What is single needle tattooing: the definitive guide to fine line and single needle tattoos
Before we begin, let’s just get this out of the way now. What’s the difference between a “fine line” tattoo and single needle? For starters, there’s probably only 4 or 5 people in San Diego as of 2023 that actually do legitimate single needle tattooing. The rest? It’s all now known as “fine line”. The big give away? When you’re getting tattooed, look at your artist’s tray. Are there multiple tattoo machines or a million different cartridges? Well. It’s not single needle. Is there anything wrong with fine line tattoos? No, it’s just a style of creating a small tattoo using a variety of different needles. It’s typically associated with micro realism because it allows you to use a mix of different grey washes to get small details and smooth shading. True single needle, however, uses strictly one needle and allows the artist to deposit a more solid concentration of ink thus allowing for longer longevity of the tattoo. But before that, let’s go over a brief history of where single needle tattooing came from…
Single needle pirate ship done by Dan Collins at Rose Tattoo
Chapter One. A History of Single Needle Tattooing.
The desire for single needle tattooing emerged from the prison systems in Southern California in the late 70s where people were looking to emulate the artwork from convicts and those who served time. In prison, you would take a guitar string and you would stick it through a pencil eraser and then roll it on a little piece of sandpaper. The guitar string would sharpen up and then could be used in a hand made single needle tattoo machine, often built from any materials available like Bic Pens, a melted toothbrush, a cassette tape motor, and a paper clip. The sharpened guitar string would then be dipped in a black ink made from burned plastic ash mixed with water. The idea was that, as fine as the line you could make, then the closer to realism you could get by doing a real fine line and shading off that line. The other thing was using a gray shading and no color. Of course, in prison, you don’t have colors. You water down the ink or you evaporate the ink to make it darker, so all those things were things were established in prison.
One of the earlier shops focusing on attempting to recreate the prison style black and grey tattooing was East LA’S Good Time Charlie’s. At that same time, pioneer artist, Freddy Negrete was just getting out of the prison systems and working out of his house tattooing. Freddy Negrete would eventually see some of these tattoos coming from Good Time Charlie’s with work done by Jack Rudy and Charlie Cartwright. Eventually Freddy would tell his clients to go down to Good Time Charlie’s and show them his work until one day someone came back and told him Jack Rudy would like to meet him. Eventually, Jack Rudy, Charlie, and Freddy Negrete would figure a way to apply the prison style to professional tattooing by creating a single needle. Originally there was only a 3 round liner because you would need multiple needles together in order for the ink to flow. If you had just a single needle out of the machine, the ink just falls right off the needle and just blobs up on top of the skin. So, as you’re tattooing, the ink would fall out, and some parts will go in the skin and other parts won’t. That’s why all the professional tattoo artists at that time were saying, “Single needle doesn’t work. It’s going to fall out.” So Jack and Charlie came up with the idea of getting a needle and extending it out just a little bit from the other two needles, so the ink still flowed and you had that fine line. That was the start of the single needle. Eventually Charlie Cartwright would move on from tattooing for a time and Ed Hardy would take over Good Time Charlie’s while insisting Freddy Negrete worked there to bridge the gap and relate better to the clientele of East LA.
Later, artists like Mark Mahoney would come out to LA from Boston and work on perfecting the style. With the origins of single needle tattoos coming from the Latino neighborhoods, it began with more of the Chicano imagery and inspiration to describe the struggles of the Latino people in California. However, artists like Mark Mahoney, coming from an Irish background, and much like the Hispanic culture, would focus on using religious Catholic imagery like the crying Jesus or Virgin Mary as art sources to create a more realistic and flowing style of single needle tattooing.
Single needle sacred heart tattoo done by Daniel Collins at Rose Tattoo
Single needle tattooing saw significant development during the Chicano movement in the 1970s and 1980s. This cultural and political movement, which began among Mexican-Americans in the southwestern United States, brought forth unique artistic expressions, including tattoos. Single needle tattoos became a hallmark of Chicano art, often used to create detailed, black-and-grey images that depicted religious icons, cultural symbols, and portraits.
The advent of electric tattoo machines revolutionized tattooing, and single needle work was no exception. Modern machines allowed for greater control and consistency, making single needle tattooing more accessible and reliable. Tattoo artists began experimenting with different needle configurations and techniques, further enhancing the quality and complexity of single needle tattoos.
During the late 20th century, single needle tattooing continued to evolve, with artists pushing the boundaries of what could be achieved with this technique. The precision of single needle work made it ideal for fine line tattoos, realistic portraits, and intricate geometric designs.
Today, single needle tattooing has widespread popularity, particularly in major tattoo cities like Los Angeles, New York, and London. The technique has been embraced by a new generation of tattoo artists who continue to innovate and refine their craft. Artists such as Dr. Woo, who began their careers out of the renowned Shamrock Social Club in West Hollywood, have become celebrities in their own right, known for their minimalist, single needle designs.
Social media platforms like Instagram have played a significant role in showcasing the work possible with single needle tattoos, attracting clients from around the world. However with the new generation of tattooers, there’s also a lot of misconceptions about what single needle tattooing really is.
Is my tattoo single needle?
Does the artist typically do another style of tattooing other than single needle? Did your Artist use a variety of needles and/or machines during the tattoo? Than its most likely not single needle, which is still fine. There’s benefits to both single needle and “fine line” tattoos. One technique isn’t necessarily better than the other and mostly just comes down to the artists knowledge of application while keeping longevity in mind for the tattoo. In some cases, single needle can even be too thin of a line or might not even be the best option for certain skin in areas that swell a lot. Overall, all single needles are fine line, but not all fine lines are single needle. Your Artist will know what works best for your tattoo to produce the best results.
I heard single needle tattoos fall out very fast, and only last a couple years?
All tattoos are susceptible to fading and “spreading.” One of the main reasons tattoos fade and spread over time is simply that tattoo ink is a suspended solid placed into the skin which is a living organ. Though the dermis, where the tattoo ink resides, does not change anywhere near as rapidly as the epidermis; it still changes.
When a tattoo is applied, the tattooing process creates an immune response to rid the body of the foreign substance. Some ink particles are removed through a lymphatic response, while others too large for the body to remove are surrounded by fibroblast cells and sealed in the dermal layer of the skin. Movement of the tattoo occurs over time as these fibroblast cells either divide or die and exit the body. Also, over time, tattoo ink settles deeper into the dermal layer resulting in a faded look. Fading and moving by these processes should take several years before a noticeable difference is seen. However, there are also other factors involved. Sun exposure also plays a huge role in altering the appearance of a tattoo. Even tanning can deteriorate the looks of your tattoo. Keeping skin moisturized and protected from sun damage will decrease the affects of the sun on your tattoo. The smaller or more detailed the tattoo, the more noticeable these changes are going to be. Take that into consideration when selecting your tattoo.
It’s also important to find an Artist that is aware of this during the tattooing process. Unfortunately most of the work seen online is probably doctored in some way or another to sell their business. A lot of artists will use light grey washes and soft blending so that they’re able to get a good photo once finished as the blending of tones looks nice and the skin isn’t too overworked by the time you take that Instagram photo. However overtime those light grey tones will fade very fast. That’s why it’s important to do your homework to find a reputable single needle or fineline tattooer. When looking on social media, don’t use the amount of followers as a frame of reference because most times it can be bought and no amount of followers can guarantee someone’s work. Look for artists that continuously post their healed tattoos, and use photos that aren’t heavily doctored or taken using professional cameras that can automatically fix minor issues. Does the blacks look too black or does the white look like it’s glowing? Yeah, ink doesn’t glow, that’s an edit to enhance the design. Look for artists that are followed by and following a large group of other artists, most tattooers wont follow someone that looks suspicious or use some sorts of deception in their tattoos.
Couple years healed skull and Rose done single needle by Daniel Collins at Rose Tattoo
Got any more questions we didn’t cover? We would love to hear them. Who knows, if it’s a good enough question, we’ll even include it here on the page.
