Wedding band tattoo

[Horseman1978]

Howdy all,

DW and I are coming up on 24 years of marriage. I'm a welder and machinist and we have run a small business together for 23. I haven't worn a ring in over a decade, as I work daily with machinery that can easily kill me if anything from rings to clothes gets caught.

***As a fun but fact for the mechanics and trades folks here, we have a drill press that weighs 6800#!

Anyway, DW asked me to try the silicone bands a decade ago, and I broke one every month... In the end, I went back to being "ringless" yet again.

Fast forward to last month and DW asked again if I would try silicone bands, so I surprised her and had her write our anniversary date on a post-it note in her unique handwriting and we had a "tattoo date". I had the tattoo artist use her post-it note (and a digital scanner) to scale the design and make a "transfer". I also had him add a thin border line above and below the date; ultimately a very simple design.

Since my hands are really just "Finger shaped clamps", the artist recommended tattooing only the top part of my finger and halfway down the sides. Apparently, folks that work their hands hard have poor success with ink retention as you get closer to the palm.

The actual tattoo process took 10 minutes or less and DW is absolutely thrilled! It was my first tattoo, and may be my only one, but I can only say that I wish I had done this sooner!

I hope this helps anyone else that has safety concerns with jewelry!

-Horseman1978-

[garyb]

I haven’t worn my wedding band in nearly 38 years. Between working on cars, and playing sports, it was always getting caught or knocked out of round. I actually told my wife several months ago although I’m not for tattoos, the only one I would consider would be a wedding band.

Kuddos to you for doing that. I might have to take the plunge and get inked myself soon.

[Horseman1978]

Kuddos to you for doing that. I might have to take the plunge and get inked myself soon.

Thanks; it's not likely I'd ever get another tattoo either. I prefer to enjoy other people's ink; some of it is quite beautiful.

[cookiej36]

As a 35th anniversary present, I had my husbands first initial tattoo’d (in a fancy script) on my left ring finger in white ink.

[MiddleMan]

We have a friend who is a pastor's wife who kept having allergic reactions to rings so she got a tattoo ring. Surprised me as they are very conservative so I never thought of her getting a tattoo of any kind. That's the only one she has (that I know of!). A gal at work has one too. I think they are becoming more common.

[Tantalum]

I understand. With me, it’s electronic circuits. Bang!

However on top of that, I don’t know if I have some kind of minor psychological condition but basically I can’t wear anything that encircles or in any way restricts any part of my body: watch, ring, necklace, turtleneck sweatshirt, tight socks, etc.

So I must admit I have never worn my wedding ring very much.

In contrast, my wife has never taken hers off.
But tattoos aren’t my kind of thing either.

[neilEthere]

I got mine years ago, very similar to your description. A lot of tattooist won’t do fingers in particular because the skin replaces quicker on your palms/hands than anywhere else on your body, and tattoos blur much quicker there. Mine is a handy way to remember the date because I am hopeless with that.

[Horseman1978]

I got mine years ago, very similar to your description. A lot of tattooist won’t do fingers in particular because the skin replaces quicker on your palms/hands than anywhere else on your body, and tattoos blur much quicker there. Mine is a handy way to remember the date because I am hopeless with that.

While you are correct that ink on hands can fade rapidly, the key is to avoid ink on the inside gripping surface of the hand/fingers. The tattoo artist also agreed and said that since I work with my hand daily that he recommended coming across the front of the ring finger, down the sides and stop there. The design is only 3/4 of the way around.

-Horseman1978-

[Doug]

It is a good solution to an issue that a lot of us have. Personally, it is something that I just don't worry about. I know the risk, and I accept it. There has been more than one time that I have found myself at odds with the safety dept on mines, refineries, railroad, etc, where jewelry of any kind is not allowed. My response has always been to not just ignore them, but to state outright that I will not take off my wedding band. I did make the move to a titanium band years ago because I have had gold ones deform.

[Crazydaddy]

My wife and I got matching ring tattoos about 5 years ago. I would probably just do the top of my finger if I was to do it over. The webbing and underside felt like my finger was being cut off with a knife straight out of a forge. The underside didn't wear well either, but the pain wouldn't be worth the touch up. I like the idea you had, of using your wife's handwriting. That should make for s unique piece. I bet it looks cool.