Edgeplay: For the love of God, why?

[dexwebster]

I recently witnessed my very first session of razorplay. In a night which contained lots of MMFF, MFM, FMF, FFM, FMMF, BM/WF (cuckold), WM/BF (antebellum plantation), whipping, paddling, caning and spanking action, my sole memory of that night is the image of a relatively attractive young woman allowing her boyfriend to gently sawinto her skin with a straight razor until she began to bleed. I don't understand the appeal, and my memories of that night are all tainted by the sight of her blood against the steel. Please, explain the appeal of this type of play.

I think it's important to ask here whether you're actually looking for an explanation of "edge play", or an explanation of blood play/cutting.

They're not necessarily hand in hand, because one of the key points about edge play is that it's a very relative concept. People have edges in different places. Some people think a guy getting kicked in the balls is edge play, or a girl with 300 clothespins on her breasts, or someone getting cut with a knife or scalpel. Anything that pushes your personal envelope can be edge play to you.

Some people intentionally do things that they themselves consider to be edgy because they like the taboo, the transgression of the act. In some cases if they're doing it in public it's because they like to push *other* people's boundaries, they like having an audience.

For some people that's just what makes them hot. Being the aforementioned clothespin girl, I have literally been walking around a playspace with said clothespins on, completely fine and conscious and talking to people, still half dressed, and seen people shudder and walk away, because that was too extreme a scene for them to see. For me, it's pretty mundane.

It all depends on perspective.

 

[intothewoods]

I would like to experience suspension and needles, though I don't really think of this as edge play. It's edgy for me though! Breath play/choking play is really my weakness, but we have not gone there really. I have that whole fear of death thing. Still, ohhhh boy does that get me going.

 

[rthnck]

"edging" has been referred to as a masturbatory technique prolonging orgasm to enhance the eventual release. http://www.orgasmedging.com/edging.htm

Different from edge play but adds to the confusion

 

[Mansa Musa]

Thanks for the comments. And I forgot to mention the breathplay action, although I wasn't as disturbed by it.

 

[madetotakeit]

I intentionally allowed someone to place a knife against my skin once. It was more of an expression of the trust I had in him to let him do something that had become a deep seated fear. The fear reaction combined with the realization that I trusted him completely was pretty powerful. I have to admit, him kissing away the blood from the cut was pretty erotic as well as bonding.

I reciprocated, but I didn't get a charge from it. I would get a bigger charge when I would bite him to the point of breaking skin. Maybe it was a bit of a vampiric phase, but the taste intensified that sense of taking him into me. Like someone else said, it was more the essence of marking along with an abandonment that thrilled me more than the blood itself. Seeing the contrast of the bloodied lines tracing his shoulder blades and along his ribs from my nails, the crescents from my teeth on his chest was just, well...intoxicating. Proof of the animal coming out to play.

 

[YourCaptor]

I intentionally allowed someone to place a knife against my skin once. It was more of an expression of the trust I had in him to let him do something that had become a deep seated fear. The fear reaction combined with the realization that I trusted him completely was pretty powerful. I have to admit, him kissing away the blood from the cut was pretty erotic as well as bonding.

Wow, this is the kind of thing I would like to have some day.

When someone trust you so much, that even if you give every indication of ("harming" censored for it) them, they look at you without fear and are still willing to do anything for you. Thats love, and proof that I am not a monster. I imagine it would be a very special moment.

 

[VelvetDarkness]

my sole memory of that night is the image of a relatively attractive young woman allowing her boyfriend to gently sawinto her skin with a straight razor until she began to bleed. I don't understand the appeal, and my memories of that night are all tainted by the sight of her blood against the steel.

Even if you are naturally very kinky (and I'm assuming you have some interest in kink to go to an event like this in the first place) activities like bloodplay, knifeplay and breathplay are not at the shallow end of the pool. These things take time, trust and knowledge to work up to.

Please, explain the appeal of this type of play.

Personally, I find knives and blades a huge turn on. The coolness of metal against my skin and the unspoken threat that accompanies it is intensely arousing. All these types of play take my arousal and my post orgasm endorphine highs and shake them into an adrenaline fuelled cocktail of lust, fear and submission to the man causing that fear. Like EG said, you do things that cause you pain and fear but the kicker is overcoming that pain and fear because you want to serve the one inflicting it.

It's also good for predicament play. Master will sometimes place a knife against my skin and order me to be completely still while he uses me. If I am completely obedient, I won't get hurt. If I yield to whatever he's doing to me and squirm or move, I will get cut and it will be my own fault. These games only ever cause me shallow cuts but they are enough to drive me wild with lust and fear.

It's no accident that women have a much higher threshold to pain during sex and orgasm temporarily obliterates a great deal of pain. Master always jokes that women who refuse sex because of a headache would do better to submit to a damn good fucking than to pop two paracetamol. Holistic therapy if you will.

My point is that sex is supposed to be a risky and animalistic affair but most people don't include that element anymore. Kinksters like us though, crave the primal side of lovemaking and go out of their way to create scenarios that cause the body to react with the 'fight or flight' adrenaline shot to power sensation into levels that cannot be reached any other way.

Master has not interest in blood itself though. He would never cut me just for the sake of doing so. He has no interest in cutting, needles or razors. It has therefore become a limit of mine by extension. Personally, I have no fear of my own blood or of sterile cutting equipment. If he wanted to try these things I'd agree in a frenzied heartbeat.

I forgot to mention the breathplay action, although I wasn't as disturbed by it.

Master and I frequently engage in breathplay. We made sure we knew the risks involved and precautions that should be taken. However spontaneous these things may look, nobody (in their right mind) starts playing with this stuff without a game plan.

In our case, Master has never 'choked' me while I am bound an unable to signal. He is always in front of me, focused on my expression. I look him in the eye at these times and if my gaze ever drops or wanders he releases me. We do this for just a few seconds at a time and he is very careful about the amount of pressure he applies. In short, as far as possible we have minimised the risk to me.

More recently, he has stopped even placing his hand around my throat. I have epilepsy and so there is a slight risk of seizure if he cuts off blood to my brain for too long. He places his hand over my mouth and nose and I can hold my breath like that without a problem for far longer than if the vessels in my neck are pressed on. I may sound like a crazy fool but it's my risk to take and he has no wish to damage me in any (permanent) way.

Why do it at all? For me (and for Master too) it is a superlative form of submission, to be dependent on another for your next breath, or in his case; to literally have my life in his hand. Master also enjoys mindfucking me with it. He'll say things like 'It would be so easy to kill you' with a hand over my face and at that moment, I know he's right. I am nothing more to him in that one moment than mutely obedient slaveflesh with a few convenient orifices. It makes me feel worthless and expendable, which combined with the vulnerability of being denied breath, just kicks the shit out off all my really nasty, humiliation buttons. Killing me would indeed be incredibly easy for him, if he ever decided to do it. We both know that he has absolutely no desire to break his favourite toy and values me above anything else in the world but it adds an edge to our play for him to remind me just exactly how all encompassing my slavery to him is.

If he stops my breathing just before I cum, the orgasm is so intense. There really is no way of describing just how it heightens everything. Edgeplay like this is such a bonding experience, mainly because there is risk involved. By the time Master is finished with me, I'm pathetically grateful just to be alive and conscious, which is exactly how he wants me to feel.

*shivers, smiles and wanders off in search of a cold shower*

 

[SweetErika]

oh, I thought edge play was masturbating, or a partner playing with you just to the edge of orgasm, but not allowing you to go over. Just dancing on the edge of release, keeping you there for long periods of time. Then letting yourself come down, then back up and edge....repeat, repeat.
I have been instructed to play like that, to keep myself sexually excited and aroused on and off throughout the day. No orgasm allowed for days on end. That is what I thought edge play was.

Using razor blades to slice and cut was called blood play.
I get so confused sometimes.

Sometimes getting to the edge of orgasm, then backing off, several times is called "edging," so I understand the confusion.

I consider "edge play" to be anything on the edge of safety, or the stuff you have to be exceedingly careful with, for fear of causing more injury than the typical scratches, bruises, etc.

I'm not into cutting and the like, but fireplay gives me an amazing rush and requires a lot of trust, and that's the appeal from both sides for me.

 

[avraxas]

Why are people so alarmed at the sight of blood.trickles and flows are ok ..what you dont want to see is gushing.and pools....I asked a girl once who was in to cutting her self..and i asked her was it the release of the endorfins she got from cutting that she enjoyed..and she said yes.BUT the most enjoyment is the cutting its self,to watch the skin open up and then the moment that seems like an hour to see the first trickles of blood forming from the cut then she said its the air that hurts and its the air that releases the endorphins.this girl was in her early 20,s and i swear if you blinked you would miss all the scars all over her body..so many..but all where shallow cuts nothing deep more like an over zized paper cut ..now they hurt//ouchyyyyyy...

 

[kinkyknickers]

Whatever it is, blood is a physical sign of trauma, trauma=pain, pain=exstasy.
Some of us just like to hurt.
Sure it's not "normal". But who the hell wants to be normal?
I think brussells sprouts are disgusting, you might like 'em. It's as simple as that.

 

[CyberChas]

Edge Play versus Edging

From what I have been able to find, "Edge Play" is about doing things that are "on the edge" of safety, comfort zones, etc.

There's a pretty good definition from WipiPedia: here

On the other hand, "edging" is about keeping the tormented victim right on the "edge" of the moment when orgasm becomes inevitable even without any further physical stimulation, but not allowing the release to occur. A component of the Sexual Frustration/Orgasm Denial sphere of play.

There's a decent write-up here and somebody obviously has a strong interest, as they have bought the domain orgasmedging.com and put up some interesting information.

BTW, I'm all for edging and squick right out on most edge play. Not that I would be dumb enough to ever say "never" but it's not on my dance card right now. Of course, if you'd told me a year ago that I was going to let somebody poke me with a red hot metal poker 100 times not once but TWICE, I would have told you that you were totally nuts.

If it floats the participants boats and they are aware of the risks (RACK) then all the best to them.

 

[KING61A]

Edge Play

oh, I thought edge play was masturbating, or a partner playing with you just to the edge of orgasm, but not allowing you to go over. Just dancing on the edge of release, keeping you there for long periods of time. Then letting yourself come down, then back up and edge....repeat, repeat.
I have been instructed to play like that, to keep myself sexually excited and aroused on and off throughout the day. No orgasm allowed for days on end. That is what I thought edge play was.

Using razor blades to slice and cut was called blood play.
I get so confused sometimes.

I am quite new at BDSM but it is my understanding that edge play is knife play. On the other hand I really love ADAKGIRLS' interpretation of edge play. The wonderful man that gave me my very first BJ got me to the edge and held me there and wouldn't let me cum. He did however rim me forever and that alone was ABSOLUTELY THE BEST SEX EVER I had had at that time. I was 19 or 20 at the time. I have always judged the quality of a BJ against this first BJ. But alas I have never been rimmed since like that first time. Perhaps that's why I am addicted to anal sex. I love to get banged or fucked in the ass...ANY TAKERS??? Peace

 

[Stegral]

knife play

I recently witnessed my very first session of razorplay, my sole memory of that night is the image of a relatively attractive young woman allowing her boyfriend to gently saw into her skin with a straight razor until she began to bleed. I don't understand the appeal, and my memories of that night are all tainted by the sight of her blood against the steel. Please, explain the appeal of this type of play.

I will agree with others that "edgeplay" is any play that edges on hard limits.
I do LOVE knife play. To me though it is NOT edgeplay.
I cannot do the standard spanking, bondage, humiliation, impact play.
All of the above send me into a full blown panic or a sobbing puddle of flesh.
I find knife play very sensual & intimate. Impact play like caning, flogging & whipping are normally done at a distance, humiliation can also be done without close contact, but to draw blood properly you need to be close to your subject so when I am played this way it feels very personal.
I have been cutting myself since I was 12ish...
Back then it was like a pressure relief from the dysfunctional life I had.
NOW it is extremely arousing, very pleasurable & wonderfully soothing.
I have pics of my "markings" in my personal thread.
I trust my "top" fully with my back every time I expose it for him to "draw" on.
We have been playing almost 2 years now with him only new-years eve breaking skin. He normally just welts it with the knife, wheel & other toys. I normally carry my "marks" for about a week, with the some of the ones from new-years lasting almost 2 weeks. He has drawn different "patterns" lie boxes, wings, trees, grids & such...

When I try to explain it to my kink-friendly but still 'nilla friends I tell them:

"It is like fingernails down your back during sex, only more controlled & lasting ALOT longer"

*now for a cold shower before I head out to play *

 

[razorsedge]

That's exactly it.

Why are people so alarmed at the sight of blood.trickles and flows are ok ..what you dont want to see is gushing.and pools....I asked a girl once who was in to cutting her self..and i asked her was it the release of the endorfins she got from cutting that she enjoyed..and she said yes.BUT the most enjoyment is the cutting its self,to watch the skin open up and then the moment that seems like an hour to see the first trickles of blood forming from the cut then she said its the air that hurts and its the air that releases the endorphins.this girl was in her early 20,s and i swear if you blinked you would miss all the scars all over her body..so many..but all where shallow cuts nothing deep more like an over zized paper cut ..now they hurt//ouchyyyyyy...

Some people like blood. Some people like pain. Lots of people like sex. There's got to people who like all three, like me. I've never mixed razors and sex, but the idea makes sense to me, I understand that sort of endorphin high perfectly, because I'm a "recovered" cutter.

I also understand how freaky razorplay is to a normal person, but hey to each his own. Sometimes things turn you on that you wish didn't.

 

[ataxia.girl]

i am drawn to and find many things erotic that do not necessarily turn me on. Bleeding for someone and enduring intense pain are in that realm. i find the blood dripping down my breasts erotic but it doesn't "turn me on" in the sense that it doesn't make me want to cum or even masturbate. For me it is its own experience and need not have anything to do with being sexually turned on. It is more of an emotional experience than a sexual one really although it is sexual as well.

 

[TeachMeSir]

I intentionally allowed someone to place a knife against my skin once. It was more of an expression of the trust I had in him to let him do something that had become a deep seated fear. The fear reaction combined with the realization that I trusted him completely was pretty powerful. I have to admit, him kissing away the blood from the cut was pretty erotic as well as bonding.

.

I'm jealous. But it is a serious trust issue for me. Something that may be pushed but I'm not sure where the limit is. I have a scar on my thigh from my Mother over reacting to my Fathers temper & using a knife in self-defence. I stood on the kitchen counter (I was very young) in between them & she swung with the knife, slashing me very close to my femoral artery. I love knives (I have something like 3 dive knives!), and I like blood... but the thought that I would want someone to hold a knife to me is a huge display of trust.