You know, as problematic and non-longerm-viable as they are, magnetic implants are really one of the coolest modifications that have come along in the last decade. Here’s Jymmi‘s magnets by Steve Haworth (who has decided to call his new blog “ModBlog”, so I should mention that they’re not related sites other than in subject) at about five months old, showing off their strength…
See also: my magnetic implants and their removal.
BME/News and Modblog highlight only a small fraction of what
I’m very interested in having a magnetic implant.. how are they doing that? just a cut? or is it “pierced” inside in some way?
Follow the “see also” links and you’ll see more procedural information.
Could one de-magnetize a creditcard by running the magnetic finger along the information strip? I would only get this done if that was possible… every creditcard that ran through my shift would be ruined! Mwahaha.
Steve is cool.
Original too.
Na it wouldnt wipe a mag stripe – need more strength to do that. (although, not much more)
sorry L1zzard, being an avid viewer of Mythbusters I can tell you that general magnetic fields don’t break credit cards, it takes something very strong to do it usually.
wow, that’s so awesome. i really want to get them, but aside from being underage/broke, they’re so gross when you have to take them out.
Im a kill joy, just cannot see the point of magnetic implants(:
That doesn’t make you a killjoy, it just makes you uninsightful… I don’t think you posting that is going to make other people suddenly not see the point. 😛
burrn
L1ZZARD – Certainly wouldn’t touch a credit card, but I know UK train tickets have a far more vulnerable magnetic stripe. If US tickets are similar, get a job at a railway station & have yourself some fun 😉
I’ve wanted them, but I wouldn’t do it in my hand. I was thinking of doing three in my forearm, about an inch apart. That way I could test for the claims of detecting magnetic fields, but it wouldn’t screw up the fact that I make my living in computers.
That being said, I wonder why they don’t coat them in ceramic or other materials they use in implants.
I really wish that there were more people working on truely functional things like this.
Implanted magnets seem to have so much promise and I hope that they become more viable soon. In my ideal universe there would be people who are already working hard on this and not talking about it.
I love magnetic implants. Someday…
#12- I believe there were problems with the heat during the coating procedure depolarizing the magnet.
8. The point is not to see but to feel. plus it makes for pretty cool bar tricks.
The magnets right now are not strong enough to mess with computers, hard drives or credit cards. It doesn’t even set off the metal detectors at my work.
I also wouldn’t suggest it for everybody, i still have problems gripping onto stuff with my left hand. I have another friend that did it about the same time and he can barely feel any of the magnetic fields unless it is a few inches away. If your serious about it ask as many questions as you can so you know all the risk’s involved. there are always success stories and there are things that can go wrong. Pretty much the same as getting any other work done.
Man, I want some magnetic implants so hard. I hope Steve or somebody else figures out a good way to make them safe for long-term use. I’m totally getting some as soon as that is the case.
Actually there have been major advances made in magnetic vision and I will be writing an extensive blog in my stevesmodblog sometime next week. PS, I did call my blog “stevesmodblog” not modblog so I hope I didn’t offend anyone.
I’ll agree with Steve that the current versions are significantly less likely to break down than many of the earlier ones. However, there are serious sacrifices one has to make in terms of the functionality of your hand. Personally I think the trade is worth it, but I think it’s extremely important that people understand those issues, and are willing to risk it — and also to understand that not everyone’s nervous system seems to adapt to the magnets (ie. so not everyone gets “magnetic vision/feeling”)…
I just don’t see them ever being long-term viable in a finger, at least not without some loss of function, but it’s worth it in my opinion.
accually to de-magnetize a creditcard you would need one hell of a magnet, hah they tested it on mythbusters. 🙂
Wow. Nice.
I have had a magnetic implant for just over 1 year in my left ring finger. It is a second generation injection coated silicone implant. When I got it I was more nervous from the cutting than the longevity. Now after a year, the scar is almost invisible and the magnet is stable. I have not had any degrading effects nor any other negative side effects.
I work as a full time web designer and I use my fingers A LOT. For the first week it was uncomfy with the stich in there (1 stich). And it did require me to be careful not to high five too hard or root through my pockets. BUT it has not negatively impacted my work, play or daily life. In 30 years who knows, but I strongly disagree that it will cause “serious side effects to the functionality of your hand” as earlier mentioned. I suspect if the implant was in every finger that may happen but as far as I know, that has not occurred. OR if you are doing a profession that requires constant touching of magnets or steel that may happen. But as a web designer it hasn’t yet and I type A LOT with the implant right in the tip of my finger.
I love the magnetic vision and I love knowing this is steel and this is aluminum with my eyes closed (because steel is magnetic) I love putting my finger near an electrical socket and feeling the magnetic impulses flow. This wont change your life, it simply adds a new perspective to it 🙂
I would love to get these, it would make so many cool sounds if I got them close enough to my pickups and shit. The magnetic sixth sense really interests me as well. It would be awesome to feel how magnetic fields react with each other and our environment.
Mitch – Typing isn’t at all hard on fingertip implants. It puts virtually no stress on it. Neither would “regularly touching steel”. You’ll see it more in things that actually require you to exert serious force, especially shearing forces.
I love my remaining magnets, have been thrilled with the experience, and bear no ill will against anyone involved in the process — it’s one of my favorite modifications — but don’t kid yourself into a false sense of security, and don’t kid yourself into thinking that typing is by any means working hard with your hands, or that you will never have to work with your hands hard for the rest of your life.
Even if the magnet itself was indestructible, simply having an implant in your fingertip is ultimately problematic in my opinion, and will ultimately damage the functionality of your hand.
Shannon – I consider typing, with the constant stress on my finger tips, working my fingers hard. I dont think the implant will have any real substantial issues with the rest of my hand. But on the finger tips, where the implant is, I do think it is important to note that there has been zero issues for me personally. I am not arguing with you but I am giving the audience at large a first hand positive account for this implant. Ultimately it is a personal choice to get, and keep, any modification that can be removed. I would think if you are keeping it, that means you love it and what it is doing for you. Otherwise I dont know why one would keep a modification that could be removed one second longer than they wanted it.
I dont know why this particular modification would impact my entire hand when it has nothing to do with my palm, back of the band or other places. The pounding we all do on a keyboard however it has stood up to.
I do not think it will be a problem in the future. I am not an expert just a guy living with it.
“Even if the magnet itself was indestructible, simply having an implant in your fingertip is ultimately problematic in my opinion, and will ultimately damage the functionality of your hand.”
Perhaps, but the question (at least for me) is severity. If this damage is on the order of “I can’t type” or “chronic nerve pain”, that’s a problem. If it’s more like “opening jars is a little awkward”, I could live with that. I suspect other people would be able to as well.
Typing isn’t that bad for me it’s when i pick up a heavy box or moving furniture i always flinch and hope i don’t screw something up.
It would feel weird if i didn’t have the magnetic vision, and i would do it again if this one failed. I probably will do it again anyway just not in my finger.
I hope i won’t need to get an MRI anytime soon.
i love magnetic implants. i dont think I could sacrifice the functionality of my fingers for it though. But its so tempting, imagine how cool it would be to have magnets in both hands. Especially if you are around people who don’t know about it, and randomly pick up something metal with them. coool.
Mitch – If you consider typing hard manual labor, then you’re in for a real hard shock if you ever end up having to work in the real world.
SHannon not to be rude but you run BME, I guess we both dont do hard work and thats why our implants have survived this long. I was trying to be positive, it sounds like you just want to smack me back into line with the initial attitude of this blog. Thank you for your opinion and I hope I made others in the community know what it is like first hand to have this really fabulous implant.
I am actually curious about this myself. I have had a magnet in my finger for about 6 months now. So far, they’ve not rejected. So far, there have been no negative side effects. Also, So far, I have almost no sense of magnetic sensation in them whatsoever. I did at first, but over time it has faded into the background, where if I want to experience the sensation now, I need to litterally use another magnet at least as strong as the magnets in my fingers (stronger than most refrigerator magnets) to get any sensation at all. I’m having mine taken out shortly, as these were a test case, and we’re going to see how the coating we used held up to living inside the body for 6 months.
I’m curious what causes some people to pick up an apparntly amazing sensitivity to the magnetic fields, while other people like me loose it over time.
– James
James,
you know its funny I have had a similar thing happen. I dont think its so much that I have lost the sensation so much as my body has gotten used to it. At first it was new and wonderful and now my brain kind of says “hey i feel that but not as much if i feel this heavier magnet”. it has become part of the environment now so much as a warm breeze may feel different on a cold day