I finally decided to get scarification after seeing a DVD called Modified. Most people I know have tattoos, but none have scarification, so it was something different for me. The design may be considered a bit sad, but I love Hugh Jackman's performance as wolverine, and those claws are so damn cool! I had to have claw marks on my arm! I was unsure at the time what would give the best effect. I wanted something that would be visible when my arm was in pretty much any position, but I didn't know what could be cut safely and what couldn't. I have quite thin skin and am quite small in build, so my veins show up nice and good – I didn't want one of those sliced for sure!
At A Glance Author wolverine_035 Contact wolverine_035@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Mark Henderson Studio 777 Piercing Location Canterbury, Kent, UK I had a consultation with the man at the studio which I think was more of a "let's check this dude's not insane" type of talk, but he sat down and let me know what the procedure was, what was involved and how we would go about it. We had a nice talk about the design and where I wanted it. I came back about a week later and he had a fantastic interpretation of my original idea. I played around with the design, made it a bit bigger and thicker and that was it. In about 5 minutes job done and I had my design within reach. On to the Chair!!!
The procedure was nothing that I expected. Firstly, the expected stuff. The area was washed and shaved to give a good canvas. The design was drawn onto a small piece of paper and stencilled on as a tattoo would be. We spent about 10 minutes with the mirror, trying out different positions and orientations until I was happy with the position, then the scalpel came out. This part might scare a lot of people – to those of you where this may be the case... DON'T LOOK!! The outline was cut first, then the skin was slowly removed, one claw mark at a time!
The pain, although a bit uncomfortable was nothing unbearable, and the only reason I noticed it a bit more was because I was filming it! My legs were shaking like crazy because of the adrenaline, however once I put the camera down and focused on breathing the shakes stopped. It started again when the cuts went a bit deeper, and the pain was a short sharp burst but again nothing unbearable. I wanted a real uneven feel to it, as I wanted it to appear as if an animal had literally clawed the skin off my arm, so the cuts were varied all along the design and the skin was removed at varying depths. This part might be more of a problem for larger designs, but there was a point about half way through where the cutting and the pain was a lot more noticeable. This was explained in a lovely little phrase: "The damn blade's gone blunt!" Charming... I wasn't expecting a new blade to go blunt so quickly but then this being my first experience I had no idea. I also wasn't expecting that muc h blood either! However by the time I'd realised how much I'd bled over the towels, the artist and the floor, it was over and I felt fine. It wasn't an overly big design though, which got me thinking about some of the designs I'd seen on the internet - How the hell do guys have their entire backs done!!!
The whole procedure took about 45 minutes. I was asked if I wanted a break in between claws (I had 3 cut) but I soldiered on to get it out the way. Once all 3 were done and the wound was covered the pain pretty much stopped altogether. So far it's taken about 2 weeks, but most of the light scabs have already fallen off and I love the effect so far! And of course, as with most body modifications I've already decided I'm having the same design done on the other arm when money comes in again - I've got to be symmetrical!!
I would recommend this to anyone into body mods. I've had mixed reactions from people but the only opinion that matters is mine anyway! The after care is minimal and if you're running out of ideas for tattoos give this a try. The effect is WELL worth the pain! I can't really compare it to tattoos as I've not one, and it sounds a bit stupid to say "it just feels like you've cut yourself" because at the end of the day that's what's happening! And it doesn't cost any more or less than a tattoo (depends on what you want though I suppose) so if you're looking to have something to set yourself apart from your modded friends then this just might do it for you