More and more kinky couples are discovering the sensations and benefits of enforced chastity play. Recently, the availability of rapid, low volume manufacturing processes such as 3D printing have made high quality, custom fitted cages a reality. Enforced chastity can be enjoyed occasionally, or as an integral part of a kinky lifestyle. It can be great fun for both parties and can be ideal for power exchange dynamics. As a designer of custom chastity devices and the founder of Evotion Wearables, I am keenly aware of the challenges of getting a chastity device to fit properly. I’ve also noticed that there is much confusion about the capabilities of 3D printing. I’ll try to answer a few common questions here.
Why would anyone wear a chastity device? Lot’s of reasons, but mostly, chastity devices provide presence. The key holder is always there, represented by an irremovable device locked onto the guy’s most personal body part. It’s a way to keep the fun going between sessions, play, or sexy time. It keeps the key holder in the forefront of the wearer’s mind throughout the day, and provides a building sensation of stimulation that makes the wearer grow more and more desperate for the attention of his partner. Some people get a thrill from wearing women’s underwear, having secret piercings, tattoos, wearing a butt plug, etc. Anything elicit and potentially embarrassing can give little thrills throughout the day that coworkers and friends know nothing about. With chastity, the device is locked on, and the guy is reminded often that he is committed and that someone else holds the keys to his privates. Every trip to the bathroom, every shower, even shifting in a chair reminds him of his situation.
There are quite a few devices on the market today. The cheapest ones can be considered “starter devices” as they are made of inexpensive plastic and most come in one or just a few sizes. These mass produced devices can be good to get some experience in chastity, but they are cheap for a reason, they rust or break in no time, and they usually hurt.
Since male genitalia are so widely varied in size and shape, only a handful of people get lucky enough to find a commercial cage that fits. Many products have little or no ergonomic shape to them, they just end up falling down or pinching, and quickly become unwearable. Once someone finds chastity working for them, they will likely want to invest in a quality device that fits their body.
Naturally, some manufacturers started offering custom chastity devices a few years back, all of them in steel. Some were sculpted in wax and then cast in metal, which often results in a rather ugly, heavy device that looks a little bit garage-made. Others are glorious works of CNC machining that cost thousands of dollars and require months of waiting. Furthermore, when one of these devices didn’t fit right, the buyer was out of luck! They are also extremely heavy. With the advent of 3D printing technologies, it became possible to manufacture one-of-a-kind plastic devices for reasonable enough prices that if an error is made in sizing, an adjustment can be made affordably.
For a long time, the quality was too low, and the surface finish too rough to be worthy of a commercial product. That was the state of the industry when I started Evotion Wearables. At that time, 3D printing technologies were still not ready, but we saw the potential and started experimenting with surface treatments that could produce the finish we required. Furthermore, I noticed that there was room for improvement as far as fit, design, and ways of securing the device.
Today there are a handful of custom manufacturers, but buyers should research carefully to see what the surface texture and materials are like before buying. Eventually the quality and price of 3D printed steel improved enough to make it possible to create fully custom steel cages for attainable prices. Again, the surface quality wasn’t good enough, but we found solutions to that problem as well, and we are now offering custom steel devices with incredibly high quality and durable finishes.
Fitting a chastity cage is just plain tricky. The penis changes size and shape constantly. But it can be made to fit just right as long as people follow a few simple rules. First of all, you have to measure while flaccid! Most people that want to order a custom device are pretty excited about the prospects, and naturally, they are turned on during the measuring process. Even if they think they are pretty much flaccid, they are often chubbier than normal! We tell people to try to surprise themselves when they haven’t been thinking about anything sexy in a while, and take the measurements quickly while they are at their true normal flaccid size.
Circumference, rather than diameter, is the way to get the most accurate measurement. A cloth measuring tape, like the ones tailors use, works best. If you lack a tape measure, a piece of ribbon can be wrapped around and marked, then laid out on a table and measured.
Our devices all share one common feature, they rest their weight on the glans (the head), rather than the balls or the piercing. We give them a lip around the inside of the shaft that sits right behind the glans, and prevents the head of the penis from slipping back into the shaft of the cage. The purpose of fitting behind the glans, and of asking people to measure so accurately, is that we want the device to stay in place throughout the day and not slip down. It works because the glans can easily support the weight without starting to hurt after wearing for a prolonged period, and because as the penis grows, the device can remain in place. When you order from us, you provide a shaft size, and we make the lip a few millimeters smaller inside than that.
There are two main ways to prevent a chastity device from being removed. One is trapping the balls. The other is securing with one or more piercings. Even “ball trap” style cages should rest their weight on the glans. That way they will naturally stay positioned during the day, and if there is a piercing involved, the weight of the device will not rest on the piercing. This is important: piercings can be used to prevent removal, but not to support the device!
Ball trap devices are the most common style on the market. They don’t require a piercing, just a ring behind the balls at the base of the shaft. The balls can’t fit through the gap between the ring and the shaft of the cage, so the device can’t be removed. An erection will tend to push the device forward, which pulls on the balls, which can cause pain at night from sustained “night wood”. If the device is too big, the wearer can simply pull their shaft out through the back of it, masturbate, and stuff themselves back in. However, a cage that is the right size, will stay in place without hanging from the balls, and it can be very hard to cheat on because pushing one’s self back into it while the device is locked is virtually impossible.
Wearers with a piercing (usually a Prince Albert but others can work as well) have the option to use a tube style device-basically a tube that fits the penis exactly with an attached pin that goes up through the piercing and out through the pee hole. A less invasive “frenum” piercing, which simply goes through a bit of skin at the base of the glans can also be used to secure it. The cage doesn’t need to cover the entire shaft; it just needs to enclose the head (glans). Inclosing the head provides all the security, containment, and sensory deprivation necessary to make masturbation extremely difficult or impossible. At Evotion we offer cages of both styles, and we can adapt most of our designs to a wide range of different piercings. For real hardcore enthusiasts, a piercing is still the only inescapable, truly un-cheatable solution.
There is a lot of confusion about 3D printing and its capabilities. There are numerous printing technologies, but it is always an “additive” process in which small amounts of material are added in very thin layers to build up an object. All 3D printing technologies have significant limitations. Furthermore the buyer should remember that a designer has to build and prepare every model on the computer. It is no more automated than an app like Word or Photoshop. A person still has to do the creative work even it its only small changes to an existing model. Furthermore, every 3D printing technology produces parts that then require hands-on work to finish. Removing support material, sanding, polishing, and multiple other processes for achieving a quality end product.
In general, enforced chastity is a penance. It’s hard on the wearer, and it’s something that should be taken seriously if it’s going to be used long-term. The key holder should remember that the wearer must be released periodically for cleaning and simply to make sure everything is okay down there. And a bit of touching now and then can really help make the hard times worth it!
Of course there are challenges that will test the wearer’s commitment. Nighttimes are the worst. A chastity cage should fit when the man is flaccid, so that it stays in place, and so that erections are uncomfortable and unfulfilling. If the device is sized right, it will be comfortable while flaccid, and too tight to cum in or pee through when erect. Cages that are too big are cumbersome, they hang from the balls or piercing, and take up way too much space in the pants. The best solution for being woken with a painful erection is to simply get up, walk around a bit until the boner relaxes, then pee, and go back to sleep. No biggie.
Cleaning and drying are essential for healthy chastity play. Flushing lots of soap and water through the device, rinsing well, and then really drying it out thoroughly will help with odors. A periodic soak in a solution of vinegar and water can also help with persistent odors.
Chastity play does not need to mean total, long-term denial. It can simply prevent unsupervised touching or cheating. The partner with the keys gets to decide when they feel like having some sexy time. Some guys crave ruthless long-term denial, but most still want to have and enjoy sex, just in a controlled way. In either case, a man needs a comfortably fitted device that he can live in (and carry on with his daily activities) and that prohibits him from pleasuring himself.
Many guys who crave to be locked into a chastity device won’t ask for it. In a way, asking to be locked up is antithetical to the whole dynamic. They would prefer that it be asked of them or even demanded of them. So, if you have a devoted male partner, you should consider getting him under lock and key-the sooner the better!
About the Author
Andy is a designer and illustrator from the U.S. He has lived in California and New York and he is an active participant in the sex positive communities there and across the country. Andy started Evotion Wearables in 2015. Today he and his partner Yvonne run Evotion from New York.
evotionwearables@gmail.com