Sept 1993 - Nov 2007

Shadow died yesterday @ 2:50 p.m.

 

Site Changes
I’ve made a few changes to my site and have updated some of my photos. I’ve removed the photos that have included others and replaced them with ones of my leatherwork. I originally included pictures of people that I play with to give an indication of some of the things I like and the people that I’ve enjoyed doing them with. It was pointed out to me that those photos could be interpreted as trophy pictures and as that was definitely not my intent, I have removed them.

Collars
It is time for another leatherwork update. These collars are my latest work.

Cured
I just received the results from the LAIR Centre on my Hep C status and the virus continues to be undetectable in my blood. It has been over six months since I've ended the Pegetron tx so I am now considered cured and no longer have Hep C. I have been waiting for three weeks, probably the longest three weeks of my life, for the results and I just received them about ten minutes ago. I feel like I'm going to burst. Yah Hoo!!!

Time for an Update

Blog Update

It has been some time since I've updated my blog and now seems as good a time as any. My back has healed and it is probably as good as it is going to get. There is a vast improvement over what it was like before the operation and for this I am very thankful.

I had an excellent time on the east coast, visiting friends and family that I haven't seen for many years and making new friends there. you will always have a special place in my heart, sage.
I saw a lot, experienced a lot and ate a lot. Lobster, scallops, venison, moose and not nearly enough fiddleheads.

I have played with a number of women and a few couples in my search and while we have all had a great time together, unfortunately I have not found that special one I seek. I thought that my search was over, as you can surmise from my previous entry, but it was not meant to be.

So Far

It has been almost 2 weeks since my back surgery and I am feeling more like myself again. While it has been painful and I would not like to go through it again anytime soon, I can’t say that it has slowed me down all that much. No rest for the wicked and the righteous don’t need any.
I find myself at a crossroads, once again and look forward to what is around the next bend while gazing back, with affection, on where I have been. This has been a very interesting journey, so far and I have no idea where it may lead. I have met a number of people that I feel very strongly about, in a variety of ways. I met one who has touched me and taught me more about myself, than I knew or expected when I started down this path. I have met another and I am surprised by the intensity of my feelings for her and the speed at which this has happened. I don’t know how the story ends but I do want to explore possibilities with her and as she feels the same about me, I am excited and aroused by what lies ahead.

Leather Work

I have been busy doing leatherwork today and decided that it is high time that I posted a photo of what I have made so far. The blue suede and brown goatskin floggers are the latest additions. The leather restraints are padded and lined with suede.

Wax Play Safety and Hints (more from the internet)

For a first foray into the realm of bdsm many lovers choose to use wax. It is a very distinctive and unique sensation. One people usually love or hate. I thought I'd put together a few tips for beginners so they can do this with a maximum amount of safety.
First a word of caution. Wax can burn very badly. If you want to care for you partner in a way conducive to your being able to play again, you need to be careful.

TYPE OF CANDLES and WAX

There are many different types of candles available. The degree of heat of the dripping wax varies depending on the materials from which the candle is constructed. Beeswax is the hottest, and something that a beginner should avoid. I would recommend that a person not use it at all, but some experienced players do use this type of candle. It can cause second or third degree burns as there is often honey left in the beeswax which gives the candles their distinctive pleasant smell, but also holds the heat.
Other types of materials also cause the candles to burn hotter. You may see information that says the color of the candle makes a difference, and that is not actually true. Additives do make a difference, but the ones to watch out for are hardeners such as those used in dripless candles. Often the most expensive candles are the ones that burn with the highest degree of heat, for a beginner you will want to start with cheap, paraffin based ones. In my experience whether the candle is white or red or yellow actually makes little difference.
My favorites for someone just starting out are the novena candles available in the Hispanic section of most grocery stores (at least those in larger areas). They come in tall glass containers, and you can buy them without the religious pictures. The wax is very cool compared to most others, so a good choice for a first time. Another possibility are the emergency candles sold for times your electricity goes out. They too are usually very low temperature.

WORKING WITH WAX

The best way to see how a candle feels is to test it out on yourself. Allpeople do not have the same degree of pain tolerance but it will give you an idea. Light the candle, making sure you have a good place to set it down. If you have the novena candles the container is built in, if you are using a taper candle, make sure you have a holder that the candle fits snugly into, and the base is wide enough to avoid easy tipping. Never forget that you are literally playing with fire, and the few extra cents spent on a good candle holder are little weighed against a fire from a tipped candle.
Oh... I always have something nearby just in case a fire does get started, after all, if you have a bound and helpless person under your care, you will want to do your best honor their trust. A small fire extinguisher is not that expensive. At the very least a container of water and something to use smothering the fire should be nearby.
Okay, that said back to testing. Light the candle and set it aside to burn for a few moments. This will allow a small pool of wax to build up around the burning wick. Once you see a pool there hold your forearm out and holding the candle about a foot from your arm, tip it until one or two drops fall onto your arm. Use the sensitive skin on your wrist or elbow to get a feel for how hot this candle is.
I find the pain from wax to be a unique feeling. Very intense, but concentrated in a very small area. It happens to be one of my favorite kinds of painplay.
Once you know what kind of candle you are going to use (and you might choose a couple, a cooler one to begin with, graduating to a hotter one) you will be ready to experiment with your partner.
Many people find that being tied and blindfolded during wax play heightensthe sensations, not knowing where the next drop will fall, and being unable to move away from it can add a great deal to the erotic sensations.
Where to begin dropping the wax is mostly a matter of preference. But I would recommend, especially in the beginning, starting on the belly or back.
Drop a few drops and carefully note your partner's reaction. You can vary the heat of the drops by holding the candle lower or higher. Again, make sure you have a good idea of just how hot this is. Burns, especially on sensitive tissue are not usually much fun.
I have found in my experience that some of the most sensitive areas on both sexes are the inner thighs, the area of the belly that joins the hip, the nipples, and the genitals. I begin in a less sensitive area, moving to an occasionally drop on a highly sensitive one.
Remember that if you drop wax on top of wax, it will hold the heat in and possibly cause burns, so be careful when you layer.

REMOVING THE WAX

Peeling bits of wax off, is almost as much fun as dropping it. As it pulls away from the skin, the sensation is again intense, and running a feather or fingernails or even a tongue over this sensitized skin is a very sexy way to prolong the 'waxing' session.
Some people advocate oiling the skin before you drop the wax, this makes cleanup especially areas with hair, as in pubic areas or the chests of some males. This will make the cleanup much easier, as the wax does not adhere, but you must remember the oil will make the wax seem a bit hotter, and you cannot do the trick with the pulling away of the wax.
I have seen people use vampire gloves or those pet brushes sometimes used for sensation play, as an easier way to take the wax off, they work well, and do add another twist to your session.
Remember, wax has the potential to damage your partner... play safe.

How To # 1 (something more that I found on the net and thought was useful)

How To Build A Bondage Sawhorse

Supply List 1 Package of Sawhorse Brackets 4 – 30” long 2x4’s 1 – 38” long 2x4 12 – medium size screw-in eye bolts 1 Can Flat Black Spray Paint 3’ piece Carpet Padding 3’ piece of Black Vinyl Fabric

Before we began to construct the sawhorse, let's discuss the supply's listed above. We choose the black plastic sawhorse brackets because we wanted something that was lightweight, black in color and easy to assemble and disassemble and brackets that would allow different width's of the top board. The sawhorse bracket box shown below is perfect for what we wanted and we highly recommend them for your use.
The four 30" long 2x4's are specifically for the legs of the sawhorse and can be any length that you desire. Whatever size you select, be it 24", 30", 36" or more, will determine the height of the sawhorse and ultimately how high the person is that is placed on the sawhorse. A tall person might prefer a longer leg - say about a 36" because that would put the sawhorse high enough to work on the submissive without having to bend over and put a strain on your back. A shorter person might prefer shorter legs, say 24" or so. You can actually make them any height you want or have multiple heights if you prefer, but you'll need four of each height you choose. If you want, you can cut these yourself or have them cut to size at the lumber yard. The quality of the wood is not important since you will be painting over it anyway.
The top piece is the board that goes across the top of the sawhorse from one sawhorse bracket to another. We have selected a 2" x 4" - 38" long board, but again you can customize it to any length you desire. Most females are between five and six foot tall so if you're using your sawhorse for females only, than a 38" board should work out OK. A good way to tell is to measure your subject while on all fours (doggy style) from the tip of their head to the roundest point of the buttocks. To that number add a 6 extra inches on each end of the board for movement and to that add 4 inches for attaching to the sawhorse brackets. So then if they measure 30" from head to tail and you add 6" for subject movement and 4" for attaching to the brackets, you end up with a 40" board (30"+6"+4"=40"). Also, please note that you will need to drill a hole 2" from each end of the board so that your top board can house the bolt that will attach to the sawhorse brackets on each end..
IT IS IMPORTANT to remember that you'll need sawhorse brackets that accept different widths of the top board. If you click on the photo of the sawhorse bracket box above you will see that they advertise that you can use a 4", 6" or 12" wide top board. The reason this is important is that wider boards are more comfortable for longer play times and for people who are carrying more weight. The heaver the person, the more uncomfortable a narrow board can be so you want to purchase sawhorse brackets that will accept multiple widths of top boards. Also, if you turn your subject around and have them lay back on the top of the sawhorse, a wider board is much safer. Keep in mind, the more comfortable your subject, the longer they will want to stay on the sawhorse. Whatever discomfort they may feel, should be that which is administered AFTER they are positioned on the sawhorse.
The only thing you need to consider about the eye bolts is that they be the type that have wood screw threads on one end so that you can easily screw them into the legs of your sawhorse. And of course, the can of flat black spray paint is so that you can paint the raw wood you're using in the project. Also, you'll need to purchase a small piece of sponge foam carpet padding - something about 3' wide and the width of the padding. So you may end up with a piece 3'wide by 50" long depending upon the width of the roll of padding. This stuff is very inexpensive so pick up a nice thick piece.
In addition to the hardware store trip, you'll also need to make a stop at a fabric store. Here you will purchase the black vinyl fabric for covering the top board. Again like padding, this comes in a fixed roll width (say 40" wide) and your option is how wide a piece you want them to cut for you (say 3' wide) so you may end up with a piece that's 3' x 40" or so. The cost for the vinyl fabric we purchased was around $5.00 and we have enough to do top boards in various sizes.
The first thing we need to do is paint our sawhorse legs which should already be cut to size. We took a cardboard box and cut it in half and placed the legs across the two box pieces as shown on the left. We did this outside because the spray paint can make a mess if you do it indoors. Spray first one side and the edges and then when it dries to the touch, spray the other side. Keep in mind it's better to spray twice than put on so much that the paint runs down the wood.
Step Two After you paint the legs, you will need to paint the top board. However, since the fabric is going to cover most of the board, it only needs to be sprayed on each end about a third of the way into the board. Once all of your boards are dry, you'll want to put the fabric on your board. First, get our your stapling gun and wrap foam padding around the board as shown on the photo on left side.
Staple a line of staples into the to board leaving about six inches unstapled on each end of the board.. Step Three Next, wrap the foam padding around the board until the padding meets up with the side that it already attached then cut the padding so that the two sides butt together. Staple the remaining foam padding (as shown in photo on left) except for about six inches from each end. The reason you're leaving an unstapled area on each end is because you will need to tuck the black vinyl under the foam on each end. As you can see we are using a heavy duty staple gun because we need to use long staples.
Step Four Now begins the finish part. Place the black fabric so that it fits around the padded board and cut the length of the fabric about six inches longer than the padding on the board. Lay the fabric under the foam padding and fold it around to the back side as shown on photo at left side. Note that the seems of the foam padding and the fabric both attach at the bottom of the board. Center the fabric so that you have three extra inches on each end. Carefully fold the extra fabric and tuck it beneath the foam padding. Repeat the tucking on the other end of the padding.
Step Five Step Five is attaching the vinyl/leather fabric to the board. After you've folded and tucked the end pieces, bring together to two long pieces of black fabric so that each sides butt's up against the other side. If needed trim the fabric to fit snuggly against each other. DO NOT OVERLAP THE TWO PIECES OF FABRIC. When you're satisfied with the fit, begin stapling each side to the board. At this point, you are stapling through both the fabric and the padding, so you will need a reasonably long staple. Once stapling is completed, simply follow sawhorse bracket instructions to finish putting your piece together. Happy Horsing...

We think the test of any piece of equipment is how much access it allows us to the submissive. The nice thing about the spanking sawhorse is that it allows almost total access no matter where we put our subject. One of our favorite positions is to put the submissive laying down on her back with her ankles in leather restraints and attached to ceiling hung chains. This gives us complete access to the subject. Another favorite position is having the submissive sit on the sawhorse with her ankles in restraints and attached to the legs of the sawhorse while her wrists are also in restraints and attached to ceiling hooks. And then of course, a position of contrition for those subjects who need behavior modification.

Back Online

After a too long hiatus and too many hours in internet cafes, my computer has been returned and I am back online.