Schlagwort-Archiv: Whipping

Fetters Braided Cat o Nine

Von | | ,
Einen Kommentar hinterlassen

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.

Conclusion: Easy to throw whip with wide range of sensations and basic fitments.

Pro

Cons

Where to get

Price

Wide range of possible sensations

Annoyingly placed logo patch which impairs the handling

Regulation

£68.41

Easy to handle and throw

Handle design cuts corners

Good value for money

Alpha Whips Junior Snake Whip

Von | | ,
Einen Kommentar hinterlassen

The Alpha Whip 2ft Junior Snake Whip in a Custom Adaptive Version

Vendor: Alpha Whips

Construction

This whip is very traditionally made: At the bottom is a lead-weighted pommel to balance the whip followed by a spring core. Being a Snake Whip there is no dedicated grip section with a second knot before the body like on a Bullwhip. At the end of the body a single paracord becomes the so call “fall” to which the cracker is attached by a loop. The cracker can be made out of Dacron or Dyneema. Dacron is a bit more stiffer and sharper and thus more stingy. It also takes longer to break in for cracking the whip. The upside is that the falls at the end do not tangle easily when cracking. My cracker is made out of Dyneema because it is softer and the chances of breaking the skin are next to nothing.

Lengthwise you can choose between 2ft and 5ft. The length is measure from the end of the pommel to where the fall begins. Choosing the right length is not an easy task. The most important thing to consider is your play space: The more confined the short the whip should be. Next is your play style, how you throw your whip. As a beginner I would recommend 3ft because it is a good compromise between handling, being able to crack it and throwing the whip far away from you. Despite controlling my whip fairly well, I still manage to unintentionally hit myself… If you want Hollywood style show throwing and cracking, you will need longer whips.

Nota bene: My whip is a custom Adaptive Snake Whip in 2ft length and 12 plaits. So where on a standard Snake Whip the fall is, I have a loop for attaching various attachments like a Dragon Quirt or a braided nylon fall onto which my cracker is attached. The plus side of an Adaptive whip is versatility. In theory you do not need carry several whips to a scene but can exchange the impact implement. In practice I rarely do it because it takes a bit of time. The downside is that doe to the nylon fall I basically ended up with a 3ft whip.

On a normal Snake Whip the Fall would begin here. At my Adaptive Whip there is the Loop for attaching different Implements

What makes whip from Alpha Whip special is the material it is made out of: Is completely made out of paracord.  In case of the Junior Whip it is made out of 550lb Nylon paracord which is perfect considering the length of the whip and thus force the material is subjected to. If you have experience which leather whips, you will have to adjust a bit. Out of the box, the body is less stiff and thus the whip is easier to throw right away. But unlike leather, the material will not break in over time. The braid will loosen just a little bit but not too much. So once you have learned to control your whip your throwing style does not need to adjust much to the changing whip properties. Another advantage is that the whip does not need maintenance beyond exchanging the cracker.

Speaking of the braid, it is very neat, tight and even which is an indicator for the quality and long term durability of the whip. The Junior Series has as 12 plait braid which means 12 cords are used to make the whip. Higher braid count means tighter braid and more detailed patterns. Since all whips are custom made, you can choose from a wide range of patterns and colors. My Snake Whip is a two-color Double Diamond in black and neon green both on the handle and the pommel.

Lead-Weighted Pommel with Hanging Loop

The pommel can have a different color than the handle and you can choose if you want a small loop for hanging the whip. I would highly recommend this for shorter whips because since the nylon does not break in as much as leather does, you cannot curl the whip like Indiana Jones does. Better store them hanging.

Finally a word on pricing: When I talk about flogger or whips at my impact play workshops or with interested people after they have seen me throw whips at Quälgeist for example, a common topic is where to get inexpensive whips for beginners. Being made out of paracord, Alpha Whips are already on the lower end of the price spectrum for good handmade whips. It takes hours to braid a whip like this. It takes a large stock of material you have to finance in order to offer this wide range of colors. And most importantly it takes years to learn how to make great whips. For that reason whips quality whips that will last you years of heavy play cannot come at a discount price. So like with anal toys where I always recommend saving for more expensive but safer to play with platinum silicone toys, better safe for another half year and get a proper whip instead of something cheap.

But don’t safe or wait too long for the whip you want. For most whip makers making whips is a hobby. If they had to make a living from it, whips would be even more expensive. So on a regular basis famous whip makers stop making their toys because they cannot justify the – personal – costs anymore.

Progression of the Braid from 12 plait to the Fall

Playing with the Junior Snake Whip

Each whip has a natural orientation in which it wants to go. In order to find this orientation hold the whip on the pommel and see into which direction it leans. You should always throw the whip on this plane because it will naturally lean towards it. Throwing it perpendicularly will make it harder to control because the whip will be pulled sideways while the momentum is propelling it forward.

The Fluff of a Dyneema Cracker

In order to learn how to control the whip, a proven technique is taking a large piece of cardboard and draw the outlines of a human torso onto it. Put this on the wall and throw your whip at it aiming at specific areas. Caution: Make sure there is nothing fragile about a meter left and right of the target and behind you. My poor plants speak from experience…

There are two ways to throw this whip: The easier one is “lashing”. You hold the pommel in your dominant hand and hold the fall in the other. Now extend your dominant arm until it is slightly bend and pull the other arm backwards. How far you pull backwards and thus put load the whip with tension will determine the impact intensity. If you want to add even more intensity, press your thump against the grip. This will add a surprising amount of kinetic energy. With lashing you can fairly easy and quickly develop a good aim. Since you always have to “charge” your whip again, lashing it not made for rapid strokes.

The other one is called “rolling” because you roll the whip forward. It is the style seen in movies and most porn. For this style, you wind the whip up by putting it behind your back and propel it forward using your shoulder, upper and lower arm. In this style the whip hits the bottom diagonally from above. Since you use all the muscles in your arm and your shoulder to propel the whip forward (and for advanced players even in your torso when you add a turning it towards the bottom), you can gather considerably more kinetic energy and thus increase the pain. Also you can develop a pendulum movement for rapid strokes. But the whip is much more harder to control and proper aim takes a lot of experience. Especially since you need to adjust to the height of every bottom.

The Loop on top of the Fall for Attaching the Cracker

Regardless of the throwing technique, when pulling the whip back for the next stroke, be careful not to hit yourself! On numerous occasions I gave myself a more or less thorough arm and back whipping in a scene…

If you are into extreme, long whipping, especially if you want to break the skin, I highly recommend exchanging the crackers between partners. Otherwise pathogens get transferred from one player to another. Such whipping bottoms usually have their own crackers they give the top before the scene.

Finally, a word on cracking. Cracking is when you throw the whip and there is a cracking sound. This sound is emitted when the cracker breaks the sound barrier. Unlike leather whips, even the short Snake Whip can be made cracking with a bit of practice. I found it easier to crack the whip with lashing than rolling because the kinetic energy is focused in one burst instead of building over time. Since the whip apexes in the middle of the air instead on a bottom, be extra careful of your surroundings. It makes the whip a bit more difficult to control.

Conclusion: Really well-made single tail for beginners and experienced whippers
Pro Cons Where to get Price
Does not breaking in I could not really find any weak spots during the test. If you are in the market for a single tail and except it not being made out of the traditional material leather there is no reason not to buy one of these Alpha Whips Starting at 105€
Easy to crack
Good value for money
No maintenance needed
Made in Germany, so for EU readers no high shipping costs and import duties like on US whips

Fetters Heavy Leather Flogger

Von | | ,
Ein Kommentar

The Fetters Heavy Leather Flogger

Vendor: Regulation

Very often I get asked “Where can I get a good, quality flogger, best in Europe?” That is actually a tough question because unlike the USA Europe never developed a big BDSM flogger maker scene. Most of my floggers are made by a flogger maker in New York I have got to know when I studied in the USA. They cost at least four times of this Heavy Leather Flogger and take months to make, an invest most people are not willing to make. So I am quite excited to take a look at a traditionally made flogger that is easily accessible to guys from Europe.

Construction

This flogger is a beautiful example of traditional flogger making: Braided leather knot on the top and bottom knot. Between them a black and red herringbone pattern made out of leather straps covers the 17cm long grip, giving the handle an overall length of 23,5cm. For better storing and not losing the flogger while throwing it, a 14.5cm long braided leather loop is attached to the bottom knot. What surprised me that Fetters uses relatively stiff and sturdy leather for the braiding which usually makes getting it tight and firm difficult. But I was impressed how tight it was which is a good indicator for durability and quality. The flogger is quite well balanced. The mass center is at the bottom of the upper knot which is low enough to keep the wrist from tiring out quickly.

Detail of the Angle Cut Tail End

Into the top knot 25 tails are woven. They are made out of rather stiff black cow hide and have an angle cut at the end. At 55cm overall length they are 4.5cm longer than the “standard” flogger length of 20’’ resp. 50.5cm but this only is important when you are Florentine flogging with a 20’’ in tail flogger. In the knot a 4x2cm leather patch with an embossed Fetters logo is woven. I am not sure about this move because when you tails “break” over this patch, it impacts how they fly. Especially experienced tops will soon learn how hold their flogger to not have this happening or how to compensate. Still, I would have preferred this patch elsewhere.

All things considered, I have not yet found this level of craftsmanship and attention to detail for this price. So from a pure manufacturing side, this flogger offers incredible value for money.

Playing with the Fetters Heavy Leather Flogger

Detail of the Knot with the Fetters Logo Patch

From a technical point of view, this flogger is good for novice tops getting into flogging. The tails fly well which makes the aim easy. The mass center at the top knot allows the tails to gain momentum when wielding in laying-8-shaped circles so once you have established a pattern, the flogger guides the throwing arm.

But from a pain perspective this one is not for the faint of heart. Fetters chose a stiffer variety of cow hide, yet not as stiff (and thus severe) at Latigo leather. Unlike Latigo this cow hide is flexible and flows and flies really nicely yet it is far from soft. Adding that to the medium weight of the leather it leans a bit towards sting. Additionally the edges are a bit firm and the rough side of the leather is relatively coarse for a flogger. And finally, the tips are angle cut so when they hit, they have an extra bit. Furthermore, angle cut will give you the most acceleration and thus most strong impact sensation.

Detail of the Bottom Knot and Loop

This doesn’t make the flogger bad! It is awesome toy for masochists, a mid- to end-scene toy when the endorphins are flowing and a skilled top will be able to get some thud out of it. But for people starting out with flogging or not hard-core masochists, I strongly advice to use a different, softer flogger for warm up, like the Bare Leatherworks Buffalo one.

Despite the overall roughness of tails, I was surprised how relatively little they color. Of course the impact area will turn red quickly but being medium-weight bruises even on delicate areas like the ass and thigh are unlikely. Despite the sharp tail edges and angle cut tips I was actually surprise how little scratches and welts this flogger produced. So if you are looking for a meanish impact toy that leave relatively little marks after a scene, it is a good one to go with.

Finally a little word on availability: Since this product is handmade, it is rarely available in large quantities. This flogger has been on my watch list for over 2 years and it has been sold out most of the time. So if you are interested in this flogger, I highly recommend setting an e-mail alert to get notified when it is back in stock!

Conclusion: Extremely competitively priced, well made and handling flogger to deliver a stingy sensation.
Pros Cons Where to get Price
All tails fly together for a good ain Unlike advertised on the stingier and heavier end of the pain spectrum Regulation £58.99
Well balanced
All tails have same length and overall well made
Not good for warm-up

Massage Flogger

Von | | ,
Einen Kommentar hinterlassen

Bare Leatherworks Massage Flogger

Vendor: Bare Leatherworks

Construction

The basic design of this flogger is fairly standard: One side with tails, other side handle. But that’s all that is standard about this toy. Instead of having a bunch of tails, this one only has 6 which are made out of soft and medium heavy bull-hide. They are 50mm wide and about 530mm long in full (or rather standard flogger tail length) size and 350mm in the medium size (for playing in more confined areas or using this flogger primarily on subs on spanking benches). I intentionally write “about” because on my flogger there was a difference of 9mm between the longest and the shortest tail! For a “normal” flogger, this would serious impact the play experience. But being a “massage” flogger you do not really just target with the tail tips but with the full length. The tails fixed to the handle by just putting a screw through them in the middle which is a “quick & dirty” way to make a flogger which in the end enables the rather low price.

Detail of the Rubber-Wrapped Handle

The handle is made out of wood with a “bulges” (the cover material not being plaited you cannot really call them knots) on both ends for a secure and comfortable grip. Despite the heavy tails, this flogger is extraordinarily well balanced! The center of mass lies right between the end of the grip section and the beginning up the upper bugle. Looking at my collection of 10 floggers this is the most balanced flogger I own!

The handle cover is quite unique: Instead of being covered in an elaborate plaited multi-color leather pattern, a long strap of industrial rubber is wrapped around and fixed buy multiple black screws in stainless steel grommets. The rubber provides a good and secure grip even with sweaty hands. So from a functional point of view, nothing speaks against this method and it safes a lot of time, material and money (thus the very competitive price). But as someone who sees a flogger also as a piece of craftsmanship and handcraft tradition, this flogger looks a big “basic” (or as another testee put it “Bad-ass Mad Max”-like…). At the bottom of the handle, an eyebolt is screwed into the wood. Through it two intertwined leather straps are threaded for a wrist or storage loop. This loop looks so “artistic” and lavish that it is a steep contrast to the rest of the rather “basic” flogger design. Not that I would mind…

Detail of the Eyebolt and the intertwined leather loop

For an extra $10 you can get the “Pro Grip” handle. When choosing this add-on, a thick wire that runs in a spiral beneath the rubber cover. This adds texture to the gripping surface. I tried the Pro Grip at Spexter in Munich years ago and found it too uncomfortable for my size 7½ hands. So I ordered this flogger with a standard grip. In the review process, I never felt that even in heavy scenes that I needed extra grip when throwing this flogger. Naturally my testees could not compare both handle types. But even the tops with the sweatiest hands never had gripping problems. In addition, none of the Bare Leatherworks impact toys I have come across in scenes over the last 5 years had the Pro Grip. Another possible add-on for $14 is adding two more tails for an extra powerful thud!

Free of charge is customizing the colors of the tails. You can choose between black, red, blue, purple, grey, green, white, yellow and pink and have different colors for the inner and outer tails.

Playing with the Massage Flogger

Usually, I am very skeptical when tails are just screwed to the top of the handle instead of carefully arranging them in a woven knot for optimal flying capabilities. But the Massage Flogger flies really well. I was actually surprised how good targeting and swinging was with it.

Detail of how the Tails are Attached to the Handle and the upper „bulge“

Of course, throwing this flogger takes some getting used to. Instead of straightening out a few dozens of tails more or less loosely flying into the same direction, there are only six (resp. 8). So it takes a bit less force and control to direct them towards a target.

After talking about the technical aspects, let’s look at the sensation side of this flogger. The impact sensation of this toy is unlike any sensation I have felt before from a long-range impact toys before. It does its name really justice. The width, weight and rounded tips of the tails only produce a deep, satisfying thud. If you hit the sub lightly, it will be like caressing, if you hit him full power, the sheer force will throw him forward in a shattering way. The level of thud you create is highly disproportional to the weight and mass of the tails. Most testees compared it to a at least 40 tail cow flogger. So even more than usual I highly recommend trying out this flogger with a trusted play partner starting with low intensity and a thorough debriefing.

Detail of the Round-Cut Tail Ends which are Sadly Unevenly Long

If you want to get a bit of sting out of the Massage Flogger you could try hitting with the tails’ sides. But on the one hand, the tails usually orientate themselves towards the wide side, on the other hands the tails being made out of soft leather, after hitting with the side, the surface “falls” on sub’s body adding thud.

Like all thuddy toys, extra care is advised when throwing this flogger. The amount of kinetic energy hitting the bottom’s body can severely damage organs if you hit anywhere except the left and right side of the rip cage (and not the spine!), chest, ass and thighs with much force!

Conclusion: Good value for money flogger with a unique sensation.
Pro Cons Where to get Price
Unique sensation Not all tails have the same length Bare Leatherworks $99.95 – $133.95
Extremely well balanced
Good value for money Simple, industrial design instead of craftful plating

 

Uberkinky Silicone Core Whip

Von | | ,
Einen Kommentar hinterlassen

Vendor: Uberkinky

The Uberkinky Silicone Core Whip

Construction

The design of this toy is a standard single tail leather whip one with an overall length of 63cm. At the bottom there is a 17cm long grip onto which a 13cm long loop is attached. There are knots at both ends of the 12cm long and 2.5cm thick grip section making it secure to hold onto even with large hands. Out of the grip comes the 46cm long tail which tapers from 27mm to 11mm until ending into a 40x18mm large tip.

Detail of the Handle

The core of the Uberkinky Silicone Core Whip is made out of strong and sturdy silicone. It is covered with stiff yet flexible red and black leather in a herringbone pattern.

Playing with it

This is one of four Silicone Core Whips Uberkinky recently introduced. There is also a 94cm one with a thickened tail eng and a five foot and five foot five inches “classic” single tail with a whistler style cracker. While these are great toys for large play spaces most kinksters tend to play in their bedroom or have – like me – a rather confined play space at home. So I chose the shortest of the four leather whips. The compact form factor of this whip enables intimate play. It is short enough to hit a sub’s ass who is strapped to a whipping bench and still have body contact.

Detail of the Thickened Tip

The throwing of the whip takes a little bit to get used to. While the leather covering the silicone core can be broken in a bit to fit your individual whipping style the core despite being flexible has a certain preferred direction it wants to be thrown. This is even more intensified by the thickened tip which pulls the tail once thrown. Both these factors make this whip especially good for beginners because the core guides you and allows for pretty accurate targeting after a short time. Whip masters who are used to break in their whips will have to adjust a bit. Despite the thickened tip the Uberkinky Silicone Core Whip is well balanced allowing for longtime whipping without tiring out the wrist.

Detail of the Holding Lopp

The impact sensation can be best described as a medium-severe sting with a thuddy afterglow. The impact of the thickened end stings quite a bit but not nearly as much as a cracker of a leather whip would. After the sting spike after the impact a thuddy sensation spreads out from the impact point and takes some time to fade away depending on the impact’s force. The marks this leather whip is leaving are bruises rather than welts and it never broke the skin during the testing.

Like all leather whips cleaning is a bit difficult. As always I recommend letting it hang in the sun for a week and let the UV radiation take care of the germs.

Conclusion: Compact whip with medium-sever pain sensation.
Pro Cons Where to get Price
Easy targeting Whipping style needs to adjust a bit to the whip Uberkinky  £49.95
Unique pain sensation for a single tail
 Disclaimer: This toy was sent to me by Uberkinky for an honest and unbiased review.

P.M. Body Leather Genital Flogger

Von | | ,
Einen Kommentar hinterlassen

The P.M. Genital Leather Flogger from Uberkinky

Vendor: Uberkinky

Construction

The basis of this toy are three 45cm long and 2.5cm wide pieces of flexible yet hard leather. The lower 11cm are slightly tapered and riveted together to form a grip. Around the bottom of the whip a leather piece is sowed and riveted which houses a d-ring which is handy for attaching the whip to a belt loop with a carabineer. Above the grip each piece of leather is cut into 4 straps making a total of 12 tails. The leather out of which the whip is made is sourced in Europe so is meets EU standards in regards of Chromium-6 and other possibly harmful substances. So it is safe to play with this whip even if it should leave some scratches.

Detail of the Grip with the attached D-Ring

Playing with it

When it comes to the play I personally find the product name “flogger” a bit misleading. Due to the “tails” not knotted together but riveted parallel the tails can’t be thrown but always fly parallel to the grip. Looking at the form of the leather pieces the toy is like three very long Tawses riveted together.

Detail of the 12 Tails

If you look at the toy, see a Tawse and wield it that way the toy makes more sense. The tails are long enough for properly spanking an ass, thighs, soles of the foot or even shoulders when the bottom is bound to a spanking bench. As for the genital part, the long tails properly work well on “flat” and “wide” area a vagina is (I don’t have females in my test panel) but for a dick the tails are too flexible and thin and thus evade the target.

The sensation of the tawse is a medium to sever sting. The rather hard and sharp tails are quite abrasive so after hitting the same body area multiple times there is a nice burning sensation. Though the tails are not severe enough to create some lasting marks beyond some red stripes. The abrasive qualities of cause mean being a bit cautious when hitting soft-skinned body areas like the glans.

Handling wise I am a bit torn: The flexible leather of the grip transmits a bit of the impact so you get good feedback on how well each stroke was. But even for me with a glove size 7 ½ the grip is too short and too thin. You have to cling a bit which can tire the hand.

Conclusion: Nifty and nasty compact impact toy with little ergonomic problems.
Pro Cons Where to get Price
Medium intense pain which turns into a nice burning afterwards To small, too thin handle Uberkinky  £19.99
Leaves nice red stripes
D-Ring for easy storage
 Disclaimer: This toy was sent to me by Uberkinky for an honest and unbiased review.

DeTails Toys Set of Flogger

Von | | , ,
Ein Kommentar

Vendor: DeTails Toys

Detail of the handle

As I have written about in this blog post a couple of month ago, I had a VERY intense experience getting flogged in the USA. Besides the unique sensation of getting flogged I was stunned by the craftsmanship that went into weaving the leather into the handle, the knot both providing enough strength to hold the tails together when thrown onto a sub with full strength.

Detail of the knot

A quick and honestly very superficial survey of the European and especially the German market showed that there weren’t any vendors providing me with what I want: A custom woven flogger. Turning to the US market showed that not surprisingly considering the amount of crafting and using of high quality leather getting a custom made set of flogger on a student budget proved to be difficult. At the end of my market analysis I ended up ordering my set a DeTails Toys who were considerable inexpensive and still showed some level of quality.

The four floggeres reviewed in the article

Construction

My order consisted of four floggers: Three with 50cm tails for torso flogging and one with 25cm tails for CBT, tit and ass play.

The three long floggers are an 18 tails deer skin with round ends for warm up, a 45 tails elk with angle cut as a universal flogger and a 45 tails bull thudder with a straight cut tail ends. The small one has 10 tails and is made out of medium stiff buffalo so it can either sting or thud with straight cut tail ends.

The leather quality for the floggers‘ tail is quite good. It has a natural feel to it and isn’t taned to death like you often see with low cost toys made in Asia. If I look at some friends’ floggers there is a better leather quality out there. Also the color from the loop rubs off a bit. But still the value for money is really good.

Different tail end cuts from left to right: Angle, round and stright cut

The biggest cost factor when making a flogger is the time it takes to create a tight knot and handle patter so that the flogger won’t fall apart. This is one of the reasons most flogger makers sooner or later go out of business: Getting a decent hour wage and still selling their floggers for a price that the consumer accepts is nearly impossible. So when I compare my DeTails floggers to some which cost between twice or thrice that much you can again see that they haven’t been given the same attention to detail as other ones. The knot and handle aren’t painstakingly tightly braided. But after excessively playing with my set nothing got loose and I am very confident they will give my fun for years to come.

Detail of the four handle colors

Playing with it

When it comes to throwing the flogger at a sub’s back they perform quite well. Some tails are a bit longer than the rest and on each flogger there are one or two tails who don’t fly with the rest. So these floggers take a little bit longer to master them in order to let them fly in a controlled way. But this is a process you have with every flogger so every testee I gave them for review experience barely noticed the longer personal breaking-in period.

While the Deer skin is very well balanced the heavier Elk and Bull flogger are a little bit tail-heavy which is

Conclusion

Different length of the tails

Different length of the tails

As skeptical as my review might have sounded I really enjoy playing with this flogger set. Once you mastered them they perform as good as way more expensive ones. Of cause there are floggers out there which are better made. So if you are looking for a perfect piece of craftsmanship these floggers might not be the right ones for you. But if you look for a good, custom flogger for intense play, I really encourage you to look at the ones from DeTails.

Price at the Date of Publishing: Between $80 and $130

Link to the Manufacturer