When someone thinks of an old school tattoo they usually conjure up images of a tattoo heart with a banner saying “Mom” going through it. However, there are a ton of really great old school tattoo designs. At one point in history, these tattoo designs were relegated to the ruff and tumble guys. People like Bikers and sailors often were the main ones getting tattoos. During this time in history, women did not get very many tattoos because it was not as socially acceptable.
However, the sailors and bikers were getting large forearm tattoo designs. If you have a grandfather or an uncle that was a sailor or in the military chances are he probably has a forearm tattoo. Well, like anything fashion cycles and things that once went out of fashion come back into fashion. This is so with old school tattoos. Recently due to tot he major growth in the tattoo industry there has been a real rebirth of old school tattoos.
These designs have been combined with the new color inks readily available to make for some really hot looking designs. If you are thinking about getting such a design here are some places to start looking. It is not that you have to complete just a copy of the older designs or styles. You can take the ideas and modify it for a modern application and a wonderful design that hearkens back a pays respect to those hardy men.
Sailor Jerry Tattoo Designs
Sailor Jerry is probably one of the most famous of the old school tattoo artists. There is a lot of history on the internet that can be found about Sailor Jerry. Essentially, he did his work from a small tattoo shop in Hawaii where Sailors were frequently stationed. He did a ton of really unique and original designs that people have really fallen in love with. You can find many of his designs on the internet these days as there has been a real renaissance of old school designs.
Gambling
Another very popular theme among these designs is gambling. If you think about it one of the main vices that sailors and other ruffians had available to them at the time was gambling. Of course, gambling was illegal a the time but this did not stop a ton of guys from getting cards, and dice as part of their tattoos.
Pin-Up Girls
Of course, if you were a sailor out at sea for long periods of time a pin-up girl tattoo might be just the thing. Many of the guys back in the day got pinup girl tattoos. These have stuck around and always been popular however recently men and women are getting pinup girl designs. The truly sexy designs are often very eye-catching.
Sailing Anchors and Ship
if you are a sailor then of course getting a ship or an anchor is a great tattoo idea. Many of the sailors would get big elaborators to ship designs on their chest but also on their forearms. These might be of a ship they were stationed on or a pirate ship with a huge set of sails.
There are of course other designs out there such as the swallow, nautical stars and other such old school designs. So if you are looking for a tough manly tattoo design or just something that pays homage and respect to the history of tattooing then do a bit of research and choose a great looking old school tattoo design.