Flogger design help

[Sir_Winston54]

Very nice indeed.

I would second Stella's recommendation to glue. There's not much that will blow the mood more quickly than a flogger falling apart mid-scene.

 

[temp256]

Thanks everyone. I delivered it to the buyer, who was pleased. She didn't really want to talk much though. I ended up not gluing the falls, as the friction fit was extremely tight. I informed the buyer, and offered to glue it in case it falls out.

My next flogger is going to be made of east Indian rosewood. I also have a piece of cocobolo which is too short for a flogger, and too wide to make a cane without being wasteful. Does anyone think a doorknob shaped handle on a cane would be comfortable to use?

 

[bhndblueyes88]

Well there are a lot of things that need handles... how short is the cocobolo?

 

[temp256]

The cocobolo is 1.5" x 1.5" x 6". The rosewood is twice the length, and suitable for a nice dildo-flogger. I could make a short flogger, but people seem to prefer the long ones. I could try a thicker diameter cane handle, but it seems uncomfortable.

Also, I bought one of my plastic rods I intended to use for canes is very flexible. What do you think about making something which is a cross between a cane and a whip?

Here are a couple of my canes. They were highly regarded by the people I showed them to, so I'll make more in this style.

 

[bhndblueyes88]

Perhaps go ahead and make a cane handle, and find a design that takes advantage of the width? Like, pronounced grip holds, or a swirl going up the handle or something. That way you can make something that's not uncomfortable, but doesn't waste too much

Or, could you trim it and then find a use for the pieces that you'd have left?

I really like those cane handles. Have you thought about "remarketing" a bit and selling dressage whips? They're really not too much different, and horse people like to spend too much money I know there are dressage riders who would see wooden handles and go "ooo how SOPHISTICATED. and CLASSY. FIVE BAZILLION DOLLARS?!?! Oh how can I refuse!!"

 

[world69peace]

Just wanted tgo pop in and say how beautiful your creations are!! Wonderful!! Thank you for sharing!!

 

[temp256]

Here's a flogger I just finished. It's made of east Indian rosewood, and finished with cyanoacrylate. I really like the glossy finish, but I still think my previous one was nicer. This one could only hold 14 strands of leather, too.

I've almost finished a cane made of pink ivory, and after that I'm going to make dual cocobolo floggers, perfect for Florentine.

The process is going well, but I need help thinking of non-erotic excuses for what I do. People are starting to wonder why I buy so much exotic wood, work on it for hours, but never have anything to show from it.

 

[Sir_Winston54]

Here's a flogger I just finished. It's made of east Indian rosewood, and finished with cyanoacrylate. I really like the glossy finish, but I still think my previous one was nicer. This one could only hold 14 strands of leather, too.

I've almost finished a cane made of pink ivory, and after that I'm going to make dual cocobolo floggers, perfect for Florentine.

The canes above, and this flogger, are gorgeous. You have a definite talent for designing and producing beautiful tools. You should be able to sell just about everything you make to the "community."

The process is going well, but I need help thinking of non-erotic excuses for what I do. People are starting to wonder why I buy so much exotic wood, work on it for hours, but never have anything to show from it.

My first response: It's none of their damned business. Second response: You've found a niche market for your talents, and you're exploiting it, but you don't want to reveal it for fear that others will try to horn in. Third response (*not* my favorite) is to agree with bhndblueyes. You could sell some things to the horsey crowd, which would give you a "public" market that you could discuss while maintaining your (behind the scenes) kink market in private. This would, of course, require you to increase your output (and therefore, your income). What a shame

 

[temp256]

Thanks. I'm still working on getting into the community, but hopefully my toys will get me recognition.

My parents are the ones curious about what I make, considering I'm living at home again, so I can't exactly shoo them away. The niche market excuse would work well on the people at the woodworking store though.

Out of curiosity, what kind of prices do you think I could sell things for? I've heard up to $300 for floggers, but this seems crazy.

 

[Sir_Winston54]

Thanks. I'm still working on getting into the community, but hopefully my toys will get me recognition.

My parents are the ones curious about what I make, considering I'm living at home again, so I can't exactly shoo them away. The niche market excuse would work well on the people at the woodworking store though.

Out of curiosity, what kind of prices do you think I could sell things for? I've heard up to $300 for floggers, but this seems crazy.

Depending on the area in which you live, $300 is not unknown for a matched set of well-made floggers in larger metropolitan areas (say 750,000 or more people living in a one-hour radius of the metro area's center). I should point out, though, that the maker(s) of said floggers had undoubtedly built a reputation for craftsmanship and quality; a new "provider" might have to let equivalents go for as little as 60-75% of their eventual value to start. As his reputation grows, so too could/would his prices.

JT's Stockroom offers a fairly wide variety of what I consider mostly middle-of-the-road quality floggers, ranging in price from $60 to $240 *each.* There are other online stores - I just picked the Stockroom because it came to mind first.

If the overall quality of your floggers matches their appearance, I have no doubt that you could fairly quickly become the "go-to" guy for custom and high-end floggers in your area, and the same goes for your canes, with the caveat that you should always remember that no matter how pretty a cane is, the most important thing is the quality and durability of the striking surface.

Good luck to you!

 

[temp256]

My floggers are very difficult to compare to others, since not many others use wooden handles. Here's one flogger I found, and I can definitely say mine are superior. My canes are definitely better than the ones at JT's as well, and are extremely durable too.

It's a bit difficult to objectively judge my own work, but the pieces are so simple, they're easy for others to evaluate. The only difficulty is the leather. I found a store which sells hides, but I really don't know how to pick one out. I have no experience, so I can't guess what different types would feel like, or what people want. I picked suede because it was reasonably cheap, and figured I couldn't go wrong.

I live near a large metro, but it's still a matter of getting to know people.