Handpoke
/hand-pōk/
verb
/ 1. Jab, prod, or thrust ink (into someone or something) via needle, by hand.
/ 2. Ancient practice of placing a permanent mark on one's body.
Alright, so you wanna learn how to tattoo yeah? Look, I know it's boring but, we NEED to go over safety first. I imagine that you eventually want to stick a needle into a living, breathing person and that's not something we can do all willy-nilly. I don't want your best friend Bobby to end up without an arm because you didn't take the proper precautions. So head on over to safety and devour every last bit of information in there.
Read it all? Is it seared into your brain? DID YOU TAKE NOTES??? Okay, let's continue.
Next, I need you to keep in mind that handpoking takes a lot of time and patience. But, there's something really special about slowly and methodically driving ink into the skin.
I handpoke as a way to feel more connected to both the piece and the person I'm tattooing. It's less painful than a machine. It's more caring. It's intimate.
Even though the process is slow when you first start out it is possible to become really fast at handpoking. You can get to a point where certain handpoke tattoos take just as long as doing it with a machine. It's just a matter of practice. The proper technique sped up over time.
THIS SECTION OF THE WEBSITE IS 18+ ONLY. INK & STAB DOES NOT CONDONE MINORS TATTOOING THEMSELVES OR OTHERS. PERIOD. END OF STORY. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Intro
As of writing this (2021) there are currently zero in-depth guides or websites on handpoking. Zero. Nada. It's a dying art & I'm here to revive it. Most of the information I'm sharing here with you has been learned either through copious amounts of research or good ol' trial and error. I continue to try to push the boundaries every day in order to refine my techniques and discover new methods of handpoking so that I can share them with you all!
Why
Either your technique is off or you're not poking enough times. If you're doing it right you WILL hear a little pop/click come from the needle as soon as you exit the skin. Your pokes should also be really close together. Remember that you're essentially stringing a bunch of dots together. Obviously, your hand can only go so fast, so make sure to go over your lines a few times. I recommend doing only 2 - 3 overall passes. Pay attention to how tender the skin is though. If you see the slightest hint of blood, stop before you completely demolish the skin. REMEMBER, you can always do touch ups once the tattoo heals! Damaged skin can stay scarred forever.
Why tattoos patchy?
The Basics
In these lessons we'll cover the basic of the basic. We'll go over line weight, shape, and ...
Projects
Praise the almighty ink. In this section we'll cover the various ...
Adv.
Under Construction!
Check back at another time.
The Rich History of Traditional Tattoos.
The practice of tattooing has been around for centuries. Austronesians (who lived over 3000 years ago) would use anything from fish bones to turtle ...
