Grips, reusable grips, sustainable alternatives and cartridges

There are many grips and cartridges, but how did these tools come about and what are the differences between grips and cartridges? You can find out all this and much more here.

History

Like tattoo needles in the past, the handles and tips were made by hand with the help of special tools. Most tattoo artists began by obtaining raw brass material and painstakingly turning, shaping and grinding it to finally create the grips that suited them.
At that time, brass was used for the production of tattoo handles, as it is an easily turnable material and could therefore be shaped well. A lathe was used to turn the handles and needles. To ensure that the material lasted a long time and remained rust-free, it was then chrome-plated.
Later, stainless steel was used because it was a higher quality material. For the further progress of the specially made stainless steel handles and tips, these were now produced with the help of a CNC lathe.

Disposable handles

In order to meet today's hygiene requirements, disposable handles and tips made of plastic and rubber were developed over the course of time. The function of the sterile-wrapped handle or tip puts you one step ahead in terms of hygiene, because after using the handle once, you can immediately throw it in the rubbish without any problems.
Furthermore, sterile-wrapped disposable grips offer the advantage that they can also be disposed of quickly, easily and safely at tattoo conventions. In addition, the tattoo artist no longer has to spend unnecessary and tedious time cleaning the stainless steel grip. Likewise, the low weight of the grip pieces offers a pleasant feeling with lighter coil machines as well as with rotary machines.

BARREL Disposable Grips

The disposable barrel grips from THE INKED ARMY have been further developed over the years and are an absolute top seller. The high quality tattoo grips are made of robust plastic and skin-friendly silicone. Due to the flat bevel of the ergonomic silicone grip in the rear part, it fits perfectly in the hand pit. In addition, the disposable barrel grips are relatively heavy compared to other grips, which creates a pleasant counterweight to the tattoo machine. Another advantage is that you can see a clear edge between the tool and the tattoo needle thanks to the orange-transparent tip.

Needles

In the past, the needles were made of brass and later of stainless steel. In the past, needles were used without any safety precautions. Today we have come a long way.
Of course, you can still buy the individual needle bars if you have a rotary machine with a powerful motor or switch to cartridges, which are suitable for pen machines and the like.
Whether you choose cartridges or needle bars is a matter of taste and depends on which machine you prefer to tattoo with.
With cartridges, you have a small safety factor built in, as the needles always retract when there is no pressure on them. This means you can't accidentally prick yourself with the needle when inserting it.

Grip accessories

As grips have become more and more popular, the market for grip accessories has also expanded.
Whereas back then people still tattooed a lot with silicone grip covers, nowadays grip bandages are more in vogue.
The advantage of silicone grip covers as opposed to bandages is that, on the one hand, they can enlarge the grip as desired and, on the other hand, the bandages allow for a more comfortable and precise grip. The bandages also provide more grip.

BARREL Disposable Cartridge Grip

With these disposable cartridges from THE INKED ARMY it is now possible to work with bobbin machines and rotary machines with needle modules. Thanks to the user-friendly shape and the non-slip surface texture, the disposable cartridge grips fit perfectly in the hand. So you can bring your artwork under the skin in a relaxed way. To suit both spool machines and rotary machines, the disposable cartridge grips are available in two different versions that are compatible with all common machine types. You can choose between the cartridge grips with backstem or the cartridge grips with groove.