Fetters Braided Cat o Nine

The Fetters Braided Cat o Nine

Vendor: Regulation

Construction

The name of this whip is telling: Each of the nine falls is braided out of four thin leather straps. At the end they are finished with a small knots so the ends form little four fall “floggers”. The straps are made out of soft, medium density, low weight cow hide. This in combination with a tight and neat braid give the falls a very high quality feel and appeal.

At a first glance the handle looks equally elaborate. A black and red braided leather pummel on top covers the attachment points of the falls to the handle. This pummel also houses a leather patch with the Fetters logo embossed into it which I find an interesting location at best (see below). A single strap of what feels like latigo leather lines the handle in one spiral. It is attached to the core with four seams. At the bottom there is yet another black and read leather pummel which houses a quite long latigo leather loop. Speaking of bottom: The pummel only covers the side of the core not the bottom giving it a bit of an unfinished feel.

All things considered, the grip is very economically designed with an aspiring premium leather appeal. Form followed function here while you can see where corners were but. But considering the price of the toy it is exceptional value for money. Yet compared to other whips and floggers with braided grip cover and loops, a pummel that is used to really attach the falls to the grip instead of just covering the attachments points, this Braided Cat o Nine is a bit more basic especially compared to the flogger from the same range. Considering the cost these are minor points because…

The Latigo Loop hold by a „Lateral“ Pollem and thus unfinished Bottom

Playing with the Braided Cat o Nine

… from a play point of view, it is even better value for money!

At first I was skeptical how well this toy would perform. With all the tails just laterally “attached to a stick” I wondered how well they would fly. Turns out, actually pretty great! Even at low intensities all tails fly precisely into the direction they are thrown without any breaking out. Targeting is easy making this toy surprisingly suitable for beginners. This property is supported by the low weight and still good balance point which is about at 4/5 of the handle length. You do not need much technique to rein in the momentum heavier floggers can develop while throwing.

Detail of the Braided Fall with the Finishing Knot

The overall great handling is a bit compromised by the Fetters logo tag. If the tag is in the throwing direction the tails break away. Since you usually do not turn the handle while whipping, simply make sure that the tag is facing you when picking up the whip so it should not be a problem. Annoyingly – at least at my whip – the tag was not a 100% aligned with the leather loop. Especially when the loop is not broken in, it wants to sit comfortably on your wrist. So you intuitively start to turn the handle until the loop sits comfortably – and the tag gets a bit in the way again. Over time you will learn to compensate the tag but especially at the beginning it is extremely irritating especially for beginners.

Which is a shame because overall, this toy is a surprisingly good beginner’s whip despite leaning towards sting due to the light weight. The combination of the great flying properties combined with the light and soft leather allow the top to caress and teas the bottom’s back lightly at low intensities. Because the falls are so light, I would not consider it a warm-up toy. The strokes are simply too light to increase the circulation sufficiently. As soon as you ad heft to your blows, the sting and intensity ramps up quickly. The sensation is of course focused on the knots which bite but the bottom will most likely also feel the scratch of the short tails behind the knots. These multitude of sensations is the greatest feat of this whip: Once you have learned to wield it properly, it offers many different sensations. Targeted precisely the end of the small floggers can just scratch the skin. Hitting exposed or raised areas of the back just right, almost only the knots hit. Throwing it like a flogger the is a bit of thuddy feeling along the impact area – until the tail ends sting like a lightning. So completely mastered the Fetters Braided Cat o Nine tails is truly a multitrick pony.

The Top Pummel with the Fetters Logo and the Leather Lined Handle

Speaking of great sensation range: Because the hanging loop is so long, it can be used as an impact of of its own. The pain is not sever but being made out of thin latigo leather, it bits a bit. Since the bottom expects a whip like impact sensation, teasing him with it it or inflicting agony when precisely targeting bruised areas adds to the wide range of possibilities with this whip.