Tractor Tattoo

Ken Christopherson · Nov 5, 2015

I remember a while back (maybe a few years now) there was a thread started in one of the forums about those who have/or would consider getting a tractor tattoo. Well, I have been thinking of designs for several years now that I may want, and have wanted to incorporate my three favorites into some sort of black and white photo type of design... I've made my appointment to start on it next week. I'll be sure to post photos for all those who are interested in seeing them, but to give you an idea, I'll be incorporating a large steamer, a Case SC, Farmall M, and John Deere Unstyled A into the mural, with some possible small additives/fillers like gears, steam piston and flywheels, engine schematics, etc. I'm excited to begin work on it. I know tattoos aren't for everyone, and everyone will have their own opinions.. I'm purely sharing this because I remember the topic was brought up some time ago, and if you are interested in seeing the work, feel free to chime in and I can post it as progress (and money) allows. It's just one way for me to commemorate my passions (other than restoring tractors).

I think that it will be a great addition to my other large tattoo piece which incorporates the Split Rock Lighthouse in northern MN, and the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Wemedeeres · Nov 5, 2015

A few years ago I kicked around the idea of getting a John Deere related tattoo basically the leaping deer logo, but never did pull the pin. Good luck with yours, it'll be fun to see the outcome!

gmccool · Nov 5, 2015

I completely understand what you are doing with your tat. It sounds like you are putting a lot of thought into it & when you do that you end up with what I consider as art. When I was considering mine I had it sketched on a piece of paper & left it laying around the house where I could look at it for 6-8 months before I had it done. I'm glad I did to because I moved things a little from the original sketch. I incorporated some things into mine that intrigue me Barns, Silos, Windmills, & Falling Stars. I'm interested in seeing how you incorporate the tractors & steam engine into yours. So I"m voting for post pics as it progresses.

IAtractorKid · Nov 5, 2015

I'd love to see the progress as you go...I've been tossing around the idea as well but can't decide what to do!

moresmoke · Nov 5, 2015

I have thoughts of doing something simple from time to time. Have never worked up the courage. My biggest question is how to find an artist that will make art, and not what the school lunch cook had circa WW2.

I would be careful with Deere logos, the corporate lawyers may come wanting their pound of flesh!

SweetFeet · Nov 5, 2015

Not normally into tatoos... but would like to see it when you get it done.

Would like to see the one of Split Rock and the Edmund Fitzgerald too - we vacationed there one time. Really enjoyed Duluth.

Ken Christopherson · Nov 5, 2015

With mine, I'm not going to focus on logos so much as the machines themselves. I'd like to be able to read the nameplates on the front of the Farmall and Case, the lettering on the boiler plate of the steamer, as well as the lettering on the front of the Deere radiator, but other than that I would rather stray away from insignia. To me, logos can be a bit... Cheezy (just my opinion). I guess I really want to depict the tractors as if you were to see them setting out, tired, in nature, in an aged photo (with brown and grey tones).

I have yet to completely finish my Split Rock and Edmund Fitzgerald tattoo (only a little bit of shading left to do on the lighthouse and the ship), but it turned out pretty awesome, I think, and it was what I was going for. I tried to capture the fateful night that it sank in the cold waters of Superior. Enclosed you will find a series of pictures from the start until present (for those who asked).

Texas CC · Nov 5, 2015

This not me, but I admire his choice!

Brown Swiss · Nov 5, 2015

I would be interested in seeing it, I myself will never get one or any piercings, if someone wants to get them, it is their life, I am not going to run it for them!

JerryS · Nov 5, 2015

In 40 years that's really going to look like the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

wjytexas · Nov 5, 2015

anybody got a Kobota tattoo?

JerryS · Nov 5, 2015

Not to mention the lighthouse at Alexandria.

Ken Christopherson · Nov 5, 2015

That's what I'm going for.

Goose · Nov 5, 2015

I can't imagine anyone having so little respect for their body that they cover it with tattoos.

I've put this 80 year old frame of mine through a lot of misery and trauma over the years, but I've never had the slightest urge to deface it with a tattoo. And I spent ten years in the Marine Corps in an era when it was almost a rite of passage to get a Marine Corps emblem tattooed on your forearm the day after you graduated from boot camp.

In fact, the Corp is cracking down on tattoos bigtime. Several years ago, a directive was issued that no Marine could have a tattoo that was visible when wearing any authorized uniform. Marines who had tattoos at the time the directive was issued had to have them entered in their service record book as pre-existing. I haven't heard that the directive was rescinded, so I assume it's still in effect.

dpendzic · Nov 5, 2015

My first dozer that i bought when i was 16---a Cat R2

Bryan inIowa · Nov 5, 2015

I was at Gunners Strip club one night and gal had a cool IH logo between her shoulders on her back .

Tom OConnor · Nov 5, 2015

I have a thing about tattoos and I know that it is not fair and maybe it is my age but I associate them with low-life. If a person wants to be successful then one needs to look successful.
I just want to scream at these young people with tattoos up the side of their face and tell them that they have successfully eliminated themselves from about ninety percent of the best jobs that this country has to offer. I can't even find a shirt that I am willing to wear for two days in a row let alone having something indelible inscribed on my body. I had a waiter come up to our table one evening that had a snake tattooed around his arm and ask what he could get us and my reply to him was a different waiter. I can't think of a worse thing on this earth to spend money on.

JayinNY · Nov 5, 2015

I thought about getting some tattoos of my cats, or my horse, there faces on my arm ect. When i was a kid my dad gave us this bs spiel that if you marred your body god wouldent accept you into heaven ??? Ya i really believe that??? I don't want to do that to my body, it might be neat, but I don't want that, and it's not from what my dad told me, however I think if your a rock star than it's perfectly ok, as a matter of fact, your not a rock star if your dont have tattoos! Lol, each to there own.

Frank Dodson · Nov 5, 2015

Tom,

I am in full agreement with you. I was employed in higher education for 39 years which 20 were in administration. I have seen young people go through many not so smart phases however the tatto is the most disgusting. When I was college provost I had to interview all applicants and I did not hire any one with a tatto showing. There are also health and safety issues such as allergic reactions from the ink, hephtitis, staph, and steph from dirty needles.

notjustair · Nov 5, 2015

I almost choked when I read this. You never get enough opportunities for an Edmund Fitzgerald analogy.

CenTex Farmall · Nov 5, 2015

Country girl goes to the Big City???

I see a movie story in there somewhere.

CenTex Farmall · Nov 5, 2015

What you said about logos reminds me of guy who was in some classes I took years ago. He had a great big "Harley Davidson" tattoo across his upper back complete with filigree and shading. What was missing is that he did not at that time nor had previously ever owned a Harley Davidson or any other motorcycle for that matter. *Face Palm*

2x4 · Nov 6, 2015

I thought this was going to be a thread about putting a tattoo on your tractor. Now that I could stand.

Moonlite37 · Nov 6, 2015

I doubt it was a MTA possibly a Transtar

RLA · Nov 6, 2015

God made my body perfect, I don't need now or ever anything other than a golden band on my left hand
& a wrist watch occasionally but not always. I have enough battle scares from years past to remind me
where I've come from & what I've been threw. I believe they are ugly, stupid & a waste of Money and a
sign of pure ignorance. Call me what you Like, I'm OK with it.....

JML755 · Nov 6, 2015

(quoted from post at 22:15:05 11/05/15) I have a thing about tattoos and I know that it is not fair and maybe it is my age but [b:1560ae9898]I associate them with low-life. [/b:1560ae9898]If a person wants to be successful then one needs to look successful.
I just want to scream at these young people with tattoos up the side of their face and tell them that they have successfully eliminated themselves from about ninety percent of the best jobs that this country has to offer. I can't even find a shirt that I am willing to wear for two days in a row let alone having something indelible inscribed on my body. I had a waiter come up to our table one evening that had a snake tattooed around his arm and ask what he could get us and my reply to him was a different waiter. I can't think of a worse thing on this earth to spend money on.

Agree 100%. When I was hiring a receptionist years ago, I interviewed probably 20-30 people, mostly women. Anyone with a visible tattoo didn't make the first cut. One girl was wearing clothes that covered her arms/neck completely even though it was summertime so I was pretty sure that she had tattoos. (The purple hair and tongue stud were also clues. :lol: ) So people who have them may never know the reason they didn't get that job they wanted was because of their tattoo.

Foghorn Leghorn · Nov 6, 2015

The only advice I can give you on this is; Don't do it. If you really like art, then commission it and then frame it for your wall.

The problem with tatoos is twofold. Firstly, the ink does not stay the same, It fades and gets blurry over time. The ink doesn't go away, but it does break down to some extent What looks great after going on, looks like fuzzy gibberish after 10 years or so.

Secondly, your skin also changes over time. It stretches and sags with age. That is just true of everyone, and it makes the flaws just that much worse.

So if the ink changes and the canvas changes, why would you want this on yourself?

Just put it on the wall and enjoy it for as as long as you wish to do it. Odds are that you will tire of it over time and be glad you don't have to wear it.

RN · Nov 6, 2015

If the coroner gets a torso and arms- no finger to print or head- then the tats can be useful especially if it is something of a tribal marker or affinity group, something with meaning. Unknown main body with bird on the ball? check the VA database for Marines, cross check with missing persons and see about a DNA profile link. Bunch of tractors and old lighthouse- and you don't post awhile when the Coroner query about 'anybody recognize these markings'- well, the grave marker will have a 'most likely' name. In my case, not much to go on- a few old broken bones, some scars on head, torso, leg, ankle, hands- docs records might help there. One old tattoo with some traceable tribal/affinity group indicators that might be in a database somewhere-FBI maybe, more than likely. RN

dr sportster · Nov 6, 2015

Tattooed people take more risk in life. Screw all the haters with no ink . They are all wimps. Ink away it's okay.

dr sportster · Nov 6, 2015

Guys are serving three tours and the recruiters have to reject any applicant with neck tattoos . The guys with neck tattoos are the ones you want for combat.

RLA · Nov 6, 2015

Yep if people want to look like a freak, they should do it on their
own planet, so it' doesn't hurt everyone else's eye's...

doorman · Nov 6, 2015

For the ladies; "A butterfly on the back becomes a buzzard in the crack".

Aaron Ford · Nov 7, 2015

I see a fair amount of International Harvester tattoos around here. I haven't seen a Deere tat, oddly. I myself would not get a tattoo, but have no problem with those that do. I am on the fence with face neck tattoos. I can see both points. I would never discriminate against a person who had a natural skin condition, but one that was intentionally applied? It's their right to put it there, but it is my right to say if I want them to represent me. Can't say either way.

Aaron

gwstang · Nov 7, 2015

Wait! What????? You let people stick holes in you...with a needle??? I can't even stand to get a shot from a pretty nurse...in the behind. I could not imagine letting someone stick me over and over and over....lol. :shock:

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