The must-have for your favorite games

What are the origins of the spike wheel?

What is the spike wheel

The spike wheel, also known as a spike wheel, is a BDSM accessory made of a 15 to 20 cm long handle and a wheel set with small spikes. Generally made of stainless steel, it is used to stimulate one's partner during erotic and SM games.

Not very well known by the general public, this instrument is also used to determine the limits of painful sensations in the person stimulated. There are plastic models, but these should be avoided for reasons of hygiene and resistance. The spike wheel is much more effective in metal and provides increased sensitivity, especially in areas with thin skin.

Test the spike wheel on the buttocks, breasts, inner thighs or knees, soles of the feet... Take advantage of your domination play sessions to explore your limits and those of your partner.

Where does the spike wheel come from?

The spike wheel is originally a medical instrument designed by the neurologist Robert Wartenberg. He used it to test his patients' reflexes and treat sensitivity disorders.

If Wartenberg's roulette wheel is still used by doctors, the SM community has reappropriated it as a sensational sexual object. It offers indeed surprising and very varied sensations to novices as well as to regulars.

This gadget, perfectly adapted to curious beginners, has one or more cogwheels. The choice of the number of wheels has a great effect on the feeling, and requires testing different models before finding the one that suits you best. Sets with several sprocket wheels are a good compromise for beginners or to broaden your horizons.

Very appreciated for the sensations it provides, the Wartenberg spike wheel is very widespread in the BDSM world. This accessory with a fetish design perfectly satisfies fantasies about the medical world. As pleasant to the sight as to the use, it is discreet, easy to store and to carry. Nice and cheap, it's the ideal tool to get into BDSM without apprehension.

What is BDSM?

BDSM is a group of erotic and sexual practices. If the games and accessories used are very varied, the only imperative rule is mutual consent. Both partners must take pleasure in their role and feel free to stop the session if a practice does not suit them.

Practitioners use physical restraint, pain, humiliation or even the staging of fantasies to arouse each other, sometimes as a preliminary to sexual intercourse. It is therefore important to talk beforehand and agree on what you want to try and what you are afraid of. Trust and listening make S&M games enjoyable and liberating, but they must be worked on together beforehand.

The four letters of BDSM are linked to several acronyms:

• Bondage refers to games of immobilization, using for example handcuffs, shibari ropes, bondage tape...

• Domination and Submission imply a contract between the two partners. One will be Dominant and will be able to give free rein to his impulses on the second, who will play the Dominated.

• The notion of Discipline puts in place a contractual respect of the Dominated towards the instructions given by the Dominant.

• SM refers to Sadism and Masochism. Taking its name from the Marquis de Sade and the historian Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, it is the pleasure of inflicting and experiencing pain.

Many BDSM accessories have been diverted from their primary function to become instruments of erotic and sexual games. This is the case of the spike wheel, but also of the famous handcuffs, ropes, candles and feathers, chains and carabiners, whips borrowed from the world of horseback riding, leashesand even gynecological examination tables.

Some of these practices have been popularized by the movies 50 Shades of Grey. The success of the American saga had the merit of defusing the taboos hovering over the world of BDSM, while de-dramatizing, for example, the fantasies of domination and submission.

To abandon oneself completely to someone allows to free oneself from the constraints and the daily responsibilities in a comfortable and secure environment. It is also a way to explore one's limits, to get to know one's body better, to refine one's tastes and to strengthen the bonds within the couple.

How to choose your wheel

There are several shapes and sizes of Wartenberg wheels, the biggest difference being the number of wheels.

• The single sprocket wheel has only one wheel. It is an ideal model for beginners, which provides a low intensity but perfectly bearable sensation.

• The double wheel has two notched wheels, which adds to the fun and excitement when using it.

• The Wartenberg wheels can be set with several wheels, sometimes up to 9 or more. The sensations are then multiplied.

Whether it's your first experience or to test a new model on yourself or your partner, choose a wheel that you like aesthetically.

Dominators tend to want to press harder with a single wheel, while a multi-wheel model better balances the pain and provides stability. Still, the number of spikes increases the tingling and pain experienced, so take the time to test several wheels to find the one that works for you.

Investing in a multi-wheel set is a good compromise to start and try different sensations, varying the sizes and number of wheels. There are also wheels with pimples that are attached to the finger, for a more intimate and instinctive handling, but also electro-stimulation wheels. Connected to an electro-sex case, they multiply the tingling sensations thanks to the sending of light targeted electric shocks.

Wartenberg's rollers are mostly made of stainless steel. Avoid plastic models, which are less durable and hygienic.

How to use a spike wheel

The Wartenberg spike wheel is a fairly simple BDSM accessory to use. Run the wheel over your partner's skin, whether immobilized or not, and observe their reactions. The spikes sting, but do not pierce, which allows you to insist on certain parts of the body. The places where the skin is thinner (like the inside of the arms or thighs, the breasts, the buttocks, the sex and the testicles...) are all the more reactive.

The effects of the spike wheel

Subjecting one's skin to the spikes provides various sensations, depending on the person's experience, sensitivity or thickness of the skin, for example. The dominant can also explore his sadistic power by watching his submissive writhing in pleasure.

Pain and pleasure are closely related in S&M, and often generate each other. The submissive relationship can also be fueled by the expectation and desire to be hurt.

The spiked wheel initially provides a simple tickle, then a tingling sensation to the point of pain. By controlling the pressure and the grip of the tool, the pleasure is increased tenfold. However, it is necessary to train beforehand, because pressing too hard will have very painful consequences. You could indeed leave deep marks on your partner's skin and lose his confidence. Work out a safe word with your partner to end the game if you need to, and don't hesitate to remind them of it before and during the session.

The dominant person's pleasure goes through all the senses as the cog passes over his partner's body. Observing his shivers and jolts in contact with more or less sensitive areas makes the salt of this tool very appreciated by the SM community.

Discover the spike wheel

This BDSM accessory is mainly used during hard and fetish erotic games. Some models of wheels are quite heavy and can be used as weights, but be careful not to press too hard.

To vary the sensory stimulation, don't hesitate to explore the buttocks, thighs, chest and back, before visiting areas less used to receiving caresses: the inside of the knees, the armpits, the back of the neck, the shoulders or the soles of the feet are generally very sensitive.

Associating the spike wheel with sensory deprivation increases the pleasure and surrender tenfold. Deprive your submissive of sight with a blindfold, mask or hood: focused on your movements, he will be as excited as he is impatient to discover what you have in store for him.

You are already familiar with the Wartenberg roller, and wish to discover electro-stimulation? Combining the two pleasures is a perfect preliminary for those used to advanced SM games. By combining tingling with electrical stimulation, your nerve endings will be even more alert and reactive.

Start with a classic wheel, then activate the electro-stimulation by staying below the waist. You can use a special gel to help conduction of electricity and lubricate the wheel. Complete this gentle torture by stroking your partner with your hands or mouth.