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Some Small Changes and Final Placement for Semester Abroad

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Today I got my final placement for my semester abroad: I will attend North Park University in Chicago! I have been to Chicago for a couple of day during my exchange year when I was still in school and I instantly fell in love with this great city, so I was thrilled when I got the news that I will be spending an entire semester there. Also the college seems to be good: A good faculty-student-ratio and good access to public transport. However: North Park is a Christian university. This will be an interesting experience for me and the university and as well. If any Chicago kinkster, rubber fetishists or BDSM guys are reading this blog, I would love to hear all about the Chicago scene. I already know the Chicago Rubber Men and followed them instantly at Twitter. But I think there is more to know about the Chicago scene.

Getting this info also means a lot of work for me: Booking flights, organizing stuff in advance, getting immunizations, etc. Besides that I have one of Hamburg’s best tops coming for a visit for an enhanced weekend. So I sadly currently have other things on my mind than this website. I am still working on the update on the rating but it will probably take some additional days. Despite still working on the text, I already took numbers out of the rating chart at the end of the reviews because I haven’t come up with a way to make them work yet. As soon as I figure out how to make the charts go, I will also delete them 😀

Last but not least: I sent of the first e-mail asking for the permission to feature pictures from a web shop in the new category Desiderates. I am quite excited how the response will be.

 

Getting Post

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I hope you all had a fun night out at MIR 2012. I wish I could have been there but sadly my semester abroad is in the summer and not in the winter term. We will see when I will make it to the Windy City for this great event. Plans are currently 2016 but let’s see what my bank account says then 😀

After spending yesterday on working and reflecting on the toy rating system (I am currently organizing my thoughts and I will post a blog entry or even an article on it in the first half of the next week) today a little update on my postal affairs.

First of all: After what seems like ages, I got my new light tend. It has been more than 4 weeks since I ordered it but the first parcel was damaged, then they it was out of stock but Friday I got my new one. As you can see from the picture, it is way bigger than my old (the right) one. As soon as I have time, I might reshoot my toy collection in a decent environment. But since the new tent is about four times the volume of the old one, the light issue is an even more pressing one. We will see how I will deal with it.

Also, after spending a lifetime in a waiting loop I got my new mTAN and thus could get my neuro wheel. When using it on my own the effect was rather disappointing, a little bit like tickling yourself. However, on Thursday I get a visit from a friend from Hamburg how might try it out on me… 😉

Mr S Eagle Talon Tit Clamp

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Vendor: Mr S Leather

First Impression and construction

A thoughtful friend from Indy got me this clamps as a little gift at a dinner party I hosted during his trip throughout Europe this summer. At first I was a little bit puzzled: Two cylinders with a gripping surface, a stick coming out of them and a bit fragile looking chain connecting them but nothing to put tissue between. After the party I spend some time with this enigma and boy, did I discover some twisted but horny kink.

Detail of the gripping surface

Detail of the gripping surface

To solve the enigma: How does this clamp work? You grab the barrel and push the stick coming out of them. Than at the top of the barrel a claw-like array of five metal conductors which are a bit flexible comes out. The array opens up about 1cm in diameter so most nipple should fit perfectly.

The metal conductor array slowing coming out of the barrel

The metal conductor array slowing coming out of the barrel

Playing with it

When I first saw the array with its spiky conductors I was quite afraid of breaking the surface of my skin but luckily it doesn’t break even when letting the clamps staying in place for a longer period time. But that’s all what I can say about light play possibilities with these pair of clamps. The pain they inflict is unique! They are the most painful clamps I own, even more painful than the hard crocodile clamps. Since the conductors are circling the nipple and stay a bit apart (depending on how much tissue is enclosed in the clamp) you can feel every single conductor. Another major and important difference is the reaction to hard pulling on the chain. When you pull the chain at most clamp they tend to slip away and increase the pain because the area the pressure is applied to gets smaller. With the Eagle Talon things are differently. They usually stay in place only driving their conductor heads deeper into the flesh. I haven’t tried to rip them off because I was too scared and too whiny. There are two possibilities: Deep, even bleeding scratches or ruining the clamps because the conductors get deformed. If you have firsthand experience with pulling off this clamps, just let me know.

The conductors digging into the skin

The conductors digging into the skin

Since the array “attacks” the skin from all areas and digs itself into the tissue these clamps are very flexible. If you can pull out a bit of tissue with your finger you can put the clamp on it. Even when the skin is slippery from lube, sweat, piss or anything else not forming a too thick coating, this clamp will stay in place. A little drop of bitterness is that the strength can’t be regulated. Pressing together the array is not possible but the strength of the spring should be enough to make even an experienced pain pig whimper after some time.

Handling these little devils is a bit tricky. You need two hands to operate them: One holding the barrel another pushing the stick. Holding the barrel a bit of a challenge especially when you are wearing gloves since the pattern of the gripping section is not very deep. Even more challenging is operating the stick because on its end is a small sphere where also the chain is mounted on; there is little room for the finger which also slips away easily due to the form. This gets even worse when you’ve got lube on your finger tips. With a bit of practice you get a good feeling for the handling of these clamps but you must always stay concentrated when putting them on otherwise you might provide your sub with a cruel but unintended sensation.

This clamps should not be used with rubber

This clamps should not be used with rubber

Another thing to consider when using them is the material which might cover the area you want to attach the clamp to. If have testes these clamps with 0,6mm rubber and nappa leather. Both surfaces stayed mostly unharmed with only a little star like scratch pattern left behind. But especially when it comes to rubber I would be very cautious since the spiky conductor tips might penetrate the material. Also because the pain feeling comes from the tips digging into the flesh instead of the pressure the pain is reduced very much when applied on fetish gear.

When handled rightly they leave an interesting pattern on the skin with each conductor leaving a pressure mark which stays about 5 min. They can stay longer depending on how long you dared to let the clamp stay in place.

Conslusion: A unique sensation for the true masochist and a sinful pleasure for real sadists
Pro Cons Where to get Price
Unique pain experience Difficult to operate Mr S (Manufacturer) $27,95
Cool looking Pain level cannot be increased or decreased
Very flexible

How the Reviews are Made

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Some of you might have wondered: How do you test BDSM toys? Well… here is the ultimate answer – at least for this website.

It all starts with receiving an envelope from a mysterious donor which goes straight to my desk for unpacking.

The first thing I find inside such envelopes is mostly something to get me through the stressful and exhausting reviewing process.

Damn, they know my weaknes! 😉

Next up is a friendly and easy to understand notice which should help me reach a verdict matching the superior quality and functionality of the new toy.

Last but not least is the toy itself. And now you know why unboxings will be very rare at this website.

The first thing I do with a new toy is testing it at a uncritical part of my body in order to get a first impression and a feel for it.

From this first test, I take some notes on the initial expressions I got.

Because the initial reaction can be misleading, I let the toy rest a bit. This is why you will rarely find extensive reviews of new toys tight after I got them.

Now also the testing on me and on friends begins – which I am at the moment not allowed to show you. I might update this article as soon as I find a way to do so.

During the resting time, I keep on testing them and get second oppinions, p.e. from friend who come over for a drink and a pretzel…

… or by taking them out to a club in order to get some reallife experience with them.

After I have gathered enough information how the toy performs as a BDSM utensile, the more technical testing starts. How do certain materials influence the experience? Does the toy damage the material?

Next up is the handling test where the influence of gloves and lube on the overall and more important the secure handling of the toy is tested.

Right after the testing, I take some times to try out different probs in order to show the toy in it’s best light when the pictures are taken…

… which takes place right afterwards.

It all ends with the digital production process: Cropping and editing the pictures, writing a review from the notes I have taken, scoring the toy and finally creat a WordPress article featuring the review.

Going Postal

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I know the title of this post is a cheap rip off from a great Terry Pratchett novel, but it suits perfectly. In Germany the formal federal postal service which is now DHL set up boxes where you can send and pick up parcels so you don’t have to be at home. The system isn’t perfect since you can only receive parcels shipped with DHL but anyway, it is great for people who are not at home all day.

Monday they implemented a change in their authentification system: Instead of a static PIN they now send you a mTAN with the notification SMS that a new parcel has been delivered. I awaited a new toy yesterday and was thrilled when I got the SMS that it has been put into the Packstation box. I was not so thrilled when I sat that the SMS ended right after 160 characters – right before the mTAN. So I called the DHL hotline – and waited for about 45 minuits in a waiting loop before I had to work. I sent e-mails, used twitter and the contact form, today I spend another hour of listening to their ridicules waiting loop music but I had no success. Thursday will be a holiday in Germany and I hope they send me a new mTAN by tomorrow evening, otherwise somebody will really suffer and not in a good way!

Murphy Loves this Site

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I don’t know what I have done wrong that I have so much misfortune when it comes pictures: Today I took pictures for today’s article. And when I wanted to download them from the SD card my PC told me, that the card was compromised and even the Sandisk tools couldn’t help me recover them. Since the article was supposed to be a picture story I am left with nearly nothing. In the future I want to have a stack of articles and reviews I can pull from if something goes wrong but I am far away from this state. So I have to ask for your patience. Thursday is a holiday in Germany. I will redo the pictures and post the article. Of cause the next week will see a new review – this is if my camera doesn’t explode.

Quo Vadis ToyTorture.com

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Today I also want to tell you where this website will and/ or should be heading. But I think such an important topic needed its own blog entry.

The core of the website will be reviews. I plan to publish a review every other week. Looking at my collection and the rate I buy new toys, I will have enough material to review for about two years. If you have a specific toy you want to have reviewed or if you are a collector who wants to get rid of parts of his collection or a producer/ vendor who wants to give me toys in order to review them, just click here where you will find means to contact me or just send me an e-mail.

For the weeks where no review will be published I plan to have two segments which will get new features every four weeks.

  1. Desiderates: Published in the blog section under the tag “Desiderates” I want to present toys I found at (online) stores which I don’t own yet and the reason I find them intriguing. I am not sure how this segment will work because in order to publish pictures of the toys I need the permission of the web store to present them on this side. We will see how this will work out and hopefully as this site will get recognition, vendors will get interested that their toys are presented here.
  2. Articles: This will be shorter or longer pieces on topics about BDSM, DIY, etc. I have a couple of ideas what to write about and I don’t want to give away too much yet.

As you see, if everything turns out nice and if I don’t get too consumed with work and studies, especially since I will spend a semester in the USA from January to June 2013, there won’t be a week without new content being added to this site. Next to the “editorial” content the blog will get update more often – as soon as I have figured out what to write there accept the problems of keeping this site alive 😀

Housekeeping

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It has been nearly one week since this site has gone online and I think it is finally time for some housekeeping. I intended to do it earlier but the time of the last week ran through my fingers instead of being at my fingertips: The weekend was consumed by the Fetish U30 party in Mainz (which was totally worth it), stress at work took Monday to Thursday from me and yesterday a cold knocked me down. And just an hour ago when I wanted to start, my server went down. Somehow, Murphy seems to love this website. But let’s get down to business!

As you might have noticed, I did some housekeeping: Promised or mentioned pictures have been added to blog entries (I somehow forgot to add them in the first place), I changed the menus in order to add some structure and improve clarity and finally I added some bad rubber pictures of me in order to get you a better impression of me. I promise sooner or later, pictures with polished rubber will come 😉

Also I am aware of a big issue: The pictures. I know the pictures of me and especially the toys are not great and very scarce. This is due to a number of reasons:

  1. Equipment: When taking pictures of the toys I quickly learned that I will need to get a macro lens in order to get decent pictures. But such lenses are expensive and at the moment totally out of my budget after buying myself a new DSLR for my semester abroad. FYI: I am using a Nikon FX camera so I you have a functioning AF macro lens laying around and around, please write me an e-mail.
  2. Motive and Legal Limitations: The number of angles you can take picture of a toy is quite limited – as long as it is not in action. As soon as I put a BDSM toy in action and publish a picture online it is very likely that I will get into trouble with the German prosecution. I am in talks with a lawyer and youth protection counselor but it will probably take until next spring/ summer until I can work out a safe, good and practicable solution.
  3. Personal Limitation: At least in Dortmund I don’t have a person I could take pictures of wearing/ using the toys or someone to take decent pictures of me, let alone a place where I could take such pictures with an acceptable background.

As soon as I work out all this problems, I promise better pictures but it probably will take some or better a lot of time. Until then I hope you stay with me anyway and enjoy the site just like it is.

Lunching the „Website“

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What a week! The good news is: ToyTorture.com is finally online with nearly everything implemented what I wanted (I am still lacking things like Twitter support but I am working on it).

The bad news is: This site has little to do with the original design ideas I had. As a naive student I though programming or more clicking together a static website would be a piece of cake done in a few days. And I actually never found out. My BF who provides me with the technical infrastructure set up a WordPress and told me to live with it “because it is easier and better”. So I spent a few nights with the limited WordPress design, trying to get it as close to my original ideas as possible. In essence: I am satisfied with the design but not happy. Instead of a distinct CD this site looks like millions of other on the web. At least the content stayed the same. Or most of it. Somehow the blog system I used to document the creation process got badly hurt when trying to get it implemented into WordPress, so I added every single entry manually in WordPress’ CMS thus don’t wonder why every blog entry seems to be added today.

It is kind of weird seeing something I have been working on for month online. I hope you enjoy the website as much as I do and I am really looking forward to receive some honest feedback, get comments on articles or rewarding tweets. Only through that communication I can make this site worth your while.

First Reviews

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I took a look at the reviews I have written for the lunch and it struck me: All products but one are from McHurt in Berlin. Before any rumors pop up: No, I don’t get paid or received dominated from them. Otherwise the reviews might also be better 😉 But seriously, I chose the toys to review first by being basic items most people get first to try out on themselves, perform some self bondage, etc. It happens that I got nearly all of my basic item from McHurt due to offering good quality to a cheap price. So in the near future there will also be reviews from other vendors. I am currently thinking about reviewing another basic item: a blindfold from SlingKing or are you fed up with basic and want something fancy? Let me know in the comments.