Needles

Needles are soldered on bars called needle bars. There two types of needle bars, Liners and Shaders

Liner needle bars are round on the end where the needles are soldered
Shader needle bars are flat on the end where the needles are soldered

Liners:
The needles are grouped tightly together to do outlining with

Shaders:
The needles are grouped flat, next to each other, to do shading.

High quality needles are easier on the customer regarding pain and health and makes the tattoo cleaner and shaper.

A tattoo needle's lifespan is very short. Needles cannot be sharpened and when they are used up, solder them off.

Needle groups used for outlining come in 4 common sizes. Needle groups are the number of needles on the end of the liner bar. They are one needle groups, Three, Four, and then Five needle groups.

Needle groups most commonly used for shading are Four needles group and six needle groups.
A Four is used for smaller areas and the six for larger ones. The only exception is the big 14 needle round shader, used for large work.

Needle wear down over use. The needle ends begin to hook. Tattooing with a bad point results in:

The ink not going in properly
Excessive pain for the customer
Skin damage and Ripping
Leaving Scar tissue
Terrible tattoo