As a strongly interested about IM injections as I am, I always preferred classic instrumental for them. All metal needles and if possible, true glass syringes, sterilization boxes, surgical clamps to handle the needles and holding the box above the alcohol flame during boiling...
All those paraphernalia that involves the preparation on injections with (preferably) such a traditional elements creates a very exciting climax previous to the procedure itself.
Some decades ago, nurses (almost always men) went at home to give injections. Here in Spain there were not medical personnel, but as I said a special kind of nursery professionals called "Practicantes" (that could be translated as practitioners in English). They was accustomed to employ fully reusable instrumental (needles and syringes) that did must to be sterilized each time them must be used to give an injection. Sterilization was done right before each injection as said, by means of boiling water in wich all elements of syringe (barrel and plunger) as well as the needles themselves (a shorter one to withdraw the injectable solution and another longer to puncture the flesh and inject) were inmersed. These ones were put in the larger half of the sterilisation box that was filled almost fully with water while the lid of such box was used to pour alcohol into it. The alcohol was put on fire and afterwards the box was hold above that flame with the aid of a pair of clamps.
When water was boiling another two or three minutes were waited to assure the right asepsia of instrumental. Most of times the practitioner waited the flame was extinguished by itself before completing the process.
When the water was still at a high temperature, he did couple the plunger to the barrel of syringe with the aid of the clamps, filling and emptying it at least one time with hot water. A new filling was destined to be empty through one of the needles and a third one the same for the other needle. These were hold, put on place on syringe's cone and returned to the box using the clamps
In this fashion all pieces of the instrumental were ready to the next procedures of filling, puncturing and injecting.
Obiously that was in an era in wich there were no disposable material and were no concerns about disease transmission by sharing surgical instrumental (Pre VIH i.e.). Needles were used one and another time to be drove into many people although them were aseptized. Such a practice gave another result: needle points were being progressively blunted, so, their dull point was too hard to penetrate the skin and muscle tissues day after day. Punctures from that needles were painful most of times because that.
New discardable needles and syringes makes the things appreciably easy, fast, painless and of course, gives the guarantee of a complete asepsia if are well used, but them lacks of the true "terrific" appearance of classic vintage surgical items.
That's why the exciting image of one of such huge syringes filled with a big amount of fluid crown by a long and thick all metal needle ready to give you a (painfull and long time lasting) injection is one of the most arousing feelings one could experience, specially if (for my taste) such deep IM are destined to the pecs. Obviously such practitionres doesn't gave chest injections, of course π’ (what a pity!) but that's the true image of a classic injection done with classic instrumental.
Regards