I've seen a metric ton of tattoo docs. Hori Smoku (part of the Sailor Jerry franchise, nothing against the man, he was a great driller) is a fine film, but I dig deep in to tattoo history, and I came up with 'Stoney Know's How'. Back in the day it was really a closed industry, and while guys like Jerry, and Cap Coleman where great artists, they had a rather dim view of life; most likely because they had to deal 100s of sailors a week, and just how many hearts, names, panthers, and daggers can you do before you start hating people? But Stoney, in his "struggle buggy" and so "crippled up" that he used his left hand to steady his machine hand was a guy with class, kindness, and a good story on, well, just about anything you wanted to know. As a good 'ol Southern boy myself, and a collector of ink as well as 'scab merchant', I was engrossed in this film. So much I almost know it verbatim. I grew up in the 80s and 90s, so I got to see a lot of old WW2 era tatts, and Stoney's had humor in them. I dig that too. He passed a few moths after I was born but I'm proud to have just lived in his era. A true gent! If you like the art, a good tale, tall or not, get this film. You wont regret it on iota! Oh, and make sure if you have ink to, "keep out from under freight trains and the like, and it'll be right there."
2 Reviews
Stoney Know's How, Alright!
scottcoe13 August 2018
The only problem with this documentary is it's length; far too short! I could have listened to Stoney's words of wisdom all night. The wee man was a master tattooist and equally great story teller. This film is without doubt, the best you'll likely find on a Tattooist. Especially as most tattooists today are well, just not very interesting, mainly a bunch of loud obnoxious posers. The PC culture put an end to interesting buggers the world over.
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