Knife play is considered edge-play by many people and involves the use of knives, daggers, swords etc as a source of physical and mental stimulation. They can be made of various metals or even fiberglass reinforced plastic. Knives are typically used to cut away clothing, scratch skin, cut the skin, or provide sensual stimulation.
*Legally, knife play is considered assault with a deadly weapon*
Knife play can be physically and psychologically erotic. It is also an activity that takes a great amount of care to learn properly. As with any sort of play that can potentially draw blood, extra care needs to be taken around disease. Knife play can be a form of fear play. For example the bottom can be shown a sharp knife and then blindfolded, and a blunt knife used on their skin.
There are 2 different opinions on the sharpness of the blade you should use, especially when you are just starting out. Both are right and work. The duller the knife, the less likely it is to cut someone. However, if a cut is made, then it will be worse than if a sharper knife made the cut. The sharper the knife, the more careful you have to be and this translates into better safety while using the knife. However, since not as much pressure is needed to cut than with a duller knife, an accident is more likely to end up being a cut or puncture.
There are also some common misconceptions around knife play. Knife play isn’t necessarily about cutting, a lot of knife play is about scraping, touching, abrade and rubbing rather than cutting; in saying that cutting does come into some forms of knife play but doesn’t have to.
Technique
There are various techniques you can use to stimulate the bottom in the scene. It is down to your imagination. Here are some ideas:
Putting a knife in the freezer/bucket of ice, you can put a butter knife in the freezer and when you run this over the skin of the bottom it will feel like you are cutting them. If you combine this with other things such as showing your bottom a sharp knife, blindfolding them and then running the cold blade over their skin.
Role playing: again this comes down to the imagination of those involved. Both parties have to buy into the role play for it to be successful. Examples that can incorporate knife play well are interrogation, sacrifice, kidnap, rape, punishments
Another technique is to dip the blade in warm water before running it over the skin in a cutting motion, the warm water trickling onto the skin of the bottom can cause them to feel like they are bleeding.
Using a long blunt blade you can spank/slap your submissive.
Removing clothes with a knife can really help with the fear factor. It is important to note that the clothes you are cutting shouldn’t be ones you want to keep.
You can use the above techniques along with the other types of sensation play such as sensory deprivation.
Safety
Knives must always be in the best condition they can be. Blades should be cleaned before every play session. Wash both the handle and the blade by hand, cleaning can be as simple as rubbing it with a soft cloth, and oiling it lightly with mineral oil, (high carbon steel WILL rust if not given a light coat of mineral oil from time to time) or as involved as scrubbing it with alcohol or germicidal soap prior to it’s use.
Beware of using the same blade on multiple partners without sterilizing it. Never “boil” a knife in oil or water to clean off the germs either. It can ruin the handle, or even warp the blade. It can also impregnate the steel with the oil itself, and cause it to lose some of it’s temper. That means you can no longer keep it sharp.
Nothing above the shoulders. Eyes and facial nerves are impossible to repair if cut or gouged.
When cutting you should pull the blade towards you slowly. Pushing the blade increases the chances of ripping and/or puncturing the skin.
