Information on more "traditional" tattoo methods

I'm looking to learn how to do tattoos by hand.

NO guns or electric doo-dads. Minimum of tools, how to choose a safe ink that will hold, but ideally that is accessable, I hear india inks can work.... etc.

Searching youtube doesn't help much.... Found one guy with some polynesian tattoo box thing that you tap, but that doesn't help me at alllllllll.

So yes, I know you can take india ink and a safety pin, but I want more info on techniques, ideal needle sizes, depths to go to, and I've also heard tell of things from inking the needle each poke to poking then soaking with ink after, how long does a poke take, so that enough ink will flow in(presumably this happens after you remove the needle) and how close do pokes need to be?

Any particular fruits I can try on that will give me an idea of my handle on what I'm doing?

Sorry for not being "punk" and just getting drunk and doing it......

 

look up Tebori

 

That's cool, but...

Like everything devised by the Japanese, that looks exceedingly unnecessarily painful, traumatic, tissue-damaging, and like it requires talents that seem to have nothing to do with the point of the whole thing.

Also, I want to be able to do this to myself. And to teach myself. I know people who might let me stab them if the result would be a free crappy tattoo, but not if I had to do it like THAT, if you missed you might kill them..... and maybe even if you didn't miss.

edit-okay, I found SOME that's not as violent.... predictably, it's not being done by a Japanese guy. But it still seems to involve some costs and a lot of skill and practice.... Again, it's so intimidating, I don't know anyone who would let me near them with that thing, and you can't do it on yourself, which I will want to some day.....

 

I started first by improving drawing ,and shading,and all that other stuff,mixing of color and a whole lot more stuff that has to be done before ever attempting a tattoo,you can also go to a couple of tattoo conventions and see a whole lot,just search tattoo conventions,they have them everywhere all the time,I use electric tattoo machines and own four of them now,its really something else to learn because you never stop learning.Plus you might want to take a course on cross contamination,and a cpr course if you are really serious about sticking with tattooing.I can share alot more info if you are really set on tattooing.

 

As a profession, probably never.... supplemental income would be nice though.

I really don't want to do anything electric, this is more for my own hobby's sake, I like the idea of being able to mark myself without a machine or anything. Also afraid of the costs, and continuing/maintenance costs of tattoo machines.

Can do CPR, to a degree. Cross contamination, well I don't plan on having a real clientèle, and if I did anything for others, I would use all new EVERYTHING and drown them in rubbing alcohol.

 

Look for a video called;

"Ancient Ink - The History of Tattoos"

The one that will most likely be what you are looking for is Samoan Tattooing, done by hitting a stick with ink barbs on it using another stick.