New respect for an old toy

When folks first start exploring things like paddling and spanking and other kinky stuff in bed, there are two things that they often end up buying very early on: cheap fuzzy handcuffs and/or a fur-lined paddle.

That was the way it was with me, way back when I started down the road to interesting and unusual sex. These things are staples in the “kink” section of almost any sex toy store.

The furry handcuffs usually fall by the wayside pretty quickly. Most of them are poorly made, a lot of them are uncomfortable or don’t work right, some of them are downright dangerous, and at the end of the day both leather cuffs and good old fashioned rope are a whole lot safer and a whole lot more comfortable.

The furry paddle usually ends up being put away in the toybox and neglected after a while, too. I know a lot of folks who have one, and most of them never use it.

I bought my furry paddle many years ago, then more or less forgot about it. I dug it back out of the recesses of my toybox a couple of weeks ago, and discovered a whole new liking for it. Even though some hard-core kinksters sneer at the lowly fuzzy paddle, it’s actually remarkably versatile and quite a lot of fun.

The secret, as with most sex toys, is in the person who uses it, not in the toy itself. With a little imagination, this thing can make your partner sing! Well, figuratively, anyway.

The basic premise is pretty simple: smack someone’s ass with the furry side and they barely feel it, smack with the other side and it produces a mild to moderate sting. Easy, right? Ah, but think of the soaring cathedrals of sensation that you can build from such simple bricks!

For starters, combine this with a blindfold, which I still say is one of the most fun basic toys you can have. When your partner can’t see what you’re doing, mixing the furry side with the leather side gets a lot more interesting. With just a little practice, you can get pretty skilled at flipping the paddle over in your hands while you’re using it, so your partner will never quite know what to expect. A steady rhythm, but with random furry side/hard side smacks, is a lot of fun. “Whuf whuf smack whuf smack smack whuf”…you get the idea.

It takes a second for skin sensation to register, which makes this game especially delightful. You can hear the smack before you feel it, so it makes an interesting little split-second of uncertainty–”Is that going to sting, or not?” And by the time it registers, the next smack is already on the way…

And you don’t have to use it only on your partner’s behind. Paddles can be quite interesting on breasts, the back of the calves, even on the feet.

Another thing that’s quite a lot of fun is to gently stroke and caress your partner with the furry side, then randomly and without warning smack with the leather side, then flip it over smoothly and go back to the stroking and caressing. If you do it quickly enough, your partner will barely even have time to be aware of the smack before you’re gently caressing again.

For anyone who’s even a little bit curious about spanking or paddling, the furry paddle is a safe, soft introduction to the joys of paddling. But even for people who are a bit more experienced, a furry paddle is still a great sensation toy.

You can find them pretty cheaply at almost any sex toy store. You can also find a premium high-end version here, or an inexpensive version here. I think they deserve a place in (almost) any toy box.