Impact Play – Tools of the Trade

These are possibly the most commonly used impact “tool” out there. Always ready and available for play, our hands provide a stingy sensation for the most part, but a clenched fist or heavy blow is certainly more thuddy.

Our hands are relatively safe to use as they have a larger surface area, are by far the most accurate, but also because there is a lot of direct feedback being relayed to the person applying the spanking, and thus they tend to hold back a little more than with other implements.

Another alternative use for the hands, is to flick. Flicking seems like it wouldn’t be that bad, but a well placed flick can produce a rather sharp sensation as it is very localised.

Paddles typically provide a more thuddy sensation but can achieve a stingy feeling if applied lightly. Paddles are a flat-surfaced toy with a larger surface area and a handle, some will be covered with softer coverings such as fur or cloth, others are covered with leather or vinyl or perhaps simply bare wood or metal.

Of course, covering with something soft will lessen the sensation produced by the toy as the covering will absorb a lot of the impact. Another option for increasing the pain or sensation is to place holes in the implement. There are a couple of schools of thought as to how this works; the first is that less air resistance means a harder swing from the same initial force, the second is that less surface area causes more localized sensations and thus increases pain levels.

Often made from leather or faux leather materials, a slapper is composed of a minimum of two pieces of this material stitched or bound together with a short handle. When applied, the sensation again can range from stingy to a more thuddy one, but there is the added element of increased sound caused by the second piece of material (or third, fourth etc.) impacting against the first.

If you have ever folded a belt and snapped the two pieces together, you know the sound. This can increase the overall sensation by adding more of a fear factor and works really well on a bottom who enjoys the threat and anticipation more than the actual pain or sensation.

An incredibly varied tool, floggers are likewise able to provide incredibly varied sensations. Made up of a few basic elements a flogger has a handle, and multiple ends called falls. The materials for these falls seems to be limitless, each providing their own sensations, from leather, to cotton, to rope to synthetics to chain. Floggers also vary in number, length, and the thickness of their falls.

Thicker, heavier and more falls will create a much more thuddy sensation, whereas thinner, lighter and fewer falls will cause a much sharper and stingy sensation instead. There is an art to the use of a flogger, it is best learned in a class and certainly best practiced on a pillow or something similar before trying it out on anyone else.

The length of a flogger’s falls are important as this will add more weight, but also increase the space required to swing the flogger. You need as much space behind and to the sides of you as you do in front. A longer set of falls also increases the chance of tangling and decreases accuracy. It is also important to note that a balanced/weighted handle will massively help with wrist fatigue and make the overall experience more enjoyable if the scene is intended to last a while.

Essentially just a long, fairly straight shaft, a cane is traditionally made from wood or bamboo, but can now be found in acrylic. The longer and thinner a cane is, the stingy-er the impact will be; while a shorter and thicker cane will result in a more thuddy sensation.

The rigidity of the cane can also come into play, with a more flexible cane also adding to the sting level and detracting from it’s thud. What is quite interesting with canes, is that because of their rigidity, the space needed to use one is less than that of a flogger or whip, despite also being considered a long range implement.

It’s worth mentioning that due to the vast array of shapes and sizes of a cane, there can’t be one definitive answer to “how much does it hurt?” A thin, long cane with some knobs along it will certainly come out as a 10/10 when swung with a swift and sharp action.

A basic whip has a handle, a thong (the main body), a fall, and a popper (the part that makes that satisfying cracking noise). Whips are the stingiest of the stingers and you probably can’t get a thuddy feeling from one unless you hit someone with the handle. There are several varieties of whip, most of which cannot be safely wielded by a beginner, especially not when another human being is involved. The most dangerous of these is the Bullwhip, which is hard to handle and can flay a person or put an eye out if you do it wrong. Other harder to handle versions are the Black Snake, Pocket Snake, and Signal whips. It will take training and practice to be able to use one of these.

Easier to wield whip versions are Stock, Quirt, Flicker and Dragon Tail whips. The Stock whip has a long rigid handle which makes it easier to control and generates a lot of noise. The Quirt, which is not technically a single-tail, has a forked tail and is the least painful of all of these. The Flicker whip features a stiff thong attached directly to the popper, which makes it the easiest to control. Last up, the Dragon Tail is just a handle with a triangular thong with a very sharp tip that delivers a solid sting but is still easy to control.

Single-tail whips are definitely long-range tools and require roughly the length of the whip in a radius around you. You want to be able to hit your mark with the whip’s tip without it wrapping around any body part. If you want to play with some of the more dangerous varieties, look for a workshop in your area where you can learn how to handle them safely.

The crop is commonly considered a whip and is based on the traditional riding crop or hunting crop used on horses. It’s design is that of a long, slightly flexible shaft, a handle at one end usually with a wrist loop, and the tip is usually made from a flat, squarish piece of faux or real leather. A narrower tip will result in a stingier strike, as will a longer shaft or a wider strike motion. Crops have a very small impact area, and with practice are a fantastic instrument for creating the desired sensation on a very specific target.

Much like the cane, the crop is a long range tool, but if you wish to exercise more control or reduce the intensity of the strike, you can swing much closer to the body; swing wide and a crop will be only slightly less stingy than a cane or whip.

Contributors: Researched, written and published by Mistress Michelle and Umlindi.