Spanking and whipping are staples of the kink community. Many, many kinky folk enjoy impact play to some degree… be that a soft and gentle flogging or a more severe disciplinary caning.
Fortunately, we have available to us a hugely diverse range of tools and toys for delivering beatings of different types and severity. Some implements you’re probably already familiar with: the cane, the belt, the bare hand or the strap. Others are more esoteric… think birches, tawses, quirts and slippers.
Here’s a full list of spanking implements, featuring both the mundane and the bizarre. Whatever kind of impact play you enjoy, there’s bound to be something here to suit you.
Bare hand
The organic, skinsafe, additivefree choice – so universally enjoyable that I actually have two of them. Hand spankings can be both light and severe. One advantage to them is that they offer a lot of feedback to the spanker; when using the bare hand you reallyfeelhow hard you’re hitting someone.
Hand spankings – which can feature a lot of skinonskin contact – can also be wonderfully intimate.
Belt
A winner as far as convenience goes: whenever I’m wearing trousers (which I often am) a belt is usually on hand, and can be repurposed for kinky fun with a minimum of fuss. Belts are also good for lots of other things too: they can be used as restraints, leashes, and even gags.
It’s conventional for the spanker to coil the belt in their hand and deliver a nice stingy beating with the tail. That’s not to say you can’t use the buckle, but if you do you should be aware that it’s much heavier, much nastier, and that it has much more potential to cause accidental injury.
Birch 
A birch is basically a big bunch of birch twigs – a description which belies just how painful they can actually be. A wellmade birch is comprised of straight, clean twigs with all the sharp poky bits pruned off. A poorlymade birch retains its nobbles and points… and thus delivers a much more sadistic beating.
Birches are disposable toys (don’t worry, they break down in an ecofriendly way). Because they are porous and can draw blood, each birch should only ever be used on one person.
Cane 
A classic implement. People think canes are made from bamboo, but they’re not. Bamboo is what pandas eat. Kinky canes are usually made from rattan… a material that is far more flexible and less likely to break on impact.
Different canes deliver different sensations, but most canes are on the stingy side of the stingy/thuddy paradigm. They’re generally beloved because of their long history as an implement of punishment, and also because they leave very clean, attractive marks.
Cane (synthetic) 
You can buy synthetic canes in a range of materials, from acrylic tolexan. The different materials each have different properties… although, again, most canes err on the side of stingy rather than thuddy.
Synthetic canes have the advantage that they’re much easier to maintain than natural ones… and are in most cases less likely to break. They can also bereallypainful, too. Just so you know.
Club 
A rubber club resembles a police truncheon or other similar implement, but is made of rubber and is soft and light enough to leave bruises but do not real harm. These implements are good for imtimidation, and for beatings that are both stingy and thuddy at the same time.
Crop
A staple of BDSM. A short, flexible length of rod (usually wrapped with leather or another material) with a handle on one end and a flat keeper on the other. A crop can be used to achieve a variety of sensations – a sharp smack with the rod, or a more tender slap with the keeper. They also just look real kinky.
In vanilla contexts these are often used in horseriding and hunting… so beating a consenting partner with one is actually one of the least obnoxious uses a given crop might be put to.
Electric flyswat
Okay, so not technically an implement designed for spanking. But if youweredesigning an implement you could hardly do much better. A paddle which delivers a short, sharp shock on impact. If you know where to look you can find custom made ones that don’t look like they came straight from Poundland. There is no need to roleplay that your partner is a fly.
Flogge
A popular toy that consists of a rigid handle and multiple flexible falls – think catoninetails and you’ll be in the right general area. The implement of choice for domly doms who take themselves way too seriously. But also good for fun times and extended beatings.
Hairbrush
Another improvised option for when you haven’t planned ahead. A hairbrush will generally be available in your average household. Someone once asked me which end of the hairbrush is usually held and which is used to hit. Answer: if you can feel the bristles in your hand you’re doing it wrong.
Loop
A loop of flexible material such as leather, wire or plastic cord mounted at the end of a handle. Pretty uncommon. I had mine custommade by a friend out of USB cord – because I’m a nerd and I believe in recycling, that’s why. These vary enormously in terms of weight and severity. They produce a stingy sensation and some interesting marks.
Nettles
A freshlypicked bundle of nettles doesn’t deliver much of an impact, but the pain and discomfort they cause when used as a spanking implement definitely lasts. The spanker should handle nettles with gloves to avoid any discomfort. It is recommended that the spankee wears a thong or other underwear to prevent stings on the genitals… unless, of course, they’re into that kind of thing.
Paddle
Usually made of wood or leather, paddles consist of a handle and a flat surface. Their size and weight mean they can be quite painful. And noisy. And they leave some excellent marks. Variants include paddles imprinted with epithets such as “TULS”, designed to produce a labelling effect.
Quirt
Essentially similar in appearance to a flogger, but with only one or two thick falls rather than many thin ones, and a weird sillysounding name. Quirts can be used in a similar fashion to a flogger, but generally produces a sharper sensation, and are much more likely to leave marks. Difficult to find outside of the eighteenth century.
Slipper
The slipper, plimsoll or sandal is a traditional implement of punishment in many cultures. As well as being easily available, the weight and width of most slippers mean that they can pack quite a punch. Of course, you can select softer and fluffier footwear if you’re looking for a lighter punishment.
Strap
Essentially the same as a tawse but with a solid tongue rather than a split one. Not a huge difference in sensation, although the strap tends to be more weighty, and produce – to my ears at least – a somewhat less satisfying sound.
Tawse
A short strip of leather, the end of which is split into two thick tails. The name is Scots in origin (the plural of “taw”, which is Scots for belt or thong), and the tawse was traditionally applied to the palm of the hand. It works well in any fleshy area though. Snap.
Whip
You’re probably picturing a classic bullwhip, but these require an exceptional amount of space and quite a lot of practice to use correctly – plus they do more damage than you probably want. Shorter, more flexible whips are more practical for use indoors. Just know that, if you’re waving it around inside the house, it’s about one hundred percent likely that you’re going to knock something off a shelf.
Wooden spoon
The humble wooden spoon makes an excellent impact play tool. The handle can be used like a short rod, while the spoon acts more like a paddle. Generally speaking wooden spoons are light and stingy rather than heavy and thuddy, making them a good choice when doing light or exploratory impact play on sensitive parts of the body.
