Dark Castle - Sin 
BDSM Canada & Training

by Aramock Nanuck

     May 2011​

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Canes have been the mainstay of corporal punishment since time immemorial. They continue to be used in many former English colonies, as well as in much of Asia and other parts of the world, both at home and in schools. So why shouldn't the fetish lifestyle take this instrument so well-loved (and hated) by generations?  The cane set has the same effect on males and females, so there is no sexual discrimination in the punishment—a fair crack of the cane for all.

 

Construction

Canes are made from a variety of materials. Rattan is the most popular due to its unique combination of lightweight and extreme flexibility. They can also be made from Malacca, bamboo and whalebone. Each of them has issues, as Malacca is quite knobby and will cause blisters on force-impact points. At the same time, bamboo is prone to splintering. Whalebone is extremely hard and was used in Victorian times as a severe punishment for prisoners. Few are found today, typically made from whalebone and often only available in antique shops. 

 

Hedgerow hazel, willow, and young ash plants are normally the material of choice for homemade "switches."

 

Lengths can vary from approximately 60cm (2 feet) to 130cm (4 feet) and serve different purposes. The shorter version is for across the palms of the hands, buttocks or back of the thighs. The longer, thicker ones are suitable for the back. The longer the cane, the more difficult it is to control and aim properly and should be rejected (unless the caning is of the judicial type).

 

The weight of a cane is a crucial factor, and appearances may be deceiving. The slimmer and lighter the canes are, the more likely they are to cut the skin or have harsher effects. Thicker canes better combine the qualities of penetration and "spread" and are less liable to break the skin.

 

The idea of sending one out to select their punishment device is devious as, in fact, they will tend to t thinner items, not realizing that with thickness, the blow has a higher likelihood of more loss of force. 

Head Cane Set

The cane is the classic implement of schoolroom discipline and possibly the most feared. The sound of the cane swishing through the air brings the warning of impending pain on its journey to the recipient's bare bottom. The impact and effects are instantaneous, as long red marks appear denoting the violence delivered. The slight handle vibrations reward the disciplinarian with the sensation of a job completed, but the mid sets to task as it readies for the next stroke.  This crooked-handled punishment cane is ideal, as the handle provides the disciplinarian with a much better grip, preventing the cane from slipping out of their hand.  

 

Care and Maintenance

Keeping the cane in a long, thin container half-filled with water maintains the bottom of the cane swishy and flexible. It also increases the force transfer on impact and prevents splintering. Regular use is required, along with aeration, to prevent the cane from becoming waterlogged or discoloured over time.

A strong humiliation factor and increased fear anticipation can be mitigated by using sanding paper to smooth the recipient of the punishment. Inform the victim that it is in their interest not to have splinters or fibres deeply embedded in their flesh.  Such injuries invariably will require a doctor to remove them and create interesting conversations in an emergency room.

 

Stable/Horse Cane

This is a straight cane of about 60 cm (24 inches) long and just as effective in the right hands. It functions in the same way as the Head Cane but has a higher vibration rate as the straight shaft does not lose any of the recoil force like the travel around the curve of a head cane. 

Safety Considerations

The cane is a severe instrument with considerable potential to cause significant damage if used harshly. The injuries' causes can be vicious, taking days if not weeks to heal as they cause deep flesh wounds, and have on occasion even resulted in broken bones. This device requires utmost respect.

 

Bare-flesh strikes are a must when using greenwood or canes made from a material other than rattan. This does not preclude bare-bottom strikes with rattan, but the disciplinarian needs to know the composition of their cane.

 

Usually, males have tougher skin than females, but even a light caning of a few strokes will leave intermittent evidence of the rod in the form of visible welts. Additionally, Orientals tend to conceal the welts more effectively than Europeans, while Africans and Eurasians tend to exhibit the discoloration more quickly.  These stereotypes, however, have proven incorrect in several cases over the past 40 years of caning, so it is best to experiment and validate the impact damage on the victim in the first session before proceeding to more stringent caning in subsequent sessions.

 

Any single stroke that immediately produces marks or breaks the skin is too hard for fetish purposes and ceases to be a fet-activity but simple abuse. Administering any caning is a matter of some precision, the attainment of which is generally a matter of practice. Administered fetish caning with a minimum of real force to be effective.

 

Another precaution is to take one's stance slightly to the left of the victim and move forward by about half a pace. This ensures that the cane's tip, which travels faster than the rest of the instrument during the latter part of the flight, strikes the farthest point while the shaft lies across the bulk of the impact area at precisely the same instant. This will ensure that the force at the point and shaft remains constant, thereby avoiding the slicing effect of the cane's tip.  As an extra precaution, it is suggested that the disciplinarian land the flat of the can on the impact site, allowing the tip to dissipate its energy in the open air a couple of inches beyond the body.

 

Caning of any type in all but the judicial form should be limited to a maximum of ten strokes. If planning on more strokes, it is recommended to use a fetish crop instead, although a maximum of 24 should be observed.  More than that is, invariable, simply abusive, and the pain will overtake the endorphin production, resulting in a negative experience.

 

Shame and Cane

Shame is a great addition to caning as it increases the humiliation and other psychological factors essential in a fetish scene. It also significantly transforms the activity from raw punishment and quiet (or not so quiet) suffering into a shared and communal experience.  The greater degree of shame, particularly one administered as viewed by other slaves and the dominant, is more effective as a tool of domination. The shame factor invariably increases significantly if performed on the opposite sex; there clearly is a psychological reason for this, but I have yet to discover clinical reasoning.
 

The shame maximizes when the victim is caned on their bare bottom. Deliver a stroke in a narrow band corresponding to the plumpest and best-padded section of the rump. There is a side advantage in that the progress, the effect of the punishment, and checking one's aim all become much easier.  Administering strokes at a slow pace (one every five to ten seconds), the disciplinarian has time to observe these marks begin to develop and adjust accordingly.

 

Technique

During a short flight from start to impact (typically a quarter of an arc), the device experiences a force equal to 10 times its size and weight. This is further enhanced by the force of the arm behind the swing. Unlike broad instruments, it has a minimal impact radius and length, delivering all the force (excluding feedback) within that small space. Although the cane appeared straight, it still vibrated and acted similarly to a whip.   The cane should hum or whistle in the stroke and fall across the target with a sharp snap, like a pistol. There should be a pause between strokes, say, a minimum of five seconds. The result of a sound caning should be a welted impact site, while the force will determine the vividness of markings on the victim.

 

The arm and wrist motion is, therefore, a complex one.  At the beginning of the stroke, the hand leads the tip of the cane; it continues to lead throughout the descent; only at the last moment, after the shortest of follow-throughs, does the wrist halt and reverse direction slightly so that the business end of the cane "catches up" at exactly the right angle to the point of contact. The achievement of a good caning action is, hence a matter of some diligence and constant practise.

The result should be a perfect stripe across the broadest part of the bottom. This mark will immediately appear in white as you finish the stroke; then it will fade, to re-appear (if it has been a severe stroke) within less than a minute as a thin welt.

I have spoken earlier about the limits on using the cane. Feeble strokes merely tap the skin.

 

Savage blows can cut the skin, and again are to be avoided at all costs. 
 

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