Birch: erotic or just painful?

[spankandy]

I am a touch confused! My reading on the subject of the birch seems contradictory. Some writers say it is an impliment used for erotic 'teasing' and punishment but others say it is incredibly painful. Who is right? I'd love to hear from anyone with experience of giving or receiving a birching.

[Loretta]

I think it really depends on how much you like pain and also the spanker.
I have never been birched myself, my preference is spanking and caning. I assume birching is similar to being caned.
For me I do not enjoy being caned unless I am coaned wearing a pair of knickers in a comfortable position and given medium strokes in a slow manner.

[Master_Purity]

It can be both depending how it is used, used hard it cuts the skin in little tiny areas which make it painful but used gently it can be very erotic.
I have my own birch and as long as its soaked in water then drained for the right amount of time it can be fun to use or damn painful in punishments.

[busypartyman]

It can be both depending how it is used, used hard it cuts the skin in little tiny areas which make it painful but used gently it can be very erotic.
I have my own birch and as long as its soaked in water then drained for the right amount of time it can be fun to use or damn painful in punishments.

I run small birching parties in London monthly and find that most girls prefer the birch.I'm using the word birch as a generic term as most birches as described in accounts of Victorian times and judicials are not suitable for general play.e'g the Manx birch consisted of four four foot long half inch thick birchrods bound together and would require four prison officers to hold the offender down,it would take several days before he could walk again in comfort and several weeks for the marks to disappear.Not many offenders ,if any would seek another dose.The Eton birch which looks like a small bush was very painfully,drew blood and grazes even if soaked in water previously and made an unholy mess with twigs flying all over the place. The "birches" as used at my parties consist of 3or 4 (depending on thickness) 3ft long water-willow canes fitted into a sports handle at one end and tied loosely at the other end by an elastic band which may be slid up and down,depending on the required splay.Without this band the possibility of the back or lower thighes getting the benefit which again would not be my idea of fun.They need soaking periodically and generally last several months and can be very very erotic.No two of my birches feel the same,some "thud" others just seem to sink into the buttocks.Demonstrations (free)a pleasure .and of course I switch.Hope this clarifies the situation a little.

[bazza1946]

I prefer to be birched than caned

[Biology Beak]

I make up my own Manx Birches - from hawthorn saplings...same density and flexibility as hazel. Pain only with those rods.

[jennysub]

For some reason I find the birch intensely erotic. I think it has something to do with the sound effects both in delivery on arrival. Perhaps its also something to do with listening to tales of birching as a child and then in my Dommely days watching others being birched and with each tell thinking "lucky so'n'so"

[Nickysdown]

I think you'll find both reports are right!

At one end of the scale is the light birch rod of the type used in Scandanavian saunas. These are made from birch twigs often with the leaves still on and are used to open up the pores.

Punishment birches are made from a variety of different trees and the severity of each type of rod depends not only on its length and weight but also on the skill of the maker. As well as genuine birch twigs rods have in the past been made from willow, hazel, applewood, broom and more recently from thin rods of cane such as rattan.

The birch was probably at it's hight of popularity in the 18th and 19th centuries and was used in the home, at school and in prisons as a means of punishment and sometmes for sexual arousal as in the case of the famous Miss Theresa Berkley who used birch rods to beat her male customers while an assistant manipulated the penis of the birchee.

For home use birch rods were made from just a few birch twigs tied together to form a handle about two thirds of the length of the rod leaving an open splay of twigs at the business end. Rods were usually graded according to the age of the recipient and those used on younger miscreants measured around 34 inches and were known as maternal biches. The older the miscreant the larger the rod with older recipients being beaten with a rod of around four feet in length weighing up to sixteen ounces.

I have experienced several different birches over the years and would say that the most painful rod is that made from hazel. It bruises terribly and can easily break the skin if used with force. This was the type of birch used extensively in the Isle of Mann as late as the 1970s. Willow rods are made from thinner twigs so have a much greater sting. Though they do less damage to the buttocks the effect is still extremely painful. Rattan rods are often lighter than other forms of birch rod but will still give a satisfactory sting once a few strokes have been delivered. Soaking rattan rods for an hour or so before use will also improve their performance.

The most satisfactory rod is, in my opinion, one made from genuine birch twigs up to senior standard of around 48 inches and with a weight of around eight ounces. A freshly prepared birch is always best, though the twigs are at their best in early Spring when the leaf buds are small. Birch can be stripped of its leaves in summer but the buds are missing and it is these that produce the destinctive sting of a maternal rod. Springtime birches can be preserved in pickle or steep - a mixture of salt and water sometimes with vinegar added. This preserves the buds and makes the twigs more supple giving a whip like effect, somewhat akin to the French Martinet. The pickle that remains on the rod after its removal from the pickle jar has the effect of irritating the birched buttocks thus increasing the sting considerably. A birch rod made from birch twigs that is weilded with force will soon leave a tracery of thin red weals on the buttocks and after a few hard stokes it is likely that the skin will be broken and blood will be drawn. Used more lightly the rod can give considerable pleasure and a light to medium birching can be a delightful experience. One drawback to using the birch is that twigs break off with almost every stroke and the floor can be littered with pieces of birch twig, even after a light birching has been given.

I last experienced the birch on 28 March 2009 when I attended the British Caning Society Magistrates Court Day in the north east. Having been found guilty by the lady magistrates I was sentanced to twenty four strokes of the birch, twenty four strokes of a heavy leather tawse and twelve strokes of the senior rattan cane. After I'd been secured to the punishment bench the punishment was implimented s set out above. The birch rod used was one I'd made myself and I can vouch for the fact that a senior birch is a very painful impliment. Although not delivered with full force the twenty four strokes left my buttocks heavily marked with a fine tracery of lines and a few spots of blood were noticable. I was then tawsed and caned - each instrument having a painful but different effect. All together I recieved sixty disciplinary strokes but if I'd had to choose only one instrument for my punishment I think I would probably have opted for the birch because of its unique sting despite the light bleeding which after sixty strokes would have been very noticable.

Another aspect of a maternal birching is that while the post punishment sting lasts for a few hours the marks can take a couple of weeks to disappear completely. Do give the birch a try though as I'm sure that more people would enjoy this traditional instrument if it were more easily available and more doms were aware of its potential. Start with light strokes and work up to your limit slowly, I'm sure you'll find that highly erotic - savour the effects!

[Kydog]

It depends on the birch,the bircher,and how it's used.From my limited experience,the pain is different from a caning.A birch delivers an increasing sting,which can become very intense,whereas a cane can be very painful from the first stroke.

I found that the birch leaves less dramatic and long lasting marks than a cane.

Kydog

[anarchistic_masochist]

I've been wanting to be birched for a long time!