Spanking implements: origins and purpose!

It is always interesting I think to know the origin and purpose(s) of a spanking implement! By origin I mean its history and background.

The walnut hairbrush my mom use to spank me with she discovered and bought at a garage/yard sale in the late 40s! Obviously its history up to then remains a mystery! But she always maintained that it was one of her best purchases ever! It was intended to be a spanking implement from the start; that was its sole purpose!

To my knowledge it never brushed anyone's hair. Not in our home anyway! It had in our home no dual purpose. Its only function was to blister backsides; something it did very effectively!! The only side that mattered was the hard, wooden walnut one and not the side with the boar bristles! The walnut wood seemed to acquire a smooth and shiny patina over the years during which it was deployed as a spanking implement! Mum always joked that it was "the natural oils in the skin of our buttocks that gave its 'business end' such a polished appearance!" She may well have been right! Haha!

Auntie Ruth had a paddle; an obviously single purpose implement! She had it purposely made by a drinking and card playing buddy of hers called Frank who was a very skillful carpenter/cabinet maker who produced highly ornate furniture and other items! It was made of cherrywood and the business end a solid rectangle had 4 holes drilled into it to give it extra velocity. It produced an incredible sting and burn upon impact with bear (buttock) skin and invariably after 2 or 3 swats would leave bisters! Ruthie always gave you a swat for each year of your life with, depending on her mood at the time, 1 or 2 bonus swats. Bonus for who I always wondered! lol

So in a manner of speaking BOTH the spanking implements in our house were single purpose ones!

When i was older, about 12 or so, mom used a rubber hose about 2' long about 1/2" inside diameter.

OUCH!

For the last 50 years my wife has been using "MY" bath brush! Really wish she would use a paddle with holes in it 😃

It is interesting how the instruments of childhood chastisements vary by country.

England -- Cane and Birch

France -- Marinet

Japan -- Paddle and Switch

Scotland -- Tawse (My grandparents came to America from Scotland. Thank God they didn't bring a tawse with them because I never felt one.

Germany -- Strap

America -- Paddle, Switch & Hairbrush Dad founded a chain of discount drug stores yet shaved with a straight razor. I always thought I should buy him an electric razor for his birthday or Christmas but though didn't of it when the times came. One great thing about gowing up in the suburbs of Dallas is that there was not an overabundance of mature trees.

My dad didn't have a razor strop so I was never spanked with one. Is it more severe than a leather belt on the bare bottom? I did get that from my dad a few times.

I suppose one could say we live in a "Golden Age" when it comes to the internet availability of nearly any spanking implement you can imagine. Over the years I've accumulated several but have always thought nothing could match a wooden paddle for inflicting the most pain and bruising. Still, each implement has it's attributes. The cane seems to be unique in the sequence of stinging followed by a deep burn. I spent 2 years shaving with a straight razor just for the hell of it, so have 3 sturdy, functional razor strops. A very resounding smack when one meets a bottom. But, although I can't explain it, the most painful implement I own seems to be a Scottish tawse I bought years ago from The London Tanners. Not sure what it is about it but Man! Does impart real pain!

Neither of my parents had a paddle, and the school I attended didn't use them either. I first encountered them in adult spanking videos.

The good old wooden spoon was used by my mother. Problem was when it landed on my hands or arms instead of backside.

It is interesting how the instruments of childhood chastisements vary by country.

England -- Cane and Birch

France -- Marinet

Japan -- Paddle and Switch

Scotland -- Tawse (My grandparents came to America from Scotland. Thank God they didn't bring a tawse with them because I never felt one.

Germany -- Strap

America -- Paddle, Switch & Hairbrush Dad founded a chain of discount drug stores yet shaved with a straight razor. I always thought I should buy him an electric razor for his birthday or Christmas but though didn't of it when the times came. One great thing about gowing up in the suburbs of Dallas is that there was not an overabundance of mature trees.

Very informative and interesting! I never knew that Japan had a strong tradition of the paddle and the switch! Or that Germany had a strong association with the strap!

The good old wooden spoon was used by my mother. Problem was when it landed on my hands or arms instead of backside.

Excuse my humor! Her aim was clearly not very good and she was obviously a lousy shot!

I suppose one could say we live in a "Golden Age" when it comes to the internet availability of nearly any spanking implement you can imagine. Over the years I've accumulated several but have always thought nothing could match a wooden paddle for inflicting the most pain and bruising. Still, each implement has it's attributes. The cane seems to be unique in the sequence of stinging followed by a deep burn. I spent 2 years shaving with a straight razor just for the hell of it, so have 3 sturdy, functional razor strops. A very resounding smack when one meets a bottom. But, although I can't explain it, the most painful implement I own seems to be a Scottish tawse I bought years ago from The London Tanners. Not sure what it is about it but Man! Does impart real pain!

Yes in that respect "we (you) have never had it so good!" Without wishing to qoute former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan! We are certainly spoilt for choice! I have heard from Scots who have emigrated to America that the tawse has a fearsome reputation!

My mum had a wooden spoon but she never once used it for spanking, it was a cooking utensil and nothing else. If I misbehaved in the kitchen my mum would spank me with a slipper on my bare bottom, bending over a stool.

In my childhood, a belt was most often used to spank children in Poland. I was also punished with a belt, but it wasn't just a belt. It was my father's old belt of medium width (about 3 cm). It was double folded and stitched. Instead of a buckle, there was a metal semicircle for hanging it. The belt was shortened a bit - after folding it was about 35-40 cm (not preserved, so the data is approximate). It was made of quite soft leather, so the double folds gave it some stiffness. In my childhood and teenage years, I was afraid of him.

The second spanking tool was a ready-made leather tool. It's hard for me to translate its name - a martinet would be the most similar here. The difference was that it was a piece of thick leather cut into 9 thongs. The handle was made of a prepared roe deer leg. It was a replica of the old whipping implements. It was bought at a traditional gift shop. Officially, it was just a souvenir, but it was usable. It was quite painful, but my mother used it carefully and quite rarely.

In Poland at that time, children were most often punished with a belt, but there were also other punishment tools. I have never heard of a child being punished with a wooden spoon or a wooden paddle or a hairbrush. Usually the objects used for spanking were pliable. Punishment was usually inflicted with them on the bare buttocks.

@James1951 Although I have been to Japan numerous times on business, I have never been in a home or school environment. I based my post on pictures that I have seen of Japanese schools. Furthermore, my post should have read Paddle and Stick (Bamboo), not Paddle and Switch.

Since we are on the subject, does anyone know anything about Israel or China?

My mom used to punish me with a wooden spoon. It was an ordinary wooden spoon from the kitchen utensil drawer. Actually, I don't even know if it was the same wooden spoon every time or if she alternated them. Her second favorite tool was a leather belt. This belt was relatively short, thin, and woven from two leather straps into a sort of flat braid. With hindsight, I guess it was either a child's belt or the leather strap of a lady's handbag. It hung on a hook in the closet, and since I never saw it on any other occasion, I think Mom reserved it especially for my spankings, though she never labeled it that way herself. Anyway, whenever she threatened to "Should I go get a belt?", I knew she meant THAT particular belt.

At 8 my dad began to use a wooden spoon on my bare ass.

@James1951 The walnut hairbrush my mom use to spank me with she discovered and bought at a garage/yard sale in the late 40s! Obviously its history up to then remains a mystery!

No mystery about the wooden hair brush in our house - it was from the Fuller brush salesman who came around selling them....

USA here

I only ever got the hand, belt, or sometimes wooden spoon from mom.

Belt was just a regular belt folded in half and applied to my bare butt.

Dad did most of the spanking. Mom would sometimes do it and she would sometimes use the wooden spoon on our bare butts.

She had arthritis and couldn't spank very hard with her hands. But she could sure make that spoon sting.

USA here

I only ever got the hand, belt, or sometimes wooden spoon from mom.

Belt was just a regular belt folded in half and applied to my bare butt.

Dad did most of the spanking. Mom would sometimes do it and she would sometimes use the wooden spoon on our bare butts.

She had arthritis and couldn't spank very hard with her hands. But she could sure make that spoon sting.

In my experience most American moms spanked with the hand and hairbrush! The wooden spoon was fairly common as well! And some moms favored the switch, as well! I knew of one home where the kitchen spatula was the weapon of choice! I once saw the results of this in the communal showers at school; the marks on the boys bottom left by the spatula being very distinctive!

Dads along with using their hands for giving spankings seemed to prefer the belt and/or strap!

Your Mom, by using the wooden spoon found an effective way of overcoming her arthritis, for sure! I can well imagine the spoon being an ideal weapon for someone suffering from arthritis overcoming any difficulties caused by this condition when it comes to administering spankings!

No mystery about the wooden hair brush in our house - it was from the Fuller brush salesman who came around selling them....

The HAIRBRUSH!!!! In my experience the implement of choice for the majority of American moms! An implement greatly feared by kids all over America especially in the '50s, '60s, and even early to mid '80s! And the Fuller Brush Salesman, loved by moms everywhere; and hated in equal measure by kids whose bottoms paid a painful price!

Growing up in small town Canada in the spanking era! Dad spanked with his hand always bare bum over his knee well into our teens. He was a police officer strong big man great father but very strict. When Mom dis spank it was usually a wooden hairbrush again applied to our bare bums over her knee. One time she spanked my sister and me with her rubber flip flop on a family vacation!

@bigbabyhusband husband --- "When i was older, about 12 or so, mom used a rubber hose about 2' long about 1/2" inside diameter. OUCH!"

The tube from grandma's enema bag was used for mom (had it from grandma myself a couple of times) and mom continued the tradition as I have. Mom introduced using a red rubber rectal tube for more serious punishment. Not quite the same diameter but much thicker walls, heavier, and quite supple so a really whippy sting.

@bigbabyhusband husband --- "When i was older, about 12 or so, mom used a rubber hose about 2' long about 1/2" inside diameter. OUCH!"

The tube from grandma's enema bag was used for mom (had it from grandma myself a couple of times) and mom continued the tradition as I have. Mom introduced using a red rubber rectal tube for more serious punishment. Not quite the same diameter but much thicker walls, heavier, and quite supple so a really whippy sting.

Hi Linda, always interesting to hear about the more unorthodox implements used for administering spankings and whuppings! It seems that your Mom, being whupped by her own Mother with the enema bag tube, got first hand experience of its effectiveness and decided to continue the tradition, albeit with a new tube, herself! It sounds like the rectal tube was an even more formidable upgrade!

@creator58 --- "It seems that your Mom, being whupped by her own Mother with the enema bag tube, got first hand experience of its effectiveness and decided to continue the tradition, albeit with a new tube, herself! It sounds like the rectal tube was an even more formidable upgrade!"

To be clear, when mom was spanked, when she spanked me, and my general go-to for extra when needed has been the strap. However, you're right, mom learned the enema hose stung like a thousand bees, as I did, and she continues the tradition, as have I. You're also right; the rectal tube was a formidable upgrade. Several years ago I spoke with a member here and his mom also used an enema bag tube to punish him sometimes as well as a rectal tube. He said he'd never had the cane but thought the focused burn and sting of the enema hose would be similar.

"One time she spanked my sister and me with her rubber flip flop on a family vacation!"

I remember my mum spanking my sister with a flat leather sandal in a hotel room once. I knew what it was like because I'd been spanked with that same sandal before.

"One time she spanked my sister and me with her rubber flip flop on a family vacation!"

I remember my mum spanking my sister with a flat leather sandal in a hotel room once. I knew what it was like because I'd been spanked with that same sandal before.

Those things, I believe, can pack a real sting!

My mum's leather sandals certainly did pack a real sting, I had them on my bare bottom a few times.

There is only one brush in my house that is used for it's original purpose, and that's because it's round. All others have interesting wear marks on the non-bristle side! I also have a collection of sorority paddles and antique hairbrushes, most of which I found on ebay years ago. So no real interesting origins for my implements of azz destruction!

Starting when my sisters and I were toddlers, Mom usually used her hairbrush paddle. It was not actually a hairbrush. It had no bristles on either side. It had only ONE purpose! It was a paddle that turned the pale white bare bottoms of her naughty children (and somtimes her naughty Husband), anywhere from a warm pink to a hot glowing scarlet. The ritual was simple. We were either told to, 1> "Go fetch the "hairbrush paddle" and wait for me!", or 2> "Go fetch the "hairbrush paddle" and bring it to me!" In EITHER case, this meant to go to our parents' bedroom to fetch the paddle from atop her dresser, undress (leaving on only underpants/panties, and bras). Then, either wait in the bedroom or go find her in another location (which usually meant public cornertime in that room/location), to receive a lecture and then have underpants/panties removed for a trip over Mom's lap.

The hairbrush remained pretty effective throughout our childhood (including our tween and teen years), but as with most tween/teen kids, my sisters and I eventually tested Mom's limits, and the limits of our bare bottoms to withstand the hairbrush paddle, and still remain defiant. When she felt that a more painful lesson was required, she would send us to the apple orchard, just beyond our back yard, to fetch (cut and peel) apple switches. The ritual was similar to the hairbrush paddle ritual, but the naughty child(ren) did not strip until he/she/they returned from the apple orchard, and (after cornertime) would assume a standing-but-bent-over position, with palms flat on the seat of the spanking chair. Mom would then dispasionately inflict as many stripes as she felt necessary.

Mom had one additional disciplinary option available to her (either instead-of or in-addition-to her punishments), which was the most severe and reserved for the naughtiest naughtiness... if/when she felt that her child/children needed very strict and severe correction... she would tell us to, "Prepare for an appointment with your Father!". This meant to strip completely nude and start cornertime in the dining room. When Dad noticed (usually, upon arriving home from work) a naked child (or naked chldren) in the corner(s), he would go discuss the circumstances with Mom (to understand the nature of the misbehavior) and then instruct the naughty child(ren) to go the his workshop and wait for him.

Dad had carpenter's rulers (straight edges) of various lengths, and two thick/wide leather straps of different lengths hanging on the wall. And, if he felt that the ultimate price needed to be paid for VERY rebellious disobedience, disrepect, and/or dishonesty, he would tell the VERY naughty family members (children, and/or sometimes his naughty Wife), to... "Go fetch (cut and peel) a river willow switch!".

... I posted these photos several years ago...

https://en.zity.biz/index.php?mx=gallery;ox=showalbum;ax=9762

The river was also just beyond our backyard, runing along the apple orchard. We lived on several acres of ranch/farm land, so there was really no chance that anybody other than a family member, or very close family friend, would see a naked tween/teen/wife walking to/from the river to fetch a switch. The ritual was simple... a lecture, and then a trip over Dad's sawhorse for the implement(s) of severe correction/training to be dispasionately administered.

After punishment, another short lecture while the tears were still flowing, ususually ending with something like, "What do you have to say for yourself?" And, the expected response was something like... "It was very naughty of me to steal Katie's candy and then lie to cover it up. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. And, thank you for disciplining me."

After a humble confession, and acceptng of painful consequences, the recipient(s) of punishment would be forgiven, comforted, reminded how much they are loved, and reminded that PAST-IS-PAST and we can avoid receiving this type of discipline (red/sore bottoms and/or stripes/welts across our bottoms) by having SELF-discipline in the future!

A very descriptive, comprehensive and enjoyable read about the disciplinary practices in your home, growing up, BottomFromTheTop! You certainly experienced punishment with all manner of implements; that's for sure! The two photos were a nice touch, as well! Thankyou!