DeTails Toys has handcrafted floggers and leather toys in the United States since 1997. Over almost 30 years we have made approximately 20,000 of them, each one built by lifestyle players for lifestyle players. Our work has been featured in Penthouse Forum Magazine, named a Prized Find by Complex Magazine at FetishCon, and voted Best on the Web by JoyClub.de in Germany. Filmmaker John Cameron Mitchell used our floggers on Shortbus. Every flogger we sell carries a lifetime guarantee.
What Is a Flogger?
A flogger is a multi-tailed impact instrument used in BDSM, erotic play, ritual work, stage production, and film. The handle is typically 7 to 11 inches long and a good flogger is weighted with lead shot for balance. The tails, also called falls, hang from the handle end and usually number between 18 and 22 on a standard flogger, though configurations range from 9 tails (sometimes called a cat o’ nine tails and often confusingly called a whip or just a cat) up to 100 or more tails (often called a Mop).
Floggers differ from single-tail whips in that the multiple tails distribute impact across a wider area, which changes the sensation significantly. A well-built flogger produces a blend of two sensations that every buyer should understand before choosing one: sting and thud.
Sting and Thud: An Important Concept in Choosing a Flogger
Every flogger produces some mix of sting and thud. Sting is the sharp, surface-level sensation, and it is determined mostly by the type of hide/material that’s used. For hides, you look at the top “finished” side of the flogger. If it is firmer/shinier, has more edges or even retained more moisture in the tanning process, or is a material like rubber or bootlace it will sting more and also the thinner the tails the more sting. Thud is the deeper, heavier sensation, and it is determined by total mass: how thick the hide is and how many tails are on the flogger. Heavier hides deliver more thud. So do floggers with more tails.
Doubling the tails on any flogger shifts the balance toward thud. This is why a Double Elk flogger, with 35 to 45 tails of a light hide, produces what people describe as a cathartic slam despite the hide itself being soft. Same leather, same craftsmanship, very different sensation. You can make ANY type of flogger sting”IER” by adding tails.
Single, Double, and Matched Pairs for Florentine Flogging
Single floggers (18 to 22 tails) are often a good starting point. They are lighter and can make the hide feel a bit more on the stingy side. However, a single Deer will feel like an “almost nothing there” bedroom toy while a single bull or buffalo will be very formidable. Double floggers (35 to 45 tails) add significant weight and give you that cathartic thud feeling many associate with flogging. Again, a double Deer is almost necessary to have it feel like a flogger vs a purely role playing toy. A double bull or buffalo will give you massive thud and might bee too much for some people. Matched pairs, sometimes called twin sets, are two identical floggers cut from the same hide and braided to matching specifications at the same time. They are used for Florentine flogging, a two-handed technique where both floggers work together in alternating or mirrored patterns. On our flogger pages, any two items with the same stock number plus an A and B suffix were cut as a matched pair.
Browse by Intensity
We organize our catalog by intensity so you can skip directly to the range that matches how you play. Medium Intensity Floggers cover elk, moose, and suede, the hides most people want as a first flogger or an everyday flogger. High Intensity Floggers cover bull, buffalo, stock braid (Cats), bootlace, chain, latigo, rubber, and more for experienced players. Low intensity hides (deer, rabbit fur, soft suede) rotate back into the catalog when inventory allows. If you want to see everything currently in stock on one screen, the All Available Floggers page lists every piece.
Specifications
Our standard floggers are cut to the following specs. Tails are 1/2″ wide. All handles are shot-loaded for balance, a feature missing from the imported floggers sold at most online sex shops, and the main reason a DeTails Toys flogger feels so different in the hand.
The following is some general information about our floggers. Remember we are here to help you. Feel free to email us with your questions and we will be glad to walk you thru ordering.
| Number of Tails |
Tails Short |
Tails Medium |
Tails Long |
Handle Length |
Handle Circumference |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mini | 9-14 | 8″-13″ | — | — | 7″ | 3.25″ |
| Standard | 18-22 | 13″-16″ | 17″-20″ | 21″-24″ | 9″ | 3.5″ |
| Double | 35-45 | 13″-16″ | 17″-20″ | 21″-24″ | 9″ | 3.5″ |
| Cats | 9-12 | 13″-16″ | 17″-20″ | 21″-24″ | 9″ | 3.5″ |
| Mop | 65-100 | — | — | 21″-24″ | 11″ | 4.0″ |
Flogger Handle Patterns
Our handles are made by hand, braiding multiple pieces of leather in a choice of six patterns. The pattern choice is aesthetic, not functional. Every pattern uses the same shot-loaded core and distinctive pineapple knots.
