Swash Whip or Sidewinder??

[Jesse Phillips]

Help me decide! Its new machine time. Im buying one of these to use mainly as a liner. I've done just about all the web crawling I can to gather info. I like that the whip has been around for years now, looks really adjustable on the fly. I also like that I have never seen a cutback whip on tattoo gear for sale. I like the price too 400$ and some change direct from swash. I have also seen some amazing work done with the whip.
As far as the sidewinder goes I like that it was designed to be used specifically as a liner, its metal, and made in my own country. But, I see them for sale all the time and I haven't seen any tattoos done with them that have really made me feel like it must make the work any easier. I have also heard that they take constant adjustment to keep in tune. But I hear so many praises sang for them!!
Its so hard to decide!
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Oh, and my usual liner needles range from 4's up to loose 8's and a rare loose 11. Im not trying to use "14s on everything like a sharpie"

[S_Trofatter]

i do believe that shipping from australia is very steep, i believe that 50-75 dollars is the minimum, i would definately check on this as i wouldnt stake my life on it. but im pretty sure it is.

[OwlsDen]

Unimax in the states sells the whip. No need for shipping. The whip is adjustable and with the weights customizable. It isn't finicky and will always run the same. Can you say that about the sidewinders?

[Jesse Phillips]

The whip with shipping and insurance is $407.00 and some change direct from swash. Unimax sells it for 495.00. Hmmm

[asA]

Shipping from swash is fast and reasonable. In my experience.

[Jesse Phillips]

I ordered a gen 8 from them last April and it was about $50.00 less than Unimax and I got it about 7 days after I placed my order. Their customer service has been top notch too. Im not hesitant in the slightest to do more business with them.

[S_Trofatter]

I ordered a gen 8 from them last April and it was about $50.00 less than Unimax and I got it about 7 days after I placed my order. Their customer service has been top notch too. Im not hesitant in the slightest to do more business with them.

Th at good to know. I was hesitant to order directly from them because of horror stories I've heard of getting stuff shipped from australia

[Invertedpixel]

I had a great experience ordering direct from Swash. I saved quite a few dollars even with the shipping. The markup on the machines plus sales tax made the machine over $600 from a local distributor.

[Deakon]

Ive used sidewinders since Dan first made them. For lining they are hands down the best machine ive used, coil or otherwise. Check my instagram for work done with them. I have just recently switched to the edge x for everything due to hand issues.

The sidewinders are finicky however, do blob ink and do need a bit of tuning once in a while. Needle wise I used mine on everything from tight 3s up to loose 14s with no bother at all.I think the reason you see them for sale is people buy more than one (customs and one offs etc) but you don't really need more than one.

[Jesse Phillips]

I am hoping to get some feedback from someone who has used both. Anyone out there?

[darkness]

i have used both - both can line great but you need time to find your sweet spot on the whip. The lines with the whip looks cleaner and smoother. With the sidewinder you can fast line on bad areas too but the quality of lines is not good as with coils or a whip i think. Or you need to find your sweet spot to. Its needs a lot of tuning like coils and run not the same after 2-3 times of use. And you have to find the right rubber ,nipple to get it good working. For me the whip is a lot easyer to handle.

[cagelavey]

i do believe that shipping from australia is very steep, i believe that 50-75 dollars is the minimum, i would definately check on this as i wouldnt stake my life on it. but im pretty sure it is.
In Imax, has them here in the states.

Help me decide! Its new machine time. Im buying one of these to use mainly as a liner. I've done just about all the web crawling I can to gather info. I like that the whip has been around for years now, looks really adjustable on the fly. I also like that I have never seen a cutback whip on tattoo gear for sale. I like the price too 400$ and some change direct from swash. I have also seen some amazing work done with the whip.
As far as the sidewinder goes I like that it was designed to be used specifically as a liner, its metal, and made in my own country. But, I see them for sale all the time and I haven't seen any tattoos done with them that have really made me feel like it must make the work any easier. I have also heard that they take constant adjustment to keep in tune. But I hear so many praises sang for them!!
Its so hard to decide!
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Oh, and my usual liner needles range from 4's up to loose 8's and a rare loose 11. Im not trying to use "14s on everything like a sharpie"


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[cagelavey]

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[cagelavey]

unimax



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[cagelavey]

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[Jesse Phillips]

It is much cheaper to order a Swash directly from Australia than it is to order one from Unimax.

[nivek]

Ive used sidewinders since Dan first made them. For lining they are hands down the best machine ive used, coil or otherwise. Check my instagram for work done with them. I have just recently switched to the edge x for everything due to hand issues.

The sidewinders are finicky however, do blob ink and do need a bit of tuning once in a while. Needle wise I used mine on everything from tight 3s up to loose 14s with no bother at all.I think the reason you see them for sale is people buy more than one (customs and one offs etc) but you don't really need more than one.

ANother reason is he updates, I have sold my sidewinders only after upgrading. I have yet to get a new one, but its planned. THat being said I use mine v2 as my daily liner and another as a black and grey and second liner (when needed)

[Jesse Phillips]

I acquired a Whip via trade a few days ago. Its one if the Dr. Blood ones from a few years ago. The only thing that could make it better would be if it had some weight to it, lol. Im having trouble staying steady with it as I am so used to lining with heavy coils. But, its really cool, Trouble and glitch free lining and shading all week. I can drag lines in any direction like a pen instead of pushing all the lines which is pretty amazing! Ill buy another.

[Panos tattoo]

someone would turn to rotaries because of weight and tunning discomfort.why get a sidewinder then?its as heavy as a lightweight coil machine and it needs constand tunning unlike a coil machine that needs tunning once a year. and with upgrades from dan makes the previus model lose value.the whip onthe other hand needs no tunning and its the same since it was released.the cutback has a stronger motor to be more cart friendly.one advantage for travellers that was not mentioned is how solid and durable build it is.you can throw it in a back pack and dont worry for gettin damages or untunne.not that anyone would but i like havin a machine that its not a delicade tool like the rest of the machines.for fuck sakes ive seen a video on youtube with Tony Oliver thowing here and there the machine to show how durable it is.
i repect dan and i bow to his skills but on this debay tony passed through with a 1000 miles in my opinion

[nivek]

I dunno where you info is coming from the sidewinders are much lighter than my lightest coil. It does not need constant tuning - I haven't tuned my v2 in months, and use it daily.

Different machines - the sidewiders are geared toward lining and can easily be tuned for other tasks. I have both and use my SW more - its my daily liner. I love my swash for b and grey and even colour and it can line 3-5 very well, but IMO the SW pushes bigger needles better, that being said I tend to line off the tip.

Yer welcome to your opinion but you make it sound like the SW get out of tune easily and that just is not the case.

PLUS if you have a v1 of sidewinder Dan will let you trade it in for a v3 - to my knowledge not one other rotary builder has offered that. Plus I like machines that tattooers build, but thats just my opinion. The SC is designed to be cart friendly and is a hell of a good shader as well.

[Panos tattoo]

I dunno where you info is coming from the sidewinders are much lighter than my lightest coil. It does not need constant tuning - I haven't tuned my v2 in months, and use it daily.

Different machines - the sidewiders are geared toward lining and can easily be tuned for other tasks. I have both and use my SW more - its my daily liner. I love my swash for b and grey and even colour and it can line 3-5 very well, but IMO the SW pushes bigger needles better, that being said I tend to line off the tip.

Yer welcome to your opinion but you make it sound like the SW get out of tune easily and that just is not the case.

PLUS if you have a v1 of sidewinder Dan will let you trade it in for a v3 - to my knowledge not one other rotary builder has offered that. Plus I like machines that tattooers build, but thats just my opinion. The SC is designed to be cart friendly and is a hell of a good shader as well.
dont get me wrong mate,in my last sentence i said i bow to dans skills and in my language its a heavy phrase giving emphasis on how much respected this man is in my eyes.the constand off tunning is an issue ive red from peoples posts ,revews and saying.they do need a more detailed tunning to change tasks unlike the whip that its just a slide clip or a weight ring for greater hit.i use my whip for everything,from smooth silcky shades to pepershading and colorpacking.i used it with 3tight liner to 15 traditional liner and it pushed it in like nobodys buisines.i would say the sw is for more traditional work and it shines at that field but the whip is more vercile and multitask.
this was my experience and knowledge ,but you are a respected tattooist here so your opinion counts and its respected.things may be somewere in the middle because i used the sw only for a couple tattoos and not on a daily basis like the whips.so you have a more complete idea on the sw.as i said in MY eyes whips are the holy grail by 1000

[Panos tattoo]

mind you that i had the gen 8 and i disliked it.that said to make clear that im not a companys or builders fan that everything comes out from them i love and worship.just the particular model of their machine line.and i can say that for all builders.some models shine some dont.but thats another story for a different threat ;)

[darkness]

sidewinder is a very good machine like the whip too for me, in some case the sidewinder work faster for me -but i dont need it always. The only bad i can tell you is the sidewinder is very silly some times and blobs, splash or eat my grommet :D
The weigt is around 140g i would say and very nice i think. When i have long sessions the whip hurts my hand because i have more to pushing it. But i love both and would not sell any of them. Both are great machines and the day tell me what i love more to work today :) and thats change always. By the way -some times i have the feel the lines looks smoother with a whip but all clients tell me the whip hurts more as a sidewinder and is slower by far. Tuning from the sidewinder is very stable. Its how you run the machine. I have tuning my sidewinder 1 to 2 times in year only

[nivek]

mind you that i had the gen 8 and i disliked it.that said to make clear that im not a companys or builders fan that everything comes out from them i love and worship.just the particular model of their machine line.and i can say that for all builders.some models shine some dont.but thats another story for a different threat ;)

Heh - oddly I have an 8 and love it - probally just tattoo different. I have to admit the first gens did need to ba adjusted much more than the 2s Im looking forward to upgrading my gen 1 for a gen 3.

No disrespect meant. I have tried machines others swear by and just didnt work for me.

[nivek]

sidewinder is a very good machine like the whip too for me, in some case the sidewinder work faster for me -but i dont need it always. The only bad i can tell you is the sidewinder is very silly some times and blobs, splash or eat my grommet :D
The weigt is around 140g i would say and very nice i think. When i have long sessions the whip hurts my hand because i have more to pushing it. But i love both and would not sell any of them. Both are great machines and the day tell me what i love more to work today :) and thats change always. By the way -some times i have the feel the lines looks smoother with a whip but all clients tell me the whip hurts more as a sidewinder and is slower by far. Tuning from the sidewinder is very stable. Its how you run the machine. I have tuning my sidewinder 1 to 2 times in year only

I had a similar issue with my gen 2 and found that bending the bar up by the loop took care of the spitting and glob issues.

[darkness]

yes nivek - i run it with less biting and bending the needle on the loop and have now never again this issue :) - the tuning holds long time and its much easyer and faster as the whip