Eyebrow Pen Tattooer, My $.02 Worth

We were recently doing a hijack on WHW's KB Tat she had for sale talking about using a Tattoo Eyebrow Pen tattooer. We I finally got one so her's my opinion of them to date.

The unit I bought, http://www.ebay.com/itm/190769313106?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:ITis smaller than the KB Tat and pretty easy to use. The needle seems to extend far enough as long as you push the plastic tips on ALL the way.

Make sure you order some good ink and you will need some small cups to put a few drops in. (I'm using the cap off the plunger end of insulin syringes I've kept)

Here are a few pictures of the first time I've ever used one of the hand held units. Didn't want to "try" it on a bunny so here, have a banana. :lol:

First pic is of the 1 round line needle and the 3 round needles.


Our letter and number scheme for the B&D Bunny Ranch. :mrgreen:
Don't try and go over a spot until you clean it off first. See the bottom of the "2"?


The penetration looks like it will go deep enough to me but what do I know. It just went through the banana's skin but didn't mark the flesh so the buns all had a treat last night.


I have a few headed for freezer camp, hopefully this weekend, and will try it out on them before using it on any keepers and let you know how that works out.

Nice growth on that banana, Homer! I'm surprised you didn't keep it back as a breeder. :? What was its butchered weight?

Annnywayyyy... glad you got yourself a pen, and it looks like it will work out well for you. I like the bold lines of the 3 needle.

Homer":3he2lgdk said:

Don't try and go over a spot until you clean it off first.

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Surprisingly, you'll get pretty good at keeping a consistent line with practice. I always do just one portion of the letter or number and go over the stroke several times. It isn't one fluid motion like when you are writing normally. Even then, after I clean off the excess ink after "finishing" the tattoo, there are often spots that need to be retouched.

Homer":3he2lgdk said:

I have a few headed for freezer camp, hopefully this weekend, and will try it out on them before using it on any keepers and let you know how that works out.

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Practicing on your freezer camp bunnies is a good idea to get your technique down. When I first got my pen I did the full tattoo on every bun just for practice. Now I just tattoo each litter with the initial of the buck and doe and add the rest to the ones I decide to keep.

Just an FYI- you really wont get a good idea on how well your tats turn out on the freezer camp crew. The ink looks really dark initially, but tends to fade over time. Sometimes the skin peels away (not as gruesome as it sounds), taking most of the ink with it.

The real test will come with your "keepers", but fortunately with the pen you can just touch up the tattoos at a later date if necessary.

Wooooooooooooooow... that's very impressive!

:hmm:

Isn't a banana skin thicker than a bunny ear? Maybe that actually goes too deep?

Miss M":abqytokn said:

Isn't a banana skin thicker than a bunny ear? Maybe that actually goes too deep?

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Oh! Thanks for the reminder!

Homer, I meant to mention that (at least in the case of the Inkinator) the needle is set to just barely protrude from the end of the sleeve. I have noticed that if you set it too long, the needle tends to snag in the ear- I think it may flex a little or something.

I would suggest trying different settings until you find one that works consistently.

On a side note, at the show last weekend, I saw some Florida Whites in a carrier. Two of the group had ear tattoos that were visible from the outside of the ear! :shock: Sure thing that they wont fade, but it didn't look very nice.

I've never tattooed a rabbit before, but have done hundreds of tatts on humans. Is it really any different?

DBA":3tmcm5v0 said:

I've never tattooed a rabbit before, but have done hundreds of tatts on humans. Is it really any different?

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I've tattooed hundreds of rabbits, but never a human... so I couldn't say! :mrgreen: :lol:

Any suggestions on technique, setting the needle, etc.? opcorn:

A rabbit ear would have thinner skin stretched over cartilage. It's less squishy and folds. What difference that would make in tattoo technique or equipment I don't know. I need to come up with a pen tattooer soon. My first gen of netherland dwarf are not tattooed and ready to make gen 2. Things will get confusing fast. I have 3 lilac ermines but the doe and buck came tattooed and I can tell them apart from the daughter of the doe and another buck pretty well. Add a litter of lilac ermines, which I was supposed to have this week but the doe failed, and that won't work anymore.

MamaSheepdog":1a90ywl4 said:

Nice growth on that banana, Homer! I'm surprised you didn't keep it back as a breeder. :? What was its butchered weight?

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Sorry I didn't weigh the big guy but the "Flesh to Peal ratio" was outstanding! :roll:

Homer, I meant to mention that (at least in the case of the Inkinator) the needle is set to just barely protrude from the end of the sleeve. I have noticed that if you set it too long, the needle tends to snag in the ear- I think it may flex a little or something.

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I think you're right, (I didn't just admit that did I?), and it sticks out more than needed. On the 1 needle "T", top right side it did snag a bit but I was pushing it down to hard. When I let off a little it "felt" much smoother.

Miss M":1a90ywl4 said:

Wooooooooooooooow... that's very impressive!

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:nana:

I was looking at this pen and think I have a way to "fix it" if the needle penetrates is to deep. The smooth silver tip unscrews and a thin home made plastic washer could be placed there to extend the tip holder and plastic tip.


Washers will be for sale as a special "Homer mod" for $49.99 to make your $27.00 pen work. :twisted:

Okay, I just bought the same pen and some Kuro Sumi eggplant black ink (from one of the authorized resellers, once I got an education about counterfeit tattoo ink :shock: ).

The pen and ink should be here by Friday, so I can tattoo the Rex litter we're taking to the livestock swap Saturday. Now I just need to figure out what my tattoo number scheme is going to be, and make pedigrees. And find a suitable sock (tattooing-put-a-sock-in-it-on-it-i-mean-on-it-t14778.html). And buy bananas.

I sure hope you like that pen, Homer... since I done gone and bought the thing now.

You'll like it well enough Miss M. Just use light pressure when using it or it snags, the needles are a bit long for rabbit ears. But not to worry, just grind a little bit of the butt of the needle off. The plastic washer idea I had above to extend the tip wasn't practical. It can be done but will make you crazy fiddling with it. :x

That sock picture cracked me up. :lol:

Homer":exra6q6o said:

You'll like it well enough Miss M. Just use light pressure when using it or it snags, the needles are a bit long for rabbit ears. But not to worry, just grind a little bit of the butt of the needle off. The plastic washer idea I had above to extend the tip wasn't practical. It can be done but will make you crazy fiddling with it. :x

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Okay... so going through the ear and having it visible on the outside would not be good, I'm guessing.

How much needs to be ground off of the butt of the needle?

When do you change needles?

I've never used my husband's grinder. Hopefully, I don't stab myself. :x I'll have to come up with something to hold the needles with... locking pliers or something.

Maybe I can put something (banana? ) behind the ear, so I don't tattoo myself.

I use an air driven die grinder and hold the needle with a piece of leather. I usually hit it 3 or 4 times and that is enough. Just bump-bump-bump and then check it.

Miss M":2o0hvsfi said:

Maybe I can put something (banana? ) behind the ear, so I don't tattoo myself.

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I didn't realize this could be an issue... probably not ideal to have bunny tattoos on our fingers.
Maybe get a piece of leather to lay behind the ears for tattooing purposes?

I'm totally new to this tattooing thing. I guess I'll be buying a pen soon though.

Susie570":2aeimw7z said:

I didn't realize this could be an issue... probably not ideal to have bunny tattoos on our fingers.

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Right... not really what I want. LOL

Susie570":2aeimw7z said:

Maybe get a piece of leather to lay behind the ears for tattooing purposes?

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That might work... I have lots of leather scraps... :hmm: <br /><br /> __________ Mon May 04, 2015 10:53 pm __________ <br /><br /> I have to admit, I am kinda worried and wishing I'd bought the KBTatts or something.

Miss M":kvm4c1pt said:

Okay... so going through the ear and having it visible on the outside would not be good, I'm guessing.

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The only time I have seen that was on the Florida Whites, and I have seen tons of bunnies at shows, so I wouldn't worry about it generally.

Miss M":kvm4c1pt said:

Maybe I can put something (banana? ) behind the ear, so I don't tattoo myself.

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So far I haven't had the Inkinator needle penetrate the ear tissue- the most I ever feel is a tingling vibration. I suppose if a rabbit jerked you might go through the ear and stab yourself- but I tend to apply light pressure and go over the strokes several times, always ready to pull the pen away from the bunny if it starts to react.

Miss M":9eekrn7d said:

I have to admit, I am kinda worried and wishing I'd bought the KBTatts or something.

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You won't have any trouble at all. You can use them just the way they come. (Just use a light touch) Try it on a nanner first to get a feel for it. I just think with a little TLC they can be made to work better for use on small animals. :mrgreen:

You asked earlier how often I changed needles. I haven't but I've only done 4 tats. <and one nanner > 2 letters and 2 numbers each. I just run it in alcohol to clean a little bit between each bun.

Homer":3q1vu2dn said:

Miss M":3q1vu2dn said:

I have to admit, I am kinda worried and wishing I'd bought the KBTatts or something.

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You won't have any trouble at all. You can use them just the way they come. (Just use a light touch) Try it on a nanner first to get a feel for it. I just think with a little TLC they can be made to work better for use on small animals. :mrgreen:

You asked earlier how often I changed needles. I haven't but I've only done 4 tats. <and one nanner > 2 letters and 2 numbers each. I just run it in alcohol to clean a little bit between each bun.

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Do you have any pics of how the actual ear tatts turned out? I'm starting to shop around since I have breeding stock that is about ready to... well... actually breed (early next month) and I need to tattoo the suckers soon if I have any intentions of working on pedigrees.

Sali":2mjh2isw said:

Do you have any pics of how the actual ear tatts turned out?

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No, I didn't think to take pictures and they're all in the freezer now. They looked like any other tattoo that is done with a pen. It really all depends on your penmanship.

MamaSheepdog":28j45wvn said:

The only time I have seen that was on the Florida Whites, and I have seen tons of bunnies at shows, so I wouldn't worry about it generally.

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MamaSheepdog":28j45wvn said:

So far I haven't had the Inkinator needle penetrate the ear tissue- the most I ever feel is a tingling vibration. I suppose if a rabbit jerked you might go through the ear and stab yourself- but I tend to apply light pressure and go over the strokes several times, always ready to pull the pen away from the bunny if it starts to react.

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The Inkinator and others are made for animals, and this is made for people. That's why I'm wondering about the depth difference. I'll be tattooing a practice litter first, so hopefully I can get a feel for it before tattooing the Rex kits.

Homer":28j45wvn said:

You won't have any trouble at all. You can use them just the way they come. (Just use a light touch) Try it on a nanner first to get a feel for it. I just think with a little TLC they can be made to work better for use on small animals. :mrgreen:

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Yes, nanners first, then practice litter, then Rex.

I guess I'm overthinking this, I'm just concerned that if I go too heavy, it'll go through... and if I go too light, the tattoo will come out.

Homer":28j45wvn said:

I just run it in alcohol to clean a little bit between each bun.

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Does this thing come with comprehensible instructions? I've never tattooed anything. <br /><br /> __________ Tue May 05, 2015 10:56 am __________ <br /><br /> MSD - I ordered Kuro Sumi Eggplant Black, but I saw you get outlining ink. Did I get the wrong thing?