tapered only.

Tattoo needle categories compare to artist brushes - REBEL

As tattoo artists, we strive to transfer our art skills onto a unique canvas – skin. In order to do that in the most effective way, we endeavor to create tools which have functions similar to painters’. Having said that, we can compare tattoo needle categories to the paint brushes as you can see it below:

    1. Liner Tattoo needles = fine liner brush
    2. Round Shader needles = round brush
    3. Magnum Needle configurations = flat/bright brush
    4. Curved Magnum Needle configurations = Filberth brush
Liner Tattoo needle configurations compare to artist paint brushes - REBEL
Round Shader Tattoo needle configurations compare to artist paint brushes - REBEL
Magnum Shader Tattoo needle configurations compare to artist paint brushes - REBEL
Curved Magnum Shader Tattoo needle configurations compare to artist paint brushes - REBEL
Works for you too, right?
 
To support you with the most reliable and up to date insights, I’ll write more blog posts for you on various industry secrets. Stay tuned!
 
Caesar The Hun
Caesar

2 thoughts on “The Evolution of Tattoo Equipment: Tattoo Needle Types”

  1. Pingback: The Evolution of Tattoo Equipment: Magnum Tattoo Needle Configurations • Rebel Tattoo Machine

  2. Pingback: The Evolution of Tattoo Equipment: Curved Magnum Tattoo Needle Configurations • REBEL Tattoo Machine

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