Bondage Furniture

Bondage Furniture is a particular focus here at Paul Mauser Studios. In particular, High-quality bondage equipment. I believe in good materials, ergonomic engineering, proper woodworking techniques, and quality finishing.

I think this makes my work unique, or at least rare, and I have as high an expectation of my customers as I do of myself.

Let me give you an example of this Philosophy at work.

Cheap Crap with High Prices:

Here's a bondage chair sold by an otherwise reputable online BDSM store. I'm not going to name them, because, as I said, they're otherwise reputable. However, they want $450 for it.

(Image deleted for 18 U.S.C. 2257 reasons) Frankly, I look at this and I see the equivalent of the nasty cheap leather cuffs that you can buy in an adult book store. Let's break it down. It looks like it's made from 8 pieces of 2x4, and four pieces of plywood. There is NO proper joinery, I'd wager that the armrest and the front leg are connected by an angle bracket if you're lucky, or screws through the top. I'd bet it hasn't even seen sandpaper, let alone a jointer. It has a thin vinyl coated pad on the seat to make up for its horrible ergonomics, and the straps supplied are not even leather!

I suppose it's not bad if you're into humiliation, but I'd be ashamed to have it in my house. Even with a girl in it, it's hardly imposing or alluring (depending on how you look at such things). Apparently it doesn't even break down for shipping or storage.

Look, if you really want such a thing, I could do it (It'd be hard, since I'd have to hold my nose). I could probably knock it out in a couple of days, plus time for painting, but you know, just for the pain of doing it, I'd probably still charge $450, plus shipping, and I'd sneer as I took your money. But you'd probably end up with a better made version.

The absolute junk that gets foisted off on the BDSM community makes me sick. And because we're "perverts", we stand for it because enough people are still ashamed to admit it, and the schlock merchants who sell crap in the back of porno catalogs know that if they rip you off, you probably won't even ask for a refund.

Not Me

I'm a toy addict. I've followed the course of many toy addicts. You start by buying a lot of overpriced junk, and some not-overpriced, merely expensive quality gear. Then you decide to start making your own. If you get good enough, your friends start asking you to make things for them, and then they tell you you should go pro. Eventually you do. The fourth stage is maybe you open a store, but I'm not there yet.

Yet.

The funniest thing is, when you get into the making your own stage, the rate of growth of your collection slows, but you have more of what you want.

My Example

Now, since I've ragged on someone else's work, let me make a quick example of what I do.

This chair is based on a self-bondage chair designed by my friend Mark of SeriousBondage.com. The differences should be pretty obvious. To give you an idea, there are 76 individual pieces of wood in this chair, and there are only three that I can think of that are simple rectangular blocks. There are mortise and tenon joints, biscuit joints, half-lap joints, and yes, a few screws, all of which are countersunk and puttied over. There are 19 straps, and they're all leather, and multi-part, with a separate lining. All of the wood (except the ply) has been Jointed and Planed for straightness and smoothness. Every surface was sanded down to 220 grit, before it was primed (yes, I used primer, unlike those who just throw the black paint right on the wood), sanded again, and sprayed with at least two coats of a custom-mixed color. Even more importantly, this chair is ergonomically designed. The seat reclines at a slight angle, as does the back. The footrests and the ankle blocks adjust independently, as does the neck block. Those blocks are there to take up the space behind the heels and the neck, which you can't just strap to a flat surface without discomfort. Everyone who's been in the chair has found it to be very comfortable. It disassembles into 5 major components, and a few smaller ones, plus it has a sophisticated retraction/release system built into the arms for the wrist straps. It took about a month to build, a week of which was spent making the straps, since every edge is beveled, dyed, waxed and slicked. The straps are secured by a dowel passed through the doubled-over ends of the straps. There are actually two sets of straps, instead of the crossed chest straps and the split crotch strap, a Y-shaped strap can be installed that goes from the crotch to the shoulders. This particular chair was sold to Richard Hunter, the owner of Mr. S. Leather about two weeks after I built it. Yes, I built it on spec, just to show what I could do. Afterwards I made a few modifications, including some reinforcement, and adjustable elbow blocks with yet more straps. Future versions of this will include upgraded materials and the changes Richard asked for.

The ergonomics are important. The human body isn't a simple thing. I see a lot of things out there where the design seems dictated by what's easiest to accomplish with the materials. I call it "The Tyranny of Right Angles." I'd rather see something a bit more complicated that's designed to fit a person, rather than something simple that's designed to be easy to make - and doesn't fit.

So, if you think you're finally ready to have something really nice, click on Contact and drop me a line.