Season 5

Episode Guide

Inking with the Enemy

S5 E1
Sep 2, 2014
Competing for $100,000 and the title of Ink Master, 18 rival artists are forced to ink with their enemy.

Pin Up Pitfalls

S5 E2
Sep 9, 2014
Actor Joe Manganiello joins as a guest judge in a semi-nude Flash Challenge, and rivalries flare as the artists struggle through a pinup Elimination Tattoo.

Head to Headache

S5 E3
Sep 16, 2014
Two artists receive an advantage no one in the competition has ever had, and the artists create complex ornamental-style Elimination Tattoos.

Geishas Gone Wrong

S5 E4
Sep 23, 2014
The artists head to Wall Street for a cutthroat Flash Challenge, and canvases sit for traditional Japanese geisha tattoos.

Glass on Blast

S5 E5
Sep 30, 2014
The artists team up to create artwork by sandblasting glass, and the pressure is on during an animal-style Elimination Tattoo.

Cheek to Cheek

S5 E6
Oct 7, 2014
The artists are given 12 hours to complete a glute tattoo, one artist faces a medical emergency, and things heat up when the artists must complete one another's tattoos.

Three's a Crowd

S5 E7
Oct 14, 2014
The artists must complete a tag-team American traditional tattoo, and the judges leave it up to the artists to put one of their teammates on the chopping block.

Ink My Oosik

S5 E8
Oct 21, 2014
The artists must scrimshaw a walrus oosik in the Flash Challenge, a difficult canvas jeopardizes an artist's spot in the competition, and artist Aaron Cain is a guest judge.

Virgin Blood

S5 E9
Oct 28, 2014
Canvases sit for their first tattoos, and the artists battle head-to-head to create an interlocking elimination tattoo.

Cold Blooded

S5 E10
Nov 4, 2014
The artists must use blood to test their gradation skills in the Flash Challenge, and guest judge Tommy Montoya goes head-to-head with the artists in the Elimination Tattoo.

Up in Smoke

S5 E11
Nov 11, 2014
The artists tattoo residual limbs in the Flash Challenge, canvases sit for spine tattoos, and Josh causes a controversy that jeopardizes his spot in the competition.

Heads Will Roll

S5 E12
Nov 18, 2014
The artists fight for an opportunity to design a tattoo for NFL star DeAngelo Williams in honor of his late mother, and one canvas struggles through a head tattoo.

Painstaking Portraits

S5 E13
Nov 25, 2014
The artists team up to design limited-edition headphones, family members get the same portrait during the Elimination Tattoo, and artist Tim Hendricks is a guest judge.

Firing Squad

S5 E14
Dec 2, 2014
Tattoo artists Mike Rubendall, Rose Hardy and Nikko Hurtado join as guest judges, and the artists are tasked with a grim reaper-themed Elimination Tattoo.

Fight to the Finale

S5 E15
Dec 9, 2014
The final four artists design tattoos for blank human canvases as they battle it out for a spot in the finale and a shot at the title of Ink Master.

Ink Finale

S5 E16
Dec 16, 2014
All 18 artists return to dish about their rivalries, the final three artists reveal their 35-hour back pieces, and one artist is crowned the new Ink Master.