These simple claw rings have been my favorite toys for time-eternal, well, at least since I first found them in Purple Passion NYC in 2002. I use them a lot, though. For me, there is so much to love about these.

The pure aesthetic of the long, knife-like claws is so intimidating. I have heard cries of “Freddy Krueger!”–but I prefer Wolverine–when I put them on my fingers. Five steel knives with long and witch-esque pointed tips start my subject’s mind reeling before I approach them. The visuals alone are enough, and they populate many of my photos. Conversely, I love using them with a blindfold.

Even without seeing them, my subject knows them well. He knows the tingling sensation of the tips dragging across bare skin, not causing any traces but blooms of goose-bumps. Even on unprepared skin, the stimulation is striking–on pink skin, warmed up with a paddle or flogger, the sensation short circuits the neurons. None of this is painful, not at all, but tactile whispers for full-body shivers. It does not always have to be so gentle.

You remember correctly, each of those long, steel claws ends in a point. Generally, not enough to break the skin, but enough to get your attention, especially on the sensitive body parts, not usually exposed. This is why I love these implements so much, the hyperstimulation and how easy it is to ride the line between pleasure and pain, dancing between them at my whim until pleasure and pain blend together.