Sex and Metal's Severe Pinwheel was more terrifying than I'd anticipated.

Cautiously unwrapping it from its Styrofoam-lined packaging, I was struck first by its massive size. I suppose I hadn’t fully appreciated what a “three inch rotating barrel with 42 pointy tips” would entail. I’d fixated on the line from the site copy that compared it with “its shiny cousin, the Wartenberg Wheel,” conveniently forgetting the key word “unlike.” Indeed, if the Severe Pinwheel is at all related to the Wartenberg, it’s a fourth or fifth cousin. Where the Wartenberg is slim and light, the Severe Pinwheel is wide and hefty; where the Wartenberg is deft and quiet, the Severe Pinwheel is far less stealthy. Most importantly, where the Wartenberg’s molded metal points allow it to dance on the line between tickling and prickling, the Severe Pinwheel’s cut (one might even say jagged) steel spikes firmly place it in the territory of the Seriously Fucking Sharp.

And that’s not a bad thing. Big, mean, and unsubtle are all quality attributes for a BDSM toy, as are beautiful and hand-crafted—two other adjectives that apply to the Severe Pinwheel, and the rest of Sex and Metal’s BDSM Devices. The company has cornered the market on horrifying, high-quality steel toys, and an item from their inventory is a must-have for escorts who work with (or as!) masochistic bottoms. The Severe Pinwheel produces sensations on the shocking-to-seriously-painful spectrum, as well as actual shocks when it’s hooked up to an electrical device (the powdered coating makes it particularly conductive). Being metal, the toy is fully sterilizable and so works wonderfully for a real skin-breaking beating. Its intimidating appearance also makes it great for fear play and head games.

The severe pinwheel isn’t a particularly versatile toy, and it won’t help you out with more sensual sessions; that simply isn’t what it’s designed to do, and it can’t be faulted for that. It does deserve a little criticism for its cumbersome design, but perhaps that’s unavoidable when dealing with large quantities of mean metal and medieval sculpturing. Its only real drawback, then, is the fact that it isn’t very portable. It doesn’t come with a carrying case or storage box, and I resorted to wrapping it in a hand towel and placing it in a separate canvas bag to tote to my dungeon. I shudder to think what would happen if I tried to bring it on an airplane. But that’s a small inconvenience when it comes to the joy of owning something so gorgeous and so, so cruel.

Sex and Metal's Severe Pinwheel can be purchased here.

Disclaimer: Sex and Metal provided the author with the product for this review but did not provide any compensation for writing it. The review reflects the author's honest opinion and is not a paid endorsement.