The Vampire Gloves by Kinklab are an opportunity to delve into darker play so please, exercise caution.

If you're quite familiar with needle play or if you're just starting, the saying, "Look both ways before crossing the street" completely applies here. The top of the Vampire Gloves are black buttery soft leather that appeals to all genders, however, flip the gloves over and you'll immediately note that the fingers are embedded with triangular metal spikes that are roughly 1/8" long . A warning, these are sharp, however, not as piercingly intimidating as needles that would immediately puncture the skin.

First and foremost, clean the spikes so as not to cause infection if you should happen to pierce the skin. Simply take a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol and carefully rub it against each metal spike, there are a total of 80 spikes per glove that are arranged in square patterns along the fingers so it will take you some time, but it's well worth it to offer your playmate a clean, hygienic experience.

Once clean, carefully slip the glove over your hand and snap the wrist closure shut. The medium size will fit women with larger hands, however, the wrist where it snaps tends to gap open. Other issues noted are that some spikes haven't broken through the leather fingers and are embedded between their backing and the top of the gloves. The metal studs can also be easily bent so be cautious when bending them back to their original position.

Another issue is that the leather gets scratched up very easily. If you rub your hands together while wearing the gloves, the metal points will cause superficial scratching that can be covered up with leather polish. Lastly, the only other issue had is that the tag promises; "prickly metal points on the palms and fingertips" but the spikes were only found on the fingers.

Brushing the tips of your gloved fingers over your partner will send electrifying chills up their spine. It's easy to become instantly aroused by the slight scratching of metal against skin. Light touches will take you far as what may seem mild to the one wearing the gloves, may be extreme to the one receiving the vampiric massage. Using a firmer hand, the metal spikes will cause indents to appear in the skin and may even pierce it, however, extreme force used when slapping or squeezing is required to break the skin. Scratching the skin will occur if you rub the gloves in varying directions as the angular points will go "against the grain", for those that desire a crueler hand, aim for scratching as it stings like thorns and immediately sends adrenaline through the veins of your victim.

Be careful to not expose your leather gloves to fluids or blood. To remove oils and oil-based lubricant use lux flakes in a few tablespoons of water and rub slowly onto the oil spots then rinse thoroughly. If exposed to urine, it needs to be washed immediately with warm soapy water (baby shampoo), the uric acid in urine is incredibly damaging to leather. For blood, leather becomes stiff and odorous so hand wash your gloves immediately. Leather that comes into contact with body fluids should be washed and disinfected. Also, make sure to clean the metal studs regularly and dry them immediately after contact with moisture as rusting can occur. To dry, allow it to sit out at room temperature, never put it in a dryer, and never leave it in a damp place as it can easily become moldy.

The Leather Vampire Gloves by Kinklab are a grand mixture of beautiful and cruel, they allow playmates to weave a little bit of danger and excitement into play that may have otherwise become a little stale.

I'm someone that frequently parks in parking garages. Sometimes it's late at night when I'm finally able to retrieve my car and I don't feel completely confident with pepper spray or a stun gun. The Vampire Gloves by Kinklab are an amazing addition to my personal safety. If someone were to grab me by my wrist or attack me, I would immediately use my hands to protect myself and any attacker would be met by the very unpleasant metal spikes squeezing his arm (remember, squeezing hard will cause the metal to pierce flesh) or scratching his face.

I LOVE these gloves! However, I recommend storing them inside of a shoe box, or a box by themselves, because the metal spikes become easily bent and it's a real pain in the ass to unbend them.