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Elegant -> Care and Feeding of Floggers and Whips (7/17/2006 7:30:17 AM)
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In another post someone wrote:
quote:
As I have learned:
Conditioning leather is good when: you apply to whips and the handles of floggers
Conditioning/leather is bad when: you apply it to the tails of floggers
Cleaning floggers: if you want to refresh a flogger from time to time you may dry clean it without fear of damaging
Disinfecting leather is bad. It is harsh and unnecessary.There is an article floating around about the inability to pass pathogens from leather to people once the item has been properly stored a few days.
Horsehair: the critical element is keeping it combed after each use. you may get crazy and use salon conditioner or mane and tail or you can use dish soap and warm water the times you use it. it's preference and neither will hurt it.
I provide the following information as a toymaker, bootblack and leathercare (vanilla and kinky) professional.
TOPGRAIN FLOGGERS
Cleaning
Keep all toys clean and in good condition. Wipe topgrain floggers with a soft, barely damp cloth after each use. Handle and tails can be cleaned a few times a year with a quality saddle soap used sparingly. A quality leather conditioner (such as Feibings Aussie Leather Conditioner or Pecards) should be used sparingly as needed. Need is dependant on aftercare, storage, climate and amny other factors. When conditioning the tails only apply conditioner sparingly on the smooth, top grain side, not the suede like side.
Dr. Charles Moser, a nation’s leading authorities on sexuality-related medicine recommends hanging up floggers in a ventilated place for a week after use. HIV and Hep C viruses, cannot live outside the body in the air.
Storage
Leather is porous and needs to breathe. Floggers are best stored hanging. Use a cotton covering if possible (pillowcase or specially made flogger storage bag). You should store your leather in an airy, dry area that is not too hot or cold and certainly not damp. Do not store in direct contact with the flow of heating vents or near heating units and avoid direct sunlight as this will dry and fade leather. Avoid storing any leather items in plastic bags, plastic containers, tight drawers, car trunks, bathrooms or packed jumbled into a toybag or toybox.
SUEDE FLOGGERS
Suede really isn't very cleanable. It is too porous and generally you end up having to rub and scrape off the soiled surface of a suede to clean or remove stains (Almost like sanding it off a piece of wood). We tend to advise against suede because of this. The thing many people don't realize is that suede will last only about 1/4 as long as a topgrain leather toy of the same type. So in the long run buying a topgrain flogger is more economical, even if the initial cost is twice that of a suede one.
Cleaning
Keep leather toys item clean and in good condition. Let your suede flogger air dry after use, as moisture cannot be removed with a cloth. A special suede brush or suede stone will bring back the nap of the suede and might remove some dirt. Do not use cleaners, conditioners or scotch guard on suede.
DRYCLEANING LEATHER
The solvents used in 'dry cleaning' will damage the structure of leather. Many dry cleaners do offer 'leather cleaning' but send off these leather items to a speciality leather cleaning professional.
WHIPS
Use a soft cotton cloth to buff the whip after each use. Clean a few times a year with quality saddle soap. Sand and grit are a whip's enemy so pay special attention to cleaning and brushing out granules.
Use a quality conditioning dressing such as Aussie Leather Conditioner or Pecards or The Whip Man's Beeswax Dressing. Avoid neatsfoot oil as this will break down the fibers in the leather. Care must be taken that you do not over consition your whips. The best and most active whip enthusiasts usually fully condition their whips no more than every six months, with light exterior coatings in between.
Do not condition a whip to break it in. A whip must be used to get it 'broken in' and get the proper memory signature.
As with floggers, use conditioner on the handle sparingly! Conditioner will cause some loosening of the leather and overuse on the handles can cause the leather to twist, stretch and slide off the base material.
Use a cracker only on one person!
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