Looking like a miniature, toothed pizza cutter, the Wartenberg pinwheel doesn't immediately look like it would be a sex toy. Appearances, however, can be deceiving. The sturdy, chrome-plated device can provide an array of sensations ranging from almost ticklish to sharp pain. If you aren't into exploring BDSM, the Wartenberg pinwheel is probably not for you, but if light BDSM excites you and/or your partner, it is an ideal addition to any BDSM beginner's arsenal. This tool is also ideal for medical play. After all, this is a real medical instrument, used to test areas of skin for sensitivity in patients experiencing localized neural issues.

Using it is pretty straightforward; you grab the handle and drag the wheel across the skin of your partner. The less the pressure, the more it feels like a prickly, ticklish sensation. The greater the pressure, the more pain that is produced. Too much pressure can even draw blood, but one would have to be trying to do so for it to occur. Varying your pressure is important, not just to tease and torment your partner, but because certain areas of the body are naturally more sensitive than others. It can also be used like a mallet, inasmuch as it can be stuck on the skin to provide more focused pain.

I use it fairly frequently on my wife, and do it in coordination with other sensory play. Specifically, I place a blindfold over her eyes and ear plugs and industrial-grade ear muffs over her ears, thus denying her two of the five senses. As the axiom goes, when the body is deprived of one sense, the others make up for it, so when the body is deprived of two senses, it's easy to imagine how hypersensitive the other senses become. It is under these conditions where the Wartenberg pinwheel becomes devilish fun. Nothing gets my wife's endorphins rushing more than dragging it across her labia and clitoris. The combination of pain and pleasure it generates in these areas produces a sensation that my wife says is unparalleled.

I have literally used it on every part of my wife's body except her eyes, and the only place where it leaves a mark is between the navel and the area between the breasts. The red line of dots the pinwheel produces in this area do disappear pretty quickly, and I've yet to notice them the following day.

Cleaning could be a bit tricky considering what might get soiled is the prickly wheel, but we are able to wash it in the dishwasher with no problem.