We went to a friend’s birthday party, and she is a submissive. She wanted to be restrained and have the kinds of things done to her that so many submissives enjoy. One of the devices used on her was from the good people at KinkLabs, purveyors of fine quality products for people who are into kink. This device is definitely on the kinky side. It is called a Violet Wand, but what many of those who use it for kinky play may not know is that it was originally a medical device sold by purveyors of medical quackery.
In the Center for Sexual Expression and Education collection, which is part of the Sexual Heritage Preservation Project, we have an original 1930 medical device called the Master Violet Ray. It is nearly identical to the modern Violet Wands, right down to having the same glass attachments.
Master Ray Violet Ray
The Violet Wand is based on the same basic concept as the Tesla Coil, which converts household current into high-frequency, high voltage current up to 30,000 volts. This is basically static electricity, the same principle used when I worked on a Sideshow as a teenager and performed the girl in the electric chair. We could shoot sparks off her fingers and even light a torch off her fingers. The high frequency electricity traveled across her skin but not into her body. Unfortunately, the show hired untrained young women to play the role of the girl in said electric chair, and while we warned her not to get out of the chair when it was turned on, there were times when a large spark sent them running. This sent a bit of a spark to their behinds as well, and we never saw them again.
The Violet Wand has gas filled blown glass attachments that glow with an eerie purplish light, and arcing electricity will jump off of it to your fingers or other body parts. They don’t hurt, but they do tingle. Okay, turn it all the way up and they can hurt a little. Admittedly, the electric chair was turned up more than some would like.
The modern units manufactured made for the BDSM crowd tend to have important differences from the older antique models, and amazingly, the models still manufactured as quack cure alls. The plug that goes into the wall has a spark gap isolator, which is an important safety feature as it isolates the wand from the line voltage. They also have ceramic cores instead of the cheaper wax core, which can melt with longer periods of use. Aslo, these are different from the type made as beauty aids for skin stimulation and oxygenation. They tend to be very low intensity and incompatible with most attachments..
One of the earliest manufacturers of modern Violet Wands for the BDSM crowd is Rupert Huse and Sons. As with the 1930’s original, their kit includes the blown glass attachments of a rake, a mushroom, and a probe. They also include a large and a small globe, which have the electricity arcing around inside of them for that great mad scientist effect that you have seen with the stand-alone balls popular around Halloween. The larger the bulb, though, the weaker the spark. There is also a wartenberg pinwheel, a finger stinger, a bead chain whip, and a body contact pad. The later works just like the electric chair bit, allowing you to shoot sparks off of your finger. These are not inexpensive toys, though. For this unit you are looking at an investment of some $500.
Robert Huse and Sons Violet Wand Kit
A different version from another manufacturer called the Violet Wand Master Kit is available from JT’s Stockroom. It includes a foot pedal for hands free control, a Mushroom Electrode, a Probe Electrode with Wire Coil , a Rake Electrode, an Edison Adapter, 7 different light bulbs, a set of 5 Eagle Talons, a Metal Rolling Drum, a Wartenberg Wheel, an Extendable Fork, a Hot Shot Electrode, a Ball Chain Flogger, a Nerve Brush, a Body Contact, a 6″ Lightning Rod, and a 9″ Lightning Rod. Pretty much everything you might want in a portable case, but at a premium price of $775.00.
Violet Wand Master Kit
If your budget is a little more lean, there are entry level models, and you can purchase extra attachments later. KinkLab is one of our go to sources for low cost but high quality BDSM paraphernalia. They make the KinkLab Neon Wand Electrosex Kit, which emits either red or purple light depending upon which version you buy.
It comes with just with 4 different glass attachments (Electrode Comb, Mushroom Tube, 90° Probe, Tongue Tube), but they are the basic ones you would want. It may not max out at extremely intense that some of the more expensive models can when turned all the way up, but that is actually too much for most. It is a good but still not cheap buy at $150.00. Right now, though, they a special price of just $97.93. How long that will last I have no idea.
KinkLab Neon Wand Electrosex Kit
Zeus Electrosex is one of the companies moving Violet Wands beyond their hokum roots with a number of creative products. They make the Twilight Violet Wand Kit, a wand of their own design with a comfortable silicone handle. It comes with five attachments. It is available from many local retailers, and while they do not sell directly from their web site, I just found it on Amazon for $60.00, which is a great price. The one cavaet is some have felt that it was not as strong as they wanted it to be compared to more expensive brands. We have not personally tested this, so it only comes second hand. Those that need a higher intensity might want to find this in a local store where you can try it. Their web site does feature the ability to find retailers that carry their products near you, and we always encourage supporting your local retailers. I do think it is one of the nicer slightly less menacing looking wands.
Twilight Violet Wand
Their Arcana Electro Vibe Wand combines the vibration of the classic Magic Wand with electro-play. You can control both the intensity of the vibration and the intensity of the electrical tingle with five levels for each.This offers the best of both worlds for kinksters.
Arcana Electro Wand Vibe
Zeus also has quite a number of options that work with their Power Boxes. These include Power Box compatible sex toys like butt plugs, bullets, vibrators, cock rings and strap on dildos. On the even more BDSM side, you can get Electro Conductive Estim Gloves, cuffs, a paddle, nipple clamps, and I am clenching as I write this, an electric urethral sound. Their Bodylight Twilight attachment plugs into your wand and has a pad that attaches to the skin. It can turn your hand into an instrument of tingling sensations you can apply to your partner.
There are also many attachments from a lot of different companies that work with the Violet Wands. You can find a whole bunch of them online at the Violet Wand Store. They have electrodes in a wide range of colors and in many interesting shapes. I especially like the Helix Electrode. There is conductive rope, up to 30 feet. They have a conductive silicone flogger, a penis sock, magic fingers (like the scalp massager but with electricity), the Firecracker that looks like series of long pipe cleaners, and a whole lot more. They have a ball chain flogger, a mylar flogger, a pinwheel, the very popular Body Contact cable, metal electrodes, It is a good site to get an idea of what is available.
As with anything dealing with electricity, there are important safety precautions to keep in mind. The wand is one of the safest forms of electrical play as the current penetrates very shallowly into the skin. Even so, experts I consulted recommend no longer than 15 minutes of electrical play at a session.
You should be wary of piercings, especially fairly new ones, that could conduct electricity into the body. Taking off any metal jewelry is also a good idea. One expert also suggests removing any rubberwear, and you certainly should not wear anything with metallic threads in it. Watch out for zippers and other metal attachments in clothing. They will conduct electricity, and also heat up. Keep it at least a foot away from hip and knee replacements.
Obviously, the blown glass tubes should not be inserted into bodily orifices, nor should any of the attachments. The idea is that the electricity flows across the skin, not inside of you.
It is a really bad choice for bathtub play or around water, unless you have a necrophilia fetish and a desire to wind up in prison. Do not put the tubes in the dishwasher as they will be destroyed. You might be beginning to notice a water=bad theme going on here.
You don’t want to hold it in any one place for very long as it could burn, not just from the heat, but because it also puts out ultraviolet light, the same stuff that gives you sunburns. This is also why you should keep it away from the eyes.
Keep it away from potentially flammable clothing or alcohol. Lighter fluid soaked cloth on our torches was easily ignited by the spark from the girl’s fingerer in our electric chair presentation. Flammable hair spray is also a bad idea. Used in conjunction with a piece of metal, some people have used it for branding play.
One bit of obvious advice but something some might forget is to plug the device in when it is turned off and at the lowest setting. This should just be habit to avoid accidentally using it on someone right off the bat when it is turned all the way up.
You should avoid using it on someone with a heart condition, epilepsy (the flickering can trigger a seizure), or any other serious medical condition.
We can’t tell you that playing with the violet wand is 100% safe, but it is the safest form of electricity play. With common sense and a little caution, it offers a unique form of stimulation that has become very popular with the BDSM crowd.