Handle

Three leather floggers with nice handles.

A handle is an appendage to an object to be held in one's hand in order to use or move it.

Handles of spanking implements

Most spanking implements have a handle, or at least an end that is naturally used as a handle. The handle is usually made from the same material as the "business end" of the implement. Optionally, it can be brushed up with additional material, for a better handle shape and/or feel.

Materials

Typical types of such handles:

• wooden handle
• wooden core handle, wrapped
• metal handle
• metal core handle, wrapped
• leather handle (often two or more layers of leather sewn or riveted together)
• wooden handle around a leather core
• plastic handle

Types of wrapping material:

• soft leather wrapping, glued and/or sewed
• coiled leather string (square or round)
• plaited leather strips
• synthetic leather
• fabric
• coiled string
• self-adhesive tape
• fabric tape
• padded self-adhesive tape (produced commercially for tennis/badminton/squash rackets, or bicycle handles)
• rubber/silicone

Gallery

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  Paddle

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  Tawse

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  Ping-pong paddle

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  Hairbrush

• 

  Birch

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  Martinet

• 

  Cat o' nine tails]]

• 

  Double loopy cane

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  Carpet beater

• 

  Fly swatter

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  Riding crop

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  Cooking spatulas and Dough scrapers

Considerations

Shape a) may break easily, shape b) is stronger.

Properties of a good handle:

• is in the right proportion to the rest of the implement in terms of weight and length
• is ergonomic and provides good grip with good control over the implement
• doesn't get slippery when the user's hand becomes wet (sweating)
• is strong, robust and well attached for a long life and maximum safety
• optionally, has a knob at the end
• optionally, has a hole or loop at the end, as a hanger

The part of the implement that is in highest danger of breaking is often the part where the handle joins the business end. This part should never be made weak. A shape such as a) in the figure to the right may look nicer, but a shape such as b) is strong where it is important, and much less likely to break.

If the implement is floppy (e.g. a strap, tawse or leather paddle), it may also be desireable to stiffen it somewhat at the part where the handle joins the business end, for example, with an interior spine if it is double-layered. Alternatively, the spanker can also put one or two fingers on the flap for floppiness control.

Less common cases

Even implements that traditionally have no (designated) handle, such as canes or straps, are nowadays sometimes improved by a handle, especially for use in BDSM:

• wrapped or wooden handle for canes
• stiffened handle for straps and tawses (additional layers of leather or wood)

See also

More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Handle (grip) ]

List of Spanking Implements
Flat spanking implements bath brush (wooden or plastic) belt bimmy cooking spatula (wooden or plastic) dough scraper (rubber or silicone) flyswatter hairbrush (wooden or plastic) leather paddle Newspaper paddle (wooden paddle) ping-pong paddle ruler (wooden or plastic) slapper/flapper slipper / Plimsoll strap / Strop tawse wooden spoon Stick-like spanking implements blackboard pointer cane (rattan, bamboo etc.) crop ferula stick switch yardstick Other spanking implements baccalà (clipfish) birch carpet beater Quirt rope's end scourge stinging nettles Whipping implements include bullwhip cat o' nine tails chicotte (an African whip) flail flogger horsehair whip human hair whip klopfpeitsche loopy johnny martinet quirt rebenque (South American gaucho whip) rubber hose single-tail whip sjambok (South African whip)
Some spanking implements produce more "sting" while others produce more "thud". See "sting and thud" for more on this distinction.