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Canes and the
Dangers Thereof
Canes are one of the oldest things people beat
each other with. In my parlance, a cane can be anything from a tree twig
to the big, heavy, two foot hunk of rattan that DommeZilla uses on
Leatherbutt. There is a lot of information available on canes. Here are a
few things I want you to think about BEFORE you start to use and buy
canes.
The biggest area of trepidation for me is the idea that the
sciatic nerve is relatively unprotected and runs through the buttock and
hip area. PLEASE make sure that you understand where this nerve is and how
to avoid damaging it. NERVES DO NOT REGENERATE OR THEY REGENERATE VERY
SLOWLY!!!!!!!! I just heard a story of a novice sub who was beaten heavily
on the buttocks with a heavy cane by a clueless dom and now has a
permanent limp. I prefer to end my scenes without a trip to the emergency
room. Your mileage may vary......but if so, make sure your sub knows what
to expect. Heavy canes require a delicacy of touch and a lot of control.
And they are NOT designed for full force blows.
Thin canes are not
without their dangers, too. First of all, a blow with a thin cane can
break skin. And the way that a cane connects with the skin and compresses
it, makes a cane stroke a two fold blow. If your sub cannot be marked,
find other toys to play with. Cane play is nearly impossible to perform
without at least a few marks, and serious bruising, contusing and cuts can
be the result of a heavy session. Canes should not be used by novice doms
without actual instruction from someone who is practiced and and knowledgeable in their use. Canes are a precision tool. Light leather
floggers are a lot more forgiving of ignorant, careless, and clueless
users. If you insist on playing without real instruction, get a deerskin
flogger and use THAT.
Most people start with using the rattan
canes and bamboo stakes you can buy in your local garden shop as plant
stakes. (Assuming they haven't switched to plastic coated metal rods like
so many do these days. DON'T use these metal rods as canes.) Lightly
sanded to remove imperfections and lumps and coated with marine varnish,
they make nice, cheap, beginning implements, though they should be used
with care and only by those who have been instructed in their use. You can
straighten them in the bath tub with water and weights. They come in a
range of sizes. You can have a whole array of canes in this material for
almost nothing, which is good cause they quickly get brittle and break,
bend, or the joints split. We are not talking about good quality products,
here. Jer's canes are the cadillac version of these canes, made of first
quality rattan, and are designed by a caning expert. Jer's first love is
caning and he is a true artist with this implement. So much so, that he
rarely uses other toys. A master of this art is a real joy to watch.
Canes should never be stored leaning in a corner. Lying flat or
hanging from a handle is the best way to store them. IF you generally get
blood on a cane or really leave welts, it is best to devote that cane to
the use of ONE bottom/sub. Rattan, reed, and bamboo cannot be cleaned
enough to remove all blood traces and we'd all rather be safe than sorry.
Acrylic, nylon, andother non porous materials can be cleaned with bleach
which is the best way to eliminate the possibility of the aids virus from
play toys. Always be careful to clean your toys before you share them with
others.
Reeds are toys that have a lot of sting, scratch, and sort
of varied textures. NEVER use a reed on more than one bottom. Sorry, but
they CANNOT be cleaned and they scratch if used with any force at all.
(Domina is aware that there were no documented cases of contamination with
Aids from sharing toys........but a medical professional DID tell her that
the possibility of such contamination was an actual threat.) They are a
fun toy, and are meant to be used lightly. Hard use just breaks the reed.
If you want to have to replace them, then use them that way.
Man
made materials are used for a varied assortment of canes. Domina and
Feynman currently make a variety of acrylic toys, but there are all sorts
of canes available out there in every imaginable material. Please note
that the heavier the cane and the harder the material, the less sting it
has and the more thud it has. We give some indications of the sting/thud
rating on our products, but remember, these are subjective. They are
guidelines, not absolutes. Feynman's butt and your butt may experience
things differently.
