The Hand Spanker|The hand spanker is just that: a leather paddle in the shape of a hand. It is part of the Ruff Lust collection by Ruff Doggie, which, by the way, if you look them up by the company name you find out that their main business is selling dog leashes and collars. Makes sense to go from pet products to BDSM|BDSM accessories, but it still seemed a little amusing to us. The paddle came in a plastic cover and had a mostly tasteful tag on it that described the product as a “spank-her” and sported the slogan: “Who says a little pain can’t be pretty?” Well, that’s true, but this paddle doesn’t really do “a little pain” all that well.

Our first impression of the Hand Spanker was that it was very well made. One side is made of soft, pink suede and the other of very smooth black leather. The quality of the leather is very good and it has a very strong clean leather smell, which is probably one of the best scents in the world. I shamelessly sniffed this paddle. The red stitching (which is done by hand) adds a bit of a texture contrast and is a nice choice aesthetically.

This paddle is hefty—we’re talking very sturdy, but also very heavy for its size. The handle is wider than other paddles I’ve worked with and I also happen to have small hands. Actually, my hand is precisely the size of the hand on the paddle, and I found holding the paddle to be awkward and even a little uncomfortable. For someone with larger hands, this probably wouldn’t be an issue.

In action the Hand Spanker has good points and bad. This thing can hit. When I first gave my forearm a moderate slap-test, I could tell that this is a toy for tough subs. It produces a very loud slap and the impact is very intense and burning even with less forceful swings. The smack left my arm stinging for a good 30 minutes and I had a red mark for a full hour. It left my partner’s ass burning for about the same time as well. The contrast of soft suede and cold leather is very pleasant when dragged along the skin. The black side gives the sharp slap you expect from leather; the suede side produces a very blunt feeling thud. The suede had less sting, but felt more like you were being pummeled than spanked.

The ability to produce a great deal of pain with relatively little effort makes this a perfect toy for heavy punishment scenes and those into more hardcore BDSM. This would be best if worked up to with a gentler paddle and then used as the grand finale. If you are just beginning in BDSM, and want to see if your partner might like to be paddled for the first time, you’ll want to look for something lighter.

Besides the slightly awkward handle, the leather, especially of the hand, is very stiff and at first moves and swings more like a thick plastic or wood paddle than the traditional spring of leather. As a result, at first there is really only one angle open to get a good hit while other angles produce a dull thunk.

Did I mention that this thing is loud? We did a test and my fiancée could hear me trying this paddle out in our bedroom while she was outside our front door--hence the bee rating.

It comes down to the fact that this is most definitely NOT a paddle for a beginner. This is not an intro into BDSM, this is not light BDSM, but for those already versed in the scene and looking for a heavy hitter, this is a GREAT paddle for you.

Another word on preparing this paddle:

This thing needs to be broken in like a baseball glove. Now, you could try to find a very willing submissive to help you out with that, but you’d be there a long time. Your better bet if you want the paddle have a bit more flex would be to grasp the paddle at the palm with one hand and with the other hold the fingers and wiggle the paddle back and forth to stretch the leather. I’ve found after preparing the leather this way, I get a much more satisfying hit with more range of motion.

I got to experiment with this toy on my fiancée (after testing it out extensively on my arms and legs so that I could get a handle for what force produces what kind of pain level—safety first, folks!) and we both agree that this is a finishing paddle. It’s great if your submissive has a high pain threshold and is a slut for being hit (and luckily, mine is), but its ability to wield so much power should be watched carefully. While testing out on my arm just how hard this baby could smack, I burst a couple of blood vessels, causing me to bruise. Mind you, I bruise very easily, but this should be taken into account when using it on someone else. It’s a toy my sub looks forward to having in our regular sessions, but it’s still a toy she flinches to see me take out and has told me that she’s kind of afraid of it (in a good way, of course – it’s the kind of toy that makes her flinch and moan at the same time, which is thoroughly amusing and always a fun twist).

Public service announcement: when engaging in any heavier BDSM play|world of BDSM play, make sure that you have gone over any medical history concerns with your partner, have gone over the areas on a body that are safe to be paddled and areas that are not safe (i.e. the kidney area of the back). As with anything that has the potential to harm, be sure to do your research and become as educated as you can to keep everyone involved as safe as possible.